About US - Early

A Focus on Learning
At St. Giles, we believe that life long learning begins in the earliest of years. That’s why we continually challenge ourselves to be leaders in the Early Childhood Education space to ensure our students and their families are provided every opportunity for educational success.

St. Giles Preschool Program
Our preschool program has three goals for our students:
  1. To help children see school as a safe, loving place
   2. To provide caring teachers who are present to assist students
   3. To create an awareness that a loving God is present in the classroom.

Preschool Curriculum
Our curriculum provides the building blocks to help children transition from a world of play to a world of learning and community. It successfully prepares them for their future life as a student both in and outside of the classroom. The curriculum is focused on the following areas:

• Phonemic awareness: introduce an enriching vocabulary and share books that initiate discussion
• Pre-reading skills: visual discrimination, visual perception, sequencing, pre-diction & story-telling

• Fine & gross motor skills: teach appropriate use of crayons & scissors, learn to work with manipulative

materials (puzzles, clay & paint), move from parallel to interactive play, develop sense of color &

one-on-one awareness

   • Music: appreciation through the Musikgarten program, singing and listening, participation in rhythm band
      Preschool teachers are certified Musikgarten instructors.
   •  Math and Science: observing the seasons & nature, graphing, one-on-one counting
   •  Social growth: Curriculum goals are designed to provide social growth and the ability to listen and

follow directions
• Seeds magazine is used to focus on weekly themes from the Sunday Gospels.

St. Giles Kindergarten Program
The St. Giles Kindergarten Program provides a strong foundation from which children can become life-long learners. It also serves as a transition from preschool to primary grades. Our kindergarten program has three primary goals:
   1. Develops a child’s confidence in his or her ability to learn through activities and play
   2. Focuses on helping a child acquire the appropriate social skills
   3. Increases the awareness of God’s love through Bible stories, prayer and liturgy

Kindergarten Curriculum
Our curriculum is focused on three key areas and our curriculum goals are designed to develop the whole child in an activity-based, child-centered atmosphere.
   • Phonemic awareness: Our environment is interactive, encouraging communications and reading for the

development of listening/speaking skills and writing/reading skills
• Language Arts: Children gain valuable skills for future success including reading high-frequency words,

phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and written/oral expression

• Math: Daily routine fosters skills with sorting/classifying & counting patterns, graphing, numerals,

calendars & clocks, measurement, addition & subtraction concepts, geometry & fractions

   • Social Studies and Science: Themes are integrated with the Reading series.
• Religion: Religion infuses St.Giles school climate through annual themes, weekly Mass, behavior
      expectations, and lessons from the Religion curriculum.
   • Computers: Computer activities are integrated with various curriculum units.

St. Giles Early Childhood Education Program Offerings for 2012-2013
St. Giles understands the varied needs of our families and students at the early childhood education stage of student life. Therefore, we have developed a flexible program to help accommodate these needs. Below is a summary of the programming offering for this school year.

Preschool Options
Three-year old program: 8:15 am - 11:15 am

• 2 Day Tuesday/Thursday

• 3 Day Monday/Wednesday/Friday

• 5 Day Monday - Friday

Four-year old program: 8:15 am – 11:15 am

• 3 day Monday/Wednesday/Friday

• 5 day Monday - Friday

Kindergarten Options
Full-day Program: Daily from 8:15 am – 3:10 pm
Half-day Program: Daily from 8:15 am – 11:15 am

Extended Day Options
The Extended Day program meets the needs of parents whose children are enrolled in a half-day program but need a full day of care. This program is a structured certified program which provides the children with many learning activities that nurture their literacy skills and social development. Collaboration between the Extended Day teacher and the Preschool teacher ensure that skills are reinforced in both programs. Joint activities are also scheduled with the afternoon preschool class.

The Extended Day program provides the following hours of service:
   • Extended day for 3 and 4-year old morning students: 11:15 - 3:10
   • Kids Klub Before school care: 7:00 am – 8:15 am
   • Kids Klub After school care: 3:15 pm – 6:00 pm

Extracurricular Spanish Enrichment Program
St. Giles also provide an optional Spanish enrichment program for both 4-year olds and Kindergarten students. Classes meet twice a week from 11:15 AM – 11:45 AM or from 11:45 AM –12: 15 PM. An optional third day of instruction is also available for the 4 year olds.

Early_Childhood