From the Director, Julie Kyriss

I welcome the opportunity to tell you more about our Preschool and Childcare Center.

I believe that children need to feel safe and know that they are loved. Each child is special and unique. At St. Mark their feelings count, their sadness is comforted, their joy is shared, and their accomplishments are praised. I believe that children need to be exposed to age-appropriate curriculum that will allow them to be successful. They need opportunities to be social with their peers, express their creativity, and to be guided towards socially acceptable behaviors. Children need to be children. They need to play and pretend. Above all else, children need the opportunity to start to develop their personal relationship with God. St. Mark Lutheran Preschool is committed to providing a quality, Christian-based education. Our preschool offers a variety of classes for children, ages 3 to 5 years old. We use the One in Christ curriculum, and each class participates in weekly chapel. When planning lessons, we follow the State of Nebraska Early Childhood Guidelines.

Our 3-year-old class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30-11:30 am. This program is based on learning through play. Lessons encourage exploration, socialization, and play in a well-equipped room. Our class time is a mixture of independent play and teacher-directed lessons. The children experience weekly chapel, art activities, water and sand tables, dramatic play, blocks, play dough, fine motor activities, reading center and small group activities with the teacher. We limit our 3-year-old class to 30 children.

Our 4-year-old class meets Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8:30-11:30 am. This program will help children learn the skills they will need to be successful in Kindergarten. Lessons encourage children to be creative, explore and investigate their surroundings, socialize with their peers, and learn through play. Many skills will be introduced during the school year, such as letter recognition and sounds, recognition of numbers, name recognition, and writing and pre-reading skills. Our room is center-based, and we plan many hands-on activities to stimulate and excite the children. We currently have two 4-year-old classes and limit our enrollment to a total of 30 students.

Our Pre-K 5 class meets Monday -Friday mornings from 8:30-11:30 am. This class is designed for children that are eligible for Kindergarten the following school year. Children experience lessons rich in creativity and will be encouraged to explore and ask questions. Each class period, children will be exposed to literacy through stories, songs, and poetry. We provide many opportunities for your child to learn letters, sounds, rhyming words, numbers, and to develop problem-solving skills. Children are encouraged to develop their pre-writing skills by having the opportunity to journal, illustrate their work, write their names, and start putting letters together to make words. Lessons include both teacher-led instruction and time for children to interact with one another by learning through play. We limit our Pre-K 5 class to 20 students.

Childcare – We offer part-time, full-time and year-around, licensed childcare for children 3 to 10 years old. The childcare serves breakfast, morning, and afternoon snacks along with a nutritional lunch. We have experienced lead and assistant teachers that design fun and stimulating lessons that incorporate a variety of large motor play with story time, centers, and free art activities in a well-equipped classroom.

Enrollment for the 2024-25 school year will start on Wednesday, February 1, 2024, for our current St. Mark families and members of the St. Mark congregation. Open enrollment will begin on Monday, February 19, 2023. If you have any questions regarding our classes, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Julie Kyriss