| Shir Shalom’s Preschool: The Learning Center
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Vision and Mission of the Preschool
The Preschool of Temple Shir Shalom will reflect the vision, mission and values we embrace.
- The Preschool will reflect our belief that each child has unique skills, talents and resources to share.
- The Preschool will instill a love of learning.
- The Preschool will be committed to the social, emotional, intellectual, creative and spiritual growth of each individual child.
- The Preschool will prepare a plan for each child responsive to his/her unique learning styles, social-emotional needs, and family dynamics.
- The Preschool will be committed to ongoing consultation with parents and evaluation of the child’s progress.
Description of the Preschool
To achieve the vision and mission of the Preschool, a curriculum and program will be developed reflecting state-of-the-art research on preparing children socially, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually for a lifetime of learning and growth. The Preschool will be open to children who are one to two years before they are scheduled for kindergarten (generally 2 year 9 months - 5 years old).
The Preschool will incorporate the following four cornerstone beliefs:
Belief #1: Doing, Being, Reflecting and Knowing within a Jewish Context
The Preschool curriculum will be based on current research on best practices, coupled with the strong integration of Jewish values.
In the Preschool, children will be viewed as strong, rich in potential and driven by the power of wanting to grow - nurtured by adults who take this drive toward growth seriously. Because a child’s innate curiosity makes them question and research all that surrounds them, they need time to come to their own understanding of the world around them and will be given ample time to make connections to their own worlds, in their own time, as competent individuals.
As well, the way children at TSS preschool will be viewed will be reflected in how they best learn, their individual stages of development, and their learning styles and temperaments. The interaction of the child within the environment will be valued and reinforced through the daily planning and actions of the teaching staff. What is celebrated and valued within each child’s family will be a strong component as well (see Belief #3).
Learning at the Preschool will be as much a social process as an individual one. Helping children to develop a sense of community and social responsibility will be an important part of their time at school. Curriculum and experiences will help them to share and learn from each other’s unique abilities and needs, becoming social individuals to care for and respect each other.
The Preschool curriculum will stimulate each child’s imagination, curiosity and creativity. It will promote the interconnection of art, science and nature through active engagement, exploration and self-expression. Children will be provided with multiple opportunities to explore, express themselves and interact with peers through art, music and movement, cooking, block building, dramatic play, and sensory activities.
The Preschool will support children developing a love for each other, a passion for learning, a sense of spirituality and positive sense of Jewish identity. Their introduction to Jewish programming will be through warm celebrations of customs and holidays and by exposure to the Hebrew language through songs, activities, and stories. Frequent visits from the rabbis and cantor will contribute to the children’s development of closeness and spirituality in their relationships with them.
The Preschool will incorporate the following Jewish values as essential parts of the program:
- Ahavah – Love
- Chesed – Kindness
- Kavod – Respect, Honor
- Kehillah – Community
- L’ovda u’l’shomra – To work and keep the land
- L’ch-vod Shabbat – Honoring Shabbat
- L’dor v’dor – From generation to generation
Children’s growth and development will be documented in the following ways:
- Informal assessment through ongoing observation of the child within the classroom environment and documented through the use of portfolios.
- Formal assessment utilizing a measure aligned and designed specifically for the school’s goals and philosophies.
Belief #2: Naturalistic Environment
The environment inside the Preschool includes equipment, materials and all the enhancements used to create a naturalistic environment. Equally important will be what is less tangible: the way the room “feels” upon entering, its lighting, sounds, smells, warmth and implied invitation for children to enter, feel at home and learn.
The Preschool room(s) should be connected to create a sense of community. They should be designed to be peaceful, aesthetically pleasing, naturally warm and inviting spaces for children to grow and interact with the environment (people, places and things). It should provide plentiful space for children to freely explore and to build on their experiences as individuals and in small and large groups. Spaces should flexible for expansion of curriculum.
Materials provided will allow for enrichment and extension of children’s work, allowing them to build on their experiences with new ideas and solutions.
Collecting and displaying the children’s work will represent these experiences; wall space will be used for documenting their thinking and evolution of their various projects. Work samples, photos, sketches, paintings, collages will be displayed.
Belief #3: Family Partnership and Involvement
A fundamental component of the Preschool will be the inclusion and participation of the families whose children attend. Because family members are the most important people in the lives of their children, the Preschool will strive to create strong family/staff relationships. These relationships will help form the basis for each child’s sense of security at school and supports his or her on-going growth and development. With strong family/staff partnerships comes a sense of trust that allows children to feel safe, respected and cared for. Only then can they explore freely and learn.
Family partnership and involvement will be shaped around the culture, needs and desires of each particular family, as each family has different desires and wishes for their children. After a child is enrolled, members of the clergy and the child’s classroom teacher will visit each home to understand and determine the developmental, spiritual and educational needs of the individual child and the aspirations of the parents in each individual case. This knowledge and understanding will be used to individualize the home/school connection for each child and family enrolled.
Strong home/school partnerships will allow families to be well informed about their child’s development and help them learn how their child interacts with other of the same age and also to share the interest and excitement about school.
When children experience a trusting and respectful relationship between their family and teachers there is continuous support between home and school. Viewing this strong relationship between their family and teacher gives the child the permission to do the same.
Strong family relationships will help teachers plan for the children in the classroom because they will have information which helps them to know each child, given to them by the people who know the child the best. Parent involvement gives teachers and parents the chance to build a strong relationship and create a regular exchange of information about the child.
Opportunities for family involvement will be abundant and will be offered so that families can instill the philosophy of involvement with their children and share common experiences. When families reinforce what children are doing in school and show that their learning is valued, children are more likely to be motivated and excited about learning.
Participation opportunities may include:
- Classroom volunteering
- Family nights
- Holiday parties
- Parent discussion events
- Conferences
- Material preparation for class
- Play, musicals
- Community initiatives
- Others
Belief #4: Staffing and Reflective Practice
The Preschool will employ warm, loving, talented, creative, hardworking and knowledgeable staff, who are motivated and committed to the vision and mission of Temple Shir Shalom and that of the Preschool.
The staffing pattern calls for the following:
- Lead teacher – bachelor’s degree required, master’s degree preferred in early childhood or elementary education with a Z/A endorsement.
- Preschool teacher – bachelor’s degree preferred.
- One to two paraprofessionals – Associates degree or CDA required
The Preschool staff will incorporate reflective practice into their ongoing growth as a professional. Reflection, collaboration and questioning - looking at the ways they are working and asking questions of themselves and their colleagues will strengthen their teaching practice and on going professional development.
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