At Calvary Nursery School, we place great value on learning through the process of exploration. Our hope is to guide children in making meaningful connections as they investigate their environment and the people around them. This is why we honor child-initiated play as a major tenet of our program. Above all else, we honor each individual child and his or her strengths. We cultivate a climate of respect and warmth, where a child can build lasting relationships with other children and teachers, and find out what it means to be an important part of the group. This focus on social and emotional development, fostering good will, and general esteem for others is at the core of the Calvary program.
We usually have between 30 – 33 openings for incoming students each year. Some of these spots are filled from our priority pool which consists of siblings, legacies and active church members. We consider all applicant families in our wait pool to be equal and consider their applications wholeheartedly.
Sibling applicants are the first to be considered for spots in the upcoming year. If possible, we also like to honor legacy applicants and active members of Calvary Presbyterian Church. We form a class around those applicants, taking into consideration age and gender. Then we determine what openings we have for applicants from our wait pool. Approximately 70% of our openings are filled with families from the wait pool.
We conduct an observation “play date” the last Saturday of January for the priority pool applicants. If we are anticipating openings for our wait pool we will also invite applicants who meet the gender and age criteria for building our classes. The “play date” is a one hour simulated school day in which we have an opportunity to observe the children in our setting and see how they interact with other children and teachers. In order to create a more typical school setting, we ask that only one parent attend with each child.
Preschool children attend Monday – Friday, 8:45 – 11:45. Older preschool and pre-kindergarten children attend Monday – Friday, 8:30 – 1:30. After-care is available daily until 1:30 or 2:45 though we may ask new children to Calvary to wait until after Christmas vacation to enroll so they have time to adjust to a longer day. Initially, the children are tired after a stimulating half-day at Calvary! The school year begins the week after Labor Day and ends with graduation the first week of June.
Children must be 3 years old by August 31st of the year they enter Calvary. They must also be potty trained. There is no requirement that children have previous school experience. We honor parents as their child’s first teacher and consider children who have been home with a parent as well as in a school or day care setting equally.
The tuition for the 2019-20 9-month preschool year is $10,900. For upper school the tuition is $15,700. Please note that tuition is subject to a 2-3% increase per year due to rising operational costs.
Calvary Nursery School is committed to making our program accessible to all families. Tuition assistance is available and is intended for families who feel that enrollment in the school will pose a financial hardship. Families who qualify for tuition assistance pay tuition that reflects what they can afford and the school’s available funds. Decisions are made based on information from a Tuition Assistance application and current tax returns. The process and decision is confidential. Tuition Assistance applications are due by March 1 of the year that your child will be enrolled at Calvary.
We have an after school enrichment program, AEP, which is held daily. Children who are enrolled in AEP bring their lunches to school and stay until 1:30 or 2:45 depending on their program. There are two sessions of AEP each year. Enrollment and tuition is in addition to school enrollment and on a first come, first served basis.
We honor parents as their child’s first teacher and encourage them to be actively involved in our school community. During the school day, parents may be invited to assist during a holiday celebration or participate in our monthly cooking activities. The Calvary Parents Association acts as a resource group. Parents help activities such as holiday parties, the bi-annual art show, organizing special visitors and managing our library program, to name a few. During the school year, there are usually several occasions when the parents get together.
Often parents wish to actively participate in the curriculum. They may teach an activity, share information about their job, or provide program enrichment from another source in the community. We ask parents to always keep in mind the time and energy that the teachers put into their curriculum planning and defer to them when making any and all arrangements.
Yes. Calvary Nursery School accepts children of all faiths. As certain holidays come up we learn about and celebrate them. Included are Rosh Hashanah, Christmas, Hannukkah, Valentine’s Day and Easter.
Much of what we do in Chapel is to remember how wonderful life is, because we can run so fast or jump so high, how to take care of God’s world, or that our parents are gifts from God, and to give thanks to God.
Calvary celebrates many holidays and special events with the children. We strive to engage the children in appropriate ways while honoring the diversity of our families. Calvary has a calendar of long-standing holiday celebrations and we also welcome families to introduce new traditions to the school.