It’s a fun and busy time of year!

from Federation Star - December 2024

Updates from Naples and Fort Myers BBYO

Ettie Zaklos Founder & Director

The last two months of the calendar year always seem to be the busiest! Throughout November and December, schedules are packed to the brim, Naples is buzzing with its peak activity, and there is a wonderful holiday spirit in the air.

September and October brought us some unexpected hurricanes which forced us to postpone our annual Parent Curriculum Night. So, we held an unusually late-in-the-year Curriculum Night in early November when we were finally able to welcome our amazing parents to “If You Give Parents a Peek!” The evening allowed our families to get a more in-depth look into our curriculum and all that their children will be learning this year.

Parents enjoyed wine and refreshments during the fun Parent’s Night Out and got to mingle with fellow POTA families. Each family also had a chance to decorate and customize a special circle for a collaborative art piece celebrating our children. The theme of the evening was inspired by the classic children’s book series “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” and as an added bonus, families received a POTA published cookbook full of tried and true cookie recipes provided by our families!

The evening was capped by an exciting fundraising opportunity in support of our Big Build capital campaign. Construction for the new building is well underway, and we are grateful for the support from the community to help us reach our fundraising goal so we can soon open our brand new doors!

This year’s mini-campaign is focused on stocking POTA’s new STEAM Room in the new building. Every contribution was entered into a grand raffle, and the fun continued in our next big event just a few weeks later: POTA’s grand annual Thanksgiving Performance in Cambier Park.

Every year, the Thanksgiving celebration is one of our preschool’s largest celebrations as family and friends gather to watch their little ones perform a beautiful medley of songs and admire their artistic handiwork. Our theme this year was “From Our Hearts to Yours” — and it was truly a heartfelt morning. As always, the theme of the day focused on gratitude and being present for the multitude of blessings in our lives. Parents, grandparents and extended family enjoyed a fabulous children’s performance that did us all proud and allowed our entire community to share the holiday spirit of thankfulness and camaraderie. A special video presentation highlighted the “heart” in everything we do at POTA.

At Preschool of the Arts, gratitude is an integral part of our program, deeply ingrained into our school culture. While we teach gratitude every day at our preschool, the Thanksgiving holiday really brings the message to the fore. It is the perfect mid-year opportunity to stop and remind ourselves of how blessed we are and express our heartfelt gratitude to our community — our dedicated and loving staff, our caring and involved parents, and of course, the children who bring us such joy, teaching us more about love and thankfulness than we can ever teach them.

In a note of gratitude, I am proud to share that POTA has won the Best of Naples 2024 awards (for the 13th year running!) in the preschool, childcare, education center and summer camp/ after school categories! We are so humbled and grateful to our community for voting for us and for the beautiful acknowledgment and trust they have placed in us all these years.

We look forward to celebrating our community at Chabad and POTA’s annual Chanukah Festival on Dec. 29.

“The Great Chanukah Street Fair” extravaganza will include performers, rides, activities, holiday treats and so much more! Our POTA children’s performance is always a highlight of the huge event, which gets bigger and better each season!

While the excitement of “bringing the light of Chanukah to the street of Naples” will surely draw a crowd, we are positive that our students will be the stars of the show, shining their inner light brighter than the candles of the Chanukah menorah!