Joe Hart, Principal for St. Joseph’s School in Dryden, knows what makes the kindergarten educational team at his school, in a word, excellent.
While families are leaving young learners to the care of kindergarten educators at St. Joseph’s, one of the schools included under the banner of The Northwest Catholic District School Board (TNCDSB), Hart described a collective, collaborative spirit present in the kindergarten team and commended them for dedicating their time and their organizational aid to new students and their families.
“We have a wonderful kindergarten team here that’s made up of both teachers and early childhood educators with a wealth of experience,” said Hart.
“These ladies in our kindergarten program continually go above and beyond in everything that they do. The kids absolutely adore them. They’re so awesome.”
Not only are they adored and beloved by the kindergarten kids, but they warmly welcome young minds, and foster their sense of curiosity.
“They continually create a warm, nurturing, faith-filled environment for our kids. Being the youngest learners in our schools, they fill the bucket of these young learners with the willingness to learn through discovery and that sort of thing. The lessons that they create, they’re very engaging,” said Hart.
“In all cases, families are entrusting the school with these young minds. We don’t take that lightly, and our kindergarten team steps up to the challenge to develop those relationships and build community with those families, which is imperative to the success of a kindergarten program.”
Another ingredient in the recipe for success of St. Joseph’s kindergarten program is how their team dedicates their own time to help kids and their families get accustomed to the school’s facilities.
“We have what we call transition nights, and these educators are there, welcoming, leading activities for families and kids to get them accustomed to the school in the school setting,” said Hart.
“For many of these kids, and many of these families, it’s their first time in the school, and for some it’s the first time in any school. So they are leading these initiatives and making themselves available to ease that transition for families and students.”
“I can’t say enough,” Hart continued.
“They are model staff in everything that they do, everything comes from the heart. They’re a fantastic team to work with, and it’s such a collaborative effort. Everybody on that kindergarten team truly does work as a team. If [people] ever have the opportunity to experience our kindergarten program, they would see exactly what I’m referring to. It’s hard to put into words, to give it justice, but to experience it is a whole new, whole different thing.”
