Hayley George, Reporter
@hayleygcourant1
Nestled between the Food and Nutrition classroom and the Wrestling rooms lies a hidden alcove of youth, fun, and creativity: the high school’s very own preschool.
Although often overlooked, the preschool was first opened in the 1980s and has provided a space for teachers at the high school to drop their kids off on Wednesdays and Thursdays mornings from 8:30 to 10:30 or 9:00 to 11:00.
The preschool intertwines learning and creativity with the help of the Childhood Development students. Teacher Donna Sapienza allows her students to interact with and teach preschoolers. “The students have to prepare everything,” Ms. Sapienza said. “We probably spend a good two solid weeks, maybe a little more, on preparing.”
The students prepare and plan daily activities. Sophomore Celia Parkhill explained the process of planning a day at preschool. “We decide on a children’s book by going to the library or researching different books for different age groups,” she said. “We base the lesson off of the book that we choose and use our creativity to create matching activities and crafts that relate to the lesson.”
The planning of activities allows the students to reflect on the Childhood Development curriculum, based on scenarios and processes of growth in children. “We discuss what happened in the preschool and how that relates to what you learn,” Ms. Sapienza said.
The preschool also provides the students with real-life situations. “We are basically a lab class, where we get to go and give high school students the opportunity to observe children,” Ms. Sapienza said.
In addition to creating a learning environment, the preschool also allows the Childhood Development students to have an interactive experience during the school day. “It teaches us a lot about learning how to deal with kids and it also gives us a new perspective. We move down to their level and their perspective which is different from ours,” junior Katherine Wronski said. “It helps us to take a step out of our reality and just hang with these preschoolers for two hours.”
Spending time with the preschoolers also allows the students to form meaningful connections with them. Senior Devin Parnella made a close connection with preschooler, Brody. “When I first met Brody, I thought he was so amazing, and I love his energy. He was painting so many different colors and you realize the imagination of these kids is unparalleled,” Devin said. “We could never come up with the things that these kids come up with because they are just so special.”
Besides connecting preschoolers with older students, the school conditions kids for kindergarten and serves as a supplement for those that already attend. “Our preschool is mostly just socializing them in a preschool environment,” Ms. Sapienza said. “We do not strongly monitor how much they know in terms of the alphabet, their numbers, or reading and recognizing words, although we do offer those activities as practice.”
IT specialist and coach Shawn Robinson has a daughter that attends the preschool. “The preschool is definitely getting my daughter into the conditioning of going to school and being excited about school,” Mr. Robinson said. “It is very beneficial because I work here and having the peace of mind that she is here and I can grab her after is really nice.”
According to Mr. Robinson, the efforts of the Childhood Development students are working. “Through the activities that she is remembering, she is really enjoying it and every time we drive by the school she gets so excited and says ‘School, School,’” Mr. Robinson said.
The preschool also has a significant impact on the students. “It allows me to build connections with kids while learning and having fun,” junior Kaitlyn Maggio said.
