Wednesday, February 1st

Registration packets are available online or for pickup at the preschool office.

Wednesday, February 8th

Registration packets due for currently enrolled students and siblings of currently enrolled students.

Thursday, February 9th

Registration packets for children and grandchildren of active, giving members of St. Michael’s and children in the waiting pool will be accepted.

Friday, February 10th

Registration packets for all other children will be accepted.

• Registration Procedures
• Registration/Application( must be completed & returned with registration fee)
• Tuition and Options
• Waiting Pool Application

For additional information about our application priorities and the 2012-2013 registration procedures, please visit our Admissions page.

We anticipate having a few slots open in each age group for the 2012-2013 school year. Now is a great time to schedule a visit and tour the school. Please contact our director, Dana Carvalho: director@stmichaelsdayschool.org or 512-327-0591.

Siblings
Please note, if you have a younger child coming into the program, please complete a waitlist form to ensure we have them on the list.

Friends and Family
Please be sure to let your friends and family know that registration will happen in late February so they can plan accordingly!

Waitlisted?
If you’ve been put into the waiting pool at another preschool, we encourage you to come visit St. Michael’s Episcopal Day School. We anticipate some openings in most of our classes once our current families have had a chance to re-register – wouldn’t it be great to know your family had a secure spot in our fantastic, loving community of learners?

Welcome, Ms. Andrea! We’re glad you are here.

We are so pleased to announce that Andrea Langer recently joined our staff. Andrea has been the Lead Teacher at three different preschools in the Austin area. We have decided to place her with the 3s and 4s on Tuesdays and Thursdays to take full advantage of her expertise in curriculum planning and experience in the classroom. Andrea will become a Lead Teacher next year.

We know that this little girl can choose her colored pencil and use it to create a masterpiece; but if a classmate came by and wanted to sit next to her, use her pencils and draw, how would she react?

At St. Michael’s Preschool, we think it is important to share with our parents and the community when we learn something new or just want to provide a mini-reminder about childhood development. Sometimes parents and other caregivers are so in tune with the way their particular child walks through life that common developmental milestones can be overlooked.We delight in what we see our children learn and what we know they can do – Dan Hodgins offers a gentle remind on what our children can’t do – yet.

• I can’t share.  
Children use possession of objects as a device to understand autonomy. Just as babbling comes before talking, so owning comes before sharing. To share fully, a child must first fully possess.
• I can’t say, “I’m sorry,” and mean it.
  Saying “I’m sorry” has little meaning to the young child. To say, “I’m sorry” and understand what you are saying, you must also be able to understand how the other person feels.
• I can’t remember what you told me.  
Most children remember only what is important to them. A child may not remember that you just told them to walk, and not run, while indoors. Adults often forget that children have trouble remembering.
• I can’t focus on more than one task at a time. “Pick up your toys, put on your shoes, and wash your face; we are going out to play.” This command has three more tasks than a young child is able to focus on. Most young children will remember the last task or the task most important to them. With the above command, all the child may focus on is that he or she is going out tot play.
• I can’t understand negative commands.
  If a child reaches to put his or her finger in an electric wall outlet and you say, “don’t,” the child is confused because he or she doesn’t know how to reverse their action. Saying, “Pull you hand back, that’s dangerous” gives the child a positive action to take.
• I can’t measure. When you want a child to pour a glass of milk or juice and you hand him or her a full pitcher, expect the child to pour all the milk into the glass, even if it pours all over the floor or table. Young children do not understand that all of the milk will not fit into the glass and so keep pouring until it’s too late.
• I can’t tell you the truth when you set me up.
  If you see a child do something inappropriate, and you ask if he or she has done it, the child will probably deny it. Don’t ask the child if you know what happened. That only sets them up for failure.
• I can’t sit still for very long. Young children are often told to sit still, while their bodies are telling them to move. When the large muscles in a preschooler’s arms and legs are growing rapidly, they cry out for exercise. As a result, preschoolers feel a need to move about.
• I can’t play with other children until I am ready. Children go through different stages of social interaction. If allowed to grow at their own pace, they will begin to interact with other children when they are ready.
• I can’t tell the difference between reality and fantasy.
  When a child has a bad dream, it is very real to him or her. Telling a child not to be a “baby” does not help. Playing fantasy is real for the child and very important for control and development.
• I can’t express myself in words very well. Children resort to physical means of communication because they often don’t have the verbal skills to express frustration and other feelings. You can help by giving the child words to use.
• I can’t wait. Try not to put children in situations where they have to wait for long periods of time. Waiting often makes taking turns difficult.
• I don’t understand right and wrong. Because young children don’t understand cause and effect relationships, they can’t fully understand right and wrong. A young child does not understand intentional versus unintentional actions, can only see issues from his or her own perspective, and views issues as black and white.
• I can’t be ready until I’m ready. Children all grow and develop at different rates. Don’t compare children or force them to do things before they are ready.

Our hearts are full.

On February 10th our little Sweethearts will be hosting their big Sweethearts (parents) for a pancake breakfast to celebrate love and learn a bit about Valentine’s Day. All of our Sweethearts (large and small) are excited and looking forward to the fun.

We’re looking forward to seeing all of the sticky-sweet-syrupy-smiles coming from our little Sweethearts as they show off their school and their pancakes to their big Sweethearts.

A mailbox in every classroom - that is keeping the teachers and students very busy indeed!

We’re doing a unit about the Post Office in anticipation of Valentine’s Day.

We are learning about what happens to a letter when we mail it, in addition to learning how to address a letter and exploring ways to mail letters to our friends in school.

Every classroom has set up an internal mailing system. It is certainly exciting for the students and the teachers!

Thanks to everyone who helped us launch our preschool and Mother’s Day Out programs. We have an amazing group of children, parents and teachers.

Our first special event, Reado Burrito, was a complete success. Our families came to school in the evening (the little ones dressed in their PJs). After making (and eating) burritos, they quietly read books together before heading home for bedtime.

There is still a spot left in our 3s & 4s class – but it won’t last long. Contact us ASAP to talk to us about enrolling your child.

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Previous news:

We’ve added a second Parents’ Day Out class for our 2-year olds! Our first class filled up quickly and the waiting list began to fill up as well … so we did the only thing that made sense. We opened that second class!

Our second PDO class has some spaces available, so if you were worried about missing out, worry no more. Just give our Director a call and she’ll get your child(ren) registered ASAP.

We also have a few spaces remaining in our 3- and 4-year old class.

As we move towards the end of summer, there tends to be a rush of parents who have had to (for a variety of reasons) leave their preschool choice to the last minute. August is a month where many families move into town, and newcomers are always anxious to find placements for their childrens’ school needs.

We encourage you to secure your family’s place with St. Michael’s Episcopal Day School.

Welcome to our Open House!

At 11:00 the floodgates opened and several more families came to visit the school.  All of our board members had a delightful time mingling with prospective families and those who have already enrolled. We learned that a few of our students are about to become big brothers and sisters – congratulations to those families and we look forward to welcoming your new children to our 2012-2013 school year!

The older kids are sharing a snack with our younger visitors. Home-made trail mix: yum! Meanwhile, the children in the background are experimenting with textures in the shaving cream trough.

All of the kids who came to the open house had fun playing with shaving cream, painting large colorful pictures, making paper pizzas, creating sculpture with  blocks, and creating (and eating, and feeding the birds with) a healthy snack of do-it-yourself trail mix. A few children enjoyed looking at several of our native insects under mangifying lenses; a few others bypassed that station with loud proclamations that bugs are “yucky!”

Taking a closer look at nature. Some of our local bugs are getting checked out underneath the magnifying glass.

Families had time to mingle with many different members of the St. Michael’s community. Our Pastor Robby Vickery and his wife Debbie are both members of the school board. They were like a couple of proud parents as they showed people around their new “baby.” Our school’s chaplain, Janne Osborne took a stroll through the school while taking a break from some of her other activities. And every board member was represented – and the board members’ kids all came and played with the visitors, too!

Our Pastor, Father Robby, visits the two year olds who are busy playing with trucks. (They're also hiding behind the doorway, but we promise they're there.)

Thanks to the fantastic word-of-mouth about our school, our twos class is nearly full - there may be one spot left. So if you’ve hesitated to call or visit, now’s the time. Our threes and fours class is filling steadily, and we expect it to be full before school opens in September. If you’re on waiting lists at other schools, now is the time to visit St. Michael’s Episcopal Day School and see what we have to offer.

One of our new students takes a turn at the painting station. Looks like a masterpiece! We don't mind getting messy, but we're happy to report that the gigantic smock kept her dress spotless!

There is another chance to visit our preschool this week; come by St. Michael’s Episcopal Church on Sunday between 10am and 11am and we will be doing it all over again! There will be much more activity in the church, as we will be showcasing our preschool in between Sunday services. But there is plenty of parking and we’d love to meet you, so come by!