| Thanks
to Shaynee Paauwe and the Christian Education Committee, the
exciting prospect of a TAPC preschool is closer to becoming
a reality, and is scheduled to open no later than the fall of
2010. The preschool is designed to provide an early church-based
learning experience for young children in the area, as well
as to extend the outreach and visibility of TAPC in the community
at-large.
To date:
1. The
preschool mission statement has been developed. The statement
upholds the belief that every child is created and loved by
God, and calls for preschoolers to be nurtured socially, emotionally,
physically, intellectually and spiritually.
2. The
church-based core curriculum, centered on the mission statement,
is being constructed. A rich literacy program will be the
primary focus, and will incorporate age-appropriate social
skills that assist children in developing personal responsibility,
peer relationships, and cultural awareness.
3. The
former Sunday School classroom is being reconfigured as a
preschool learning area. An application for a preschool license
has been submitted to the Michigan Bureau of Children's Licensing,
and fire and safety code inspections will be scheduled later
this winter.
4. Valerie
Becker has been hired as the director. A former preschool/kindergarten
teacher with a Master's Degree in Early Childhood and a Doctorate
in Staff Development, she has served also as a school principal
for fifteen years. We have some great prospects for the teaching
position. Interviews are in process.
Additional
updates on the TAPC preschool will appear in future issues
of "The Connection."
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