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The Trinity School Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) program is grounded in a loving, nurturing, Christian atmosphere of acceptance, recognizing each child as a unique individual created and gifted by God. Our program provides a bridge for the student between home and school; playing a significant role in the physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual and social development of the child. Our curriculum is based on developmentally appropriate practice utilizing an integrated thematic approach to learning. It is designed to facilitate a smooth transition into, and success in Kindergarten.

"We continue to be delighted with the outstanding level of education paired with just-plain-fun afforded to our daughter. The kindness, devotion and unflagging positive attitude displayed by all with whom we have come into contact over the past year has made us a very happy Trinity family indeed.

Our only regret is leaving Mrs. Lake, Mrs. Finn and Ms. Sharon behind, as they are not only educators of the highest caliber, but also truly wonderful and giving people."

The Trinity Pre-K program consists of three levels:

The Pre-K Curriculum

Religion

The Trinity: God, our heavenly father, Christ his son and our brother, and the Holy Spirit, our guide, are at the center of all we do. Our practice of faith is an integral part of the moment to moment life of our school. Faith is nurtured through prayer, praise, song, meditation, Bible time, service projects, monthly prayer services and adult modeling throughout the day. These faith based activities support the child in developing a spirit of joy and gratitude as well as a personal relationship with God and love for others as Jesus taught; "Let the little children come unto me."

Language Arts

The curriculum provides a foundation for literacy: phonemic, phonetic, alphabetic and print awareness, as well as an understanding and enjoyment of varied literary genres. Activities include literature read aloud, story telling, library visits, rhyming games, poetry, songs, listening, and sound identification games experienced in a print rich environment. "Hands On" writing activities include sky writing, salt tray writing, finger painting, clay modeling of letters and rainbow tracing of large D'Nealian letter models as a foundation for handwriting.

Pre-K+ students will engage in a rich array of language experiences that develop the essential prerequisites for reading and writing. We have both structured and unstructured activities, and use flannel boards, puppets, dramatic play, Big Books, Weekly Reader and children's literature to develop comprehension skills, visual and auditory discrimination skills, the use of the written word, and foster a love of reading. We use the Saxon Pre-K curriculum to support instruction in phonics and follow the reading program.

Mathematics

Trinity's curriculum centers around opportunities for hands on activities for developing a sense of number awareness including counting, one to one correspondence, sets, more and less, patterns, size, shapes and other math concepts and skills. MacMillan/Newbridge Big Book Math series and trade books will often serve as introduction for our exploration of math concepts.

Pre-K+ students in our program, will explore math in the world around us by using manipulative skills to develop mathematical thinking, including counting, number and numeral recognition, and one-to-one correspondence. We use number and geometric pattern activities such as graphing and charting, games, and collections to reinforce number skills. Students develop problem-solving abilities by engaging in real life mathematical situations, such as sorting and classifying objects in the classroom.

Social Science

The preschool curriculum recognizes that Social Science plays an important part of early childhood learning as the child explores the world outside of his/her own experience and is often the base of our thematic learning approach. How the world around us works and how different people of the world live, are explored through literature, history, geography, science, hands on experience, music and art. MacMillan/Newbridge Big Book Science series, as well as other literature, is used for information and motivation.

Pre-K+ students learn about their immediate community, develop a respect for our natural environment, and become contributing members of a diverse classroom community. Children focus on themselves, their families, and the school community and neighborhood. Students will be introduced to science through weekly hands-on investigations. Students observe, predict, sequence, analyze, and apply knowledge they have learned. Units such as oceans, the solar system, seasons, insects, nutrition, "Health Bodies "and sinking and floating are a sample of some of the focuses of the units introduced.

Physical Education

Physical activity is an integral part of the daily routine designed to develop and strengthen the child's gross motor skills and sensory integration necessary for a grounded, secure sense of self and the joy of movement. Myriad activities for fine motor skills development (including those described in Language Arts) provide a strong foundation for writing. Students participate in semi-monthly physical education experiences in the gym with the Phys. Ed. Teacher.

Music and Art

The preschool curriculum honors Music and Art as beneficial and enjoyable ways for children to express themselves creatively. Opportunities for singing, dancing, painting, drawing, and creating are incorporated throughout the day and valued as an important part of early childhood learning. Students have additional opportunities for extended music and art experience in Music Hall and Studio Art special classes with our Art and Music teachers.

Spanish

The immersion approach to Spanish language acquisition is experienced through twice weekly child centered lessons given by the Spanish teacher in the classroom.

Pre-K+ students will also be introduced to French as part of our world language awareness. This unit will be offered in the last trimester of the school year for four weeks.

Admissions Requirements

All applicants for preschool must submit a completed application for admission. For admission to the Pre-K3 and Pre-K4 classes, children must be 3 or 4 years old September 1 and independently toilet trained to enter Trinity Preschool. For admission to the Pre-K+ class, children must be 5 years old by December 31. Children with an Individual Education Plan (IEP) must submit a copy of the IEP with the application. Find out more about the Admissions process.