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A New Pre-School is Opened at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church reprinted from Evergreen Times News thanks to Will Sousae |
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A new preschool has recently begun operation in Evergreen at St. Francis
of Assisi Church. The preschool came about through the efforts of a group of dedicated parent volunteers who first identified the need and then developed the program with the assistance of the church staff. The chairperson of the team, Cary Colleran states, "After five years of planning it was so exciting to receive our license, open our doors, and to see the smiles on the faces of the children and parents". The preschool is one of thirteen preschools overseen by the Department of Catholic Schools Office of the Diocese of San Jose, and the first to be opened in Evergreen. The preschool is unique in that it provides a part-time program for children ages 3-5. During the school year parents have the option of choosing a three hour morning or afternoon session offered two or three days a week. A special five day program is offered in the summer. Classes are small with a maximum of 15 children per session. The curriculum is a developmental program focused on socialization, "hands on" play based learning, and Kindergarten readiness, and follows the guidelines established for Catholic schools. Similar to Catholic elementary schools the program is open to all members of the community, although some preference is given to parish members. The preschool is directed by Ms. Rochelle Leggett. She comes with 10 years experience as a teacher and four years experience as a director where she previously served at Milpitas Christian Schools. Registration for the summer is underway. Interested persons can contact Rochelle Leggett at St. Francis of Assisi Preschool 223-1562 x308. |
| Articles from
Pre-School Committee August, 2001 "Vision Voice" |
| St.
Francis of Assisi Parish Applies for a Pre-School License by Will Sousae The St. Francis of Assisi preschool committee has been hard at work over the past year to develop a preschool program for the parish. It had anticipated a September 2001 start date but this has been pushed out to January 2002 due to some unanticipated issues in the licensing process. (We can set our target dates, but we cannot publicize or register anyone until we have met all of the requirements of licensing.) The parish plans to offer a part-time preschool program with the option of morning or afternoon sessions twice a week or three times a week. There will be a limit of 15 children per session, however, with the multiple sessions, up to 60 families can participate. (Facility limitations preclude the running of a full time program.) The committee is planing a hands-on developmental program that will integrate preschool activities with the seasonal activities of our Catholic community (Advent, Lent, etc.). We have the assistance of the Diocese of San Jose, which oversees 13 other parish-based preschools, in the planning program. The costs of the program are still being worked out, but they will be comparable to similar programs in the area. The program should raise sufficient revenue to pay back its initial start-up costs and be self -supporting within a year or two. The preschool committee is planning an informational dinner night on Sunday, October 21st in the Gathering Space from 4:00-6:00 PM. The committee is in the process of contacting registered parish families with preschool aged children (in August) to update them on our plans. We can use the help of parents to organize the program and of community members to donate various items (we will print a list of needs in the bulletin) and help build the playground. For more information or to help please contact Cary Colleran at 223-6339, or leave a message for Cary at the parish office 223-1562. |