By Helene Welsing, Preschool Director
For more information about Prince of Peace Preschool, please visit princeofpeacenj.org, call 201 965-3354, or visit our fb page at Facebook.
Congratulations, Graduates!
We were so proud to celebrate our Pre-K 4 graduates and students moving up to their next step in
their preschool journey!
While reflecting on what I’d like our students to take with them from POPPS, I remembered a day a while ago when I had joined two classes on the playground, and some students ran over to greet me, show me some very uniquely shaped pebbles they had discovered, and share some news. Another student was working on some strong feelings. After exploring solutions with that child and offering some comfort, listening to the news of the day, investigating what was unique about the pebbles, and checking with our staff to see if anyone would like 5 minutes, my co-worker came to find me. “Ms. Welsing, that’s not why you’re here”, she teased me, knowing I had some administrative task to accomplish, but spending time with the students was preferable. I smiled and thought, “no, this is exactly why I am here; why we are all here-to listen to the news of the day and ask higher order questions, expanding vocabulary and inquiry, build relationships, help little people learn to be ok with strong feelings, advocate for themselves and build resiliency, and notice the wonderous things in God’s world”. The admin work could wait (for a little bit:) And that underlines what I hope our graduates bring with them: a love of learning, a feeling of community, resilience and the confidence to work things out and keep trying new things, and an appreciation for our wonderful natural world. Most importantly, we all hope that they learn that God loves them just the way they are and that we at POPPS do too!
Happy Summer!
Sincerely,
Helene Welsing
POPPS Director
