Ms. Debbie leading the motions for her classes’ rhythm musical instruments.
Shawn Nowlin shawn.nowlin@ourvalley.org
Among the first lessons that we are taught as children is to be respectful of others and embrace the joy of learning.
On May 26, the Wesleyan Preschoolers from First United Methodist Church in Salem celebrated the culmination of a nine-month school year with an evening graduation for 23 five-year-old preschoolers that will enter kindergarten in a public or private school setting in the fall of 2021.
Alan Combs said his favorite part about the production was seeing his son, Walker, perform. In addition to being the Lead Pastor of First United Methodist, Combs also supervises the Preschool Director and sits on the Preschool Board.
”Our graduation celebration is something that happens each year, but with the challenges of the pandemic, we wanted to make sure our graduation continued our practices of creating a safe environment for students, parents, and staff. Therefore, we made the decision to hold the graduation outdoors,” he said.
Approximately 90 children are currently enrolled in the Wesleyan Preschool. Pupils between the ages of one and five are instructed daily with developmental goals that provide readiness for both a public and private school setting.
“Even though this graduation takes place at the end of each school for our five-year-olds, this graduation marked a significant memorable time for our Director, Jane Butto, and the entire staff of seven teachers, as well as the preschooler’s parents, who entrusted their children to the preschool to be loved and nurtured during a very difficult, challenging COVID-19 school year,” Preschool Board Chairman Sheila Barber said.
After much discussion and planning amongst staff and board members, the decision was made to open the preschool.
Added Barber, “The staff went right to work cleaning, disinfecting, gathering the appropriate cleaning products, purchasing regulation masks for the staff and rearranging classrooms to meet regulations for spacing when instructing. Our staff began joyfully teaching, motivating, and loving our preschoolers unconditionally, daily cleaning every shelf, toy, ball, and all of the playground equipment, according to the CDC and state regulations. We made sure to teach our young ones how to wear masks.”
The Wesleyan Preschool is a state-licensed program with a developmentally appropriate learning atmosphere. Among the features are a large, private playground, weekly chapel and music classes as well as monthly field trips. “We aspire to professionally educate our children by age-appropriate developmental standards, which will enhance and protect their self-esteem as children of God,” Combs said.
For more information about the preschool, visit fumcsalemva.org.
