The long year of 2020 is behind us and we are on to 2021! Though this past year looked so very different than ones before, we can confidently say that our school leaped over hurdles and persevered with great success. Throughout the many changes that have occurred, the bright light that has kept us all going is the children in our care each and every day. The smiling faces, laughter and learning that has continued to thrive at SCS shows us all how important our jobs are here - we have remained a safe, familiar place for children during an otherwise unfamiliar time.
SCS Holds it Together Through Pandemic
A lot of you may be wondering how the school is doing financially during this rough time for all non-profits. Well, I am glad to say that we are holding our own! Keeping all our faculty employed and with full benefits is a huge strain on our budget given that we only have safe spaces for so many children, but we are making it by (still in the red, but making it). We have applied for every loan, grant, and gift available to us and that has helped enormously. Private gifts to SCS have helped us keep on track with our fundraising too, and the end of the calendar year request for donations was certainly successful. Do you know of a granting institution, foundation, or private source willing to help us? Please just contact me at PGilmore@seacoastcommunityschool.org.
SCS Main Campus Gather Food Drive - Another Success!
The classrooms at the main campus worked together during the month of November to collect food donations for the Gather Food Pantry - we are happy to report that we collected 134 pounds of food for our local community. We are grateful for the families and community members who participate in this yearly event and for the Stingray classroom who has hosted this drive for the past two years.
Winter Wonderland
With the colder, snowy weather comes many exciting outdoor adventures for all of our classrooms. As always, our teachers strive to create invigorating and meaningful outdoor experiences for children each day. Our nature trails have been busy with small feet exploring them - a favorite activity of our preschool students has been looking for animal footprints in the snow and ice. It seems that squirrels and birds frequent the trails often and are the footprints discovered the most!
Our older toddler classrooms have been exploring the outdoors using their senses - what better way to enjoy the snow than making snow angels and snow balls with your friends? Our younger toddler classrooms have enjoyed exploring the snow removal equipment parked at the campus from a distance - they have been astounded by the size of the trucks and request to visit the parked vehicles often. As the winter continues and more snow falls, we know there will be many other enjoyable activities happening around our beautiful outdoor campus!
SCS Teachers Complete PTAN Training Series
During the months of October and November, the majority of our teachers participated in a 5 part e-learning series lead by the Preschool Technical Assistance Network. This training series focused on promoting social skills in the classroom, and trauma informed care for children - these topics tie nicely into this year's C.A.R.E.S theme of 'empathy'. The teachers and administration at SCS are always working towards adding more tools to their toolboxes and are continually working towards personal and school-wide professional development goals.
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