Welcome back, we're gearing up for groundbreaking!

Ettie Zaklos, Founder & Director

Welcome back to Preschool of the Arts! It is wonderful to be back in school and see how the children have settled right back into their routines, ready and eager to learn.

During winter break, our maintenance staff conducted a thorough cleaning of our classrooms, pressure-cleaned the playground and painted and touched up various items to keep our facilities looking fresh.

We began the week by welcoming our teachers back. When we welcomed back students on Wednesday, it was so exciting to observe their tremendous progress since we first met in August. I have found that the second part of the school year is when we get to see huge strides in learning, and I cannot wait to see the growth to come.

Big Build update

We are very excited that the installation of the fence around the perimeter of the Big Build construction site has been completed. We're now gearing up for the next phase of preliminary site work. We're eager to witness the transformation in the days ahead.

A significant change will take place as we bid farewell to our south parking lot forever as it will become the site of the new building. Toward the end of the construction timeline, we will build an additional parking area where our classroom trailers are currently located.

We want to express our deepest gratitude to POTA’s neighbors, Gregg and Brooke Kopriva of Horizons, for their incredible generosity. They have graciously offered to let staff park in their lot throughout the construction period and have extended this kindness to our entire community for future events.

Our formal groundbreaking ceremony was held Jan. 19 and it was a truly historic and special event!

$1 million dollars raised

I am so excited to share that as of the end of December, Chabad and POTA met the $1 million goal we set for our Big Build project, thanks to a generous matching grant of $500,000 from Mr. Howard Ash! This brings us to $6 million raised so far with only $1.5 million left to go!

We are so humbled and grateful to everyone who is helping make our dreams come true for our children and future generations. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to the 397 generous donors!

A special thank you to our generous POTA families who stepped up in a major way to help us meet our goal!

If you have not yet joined, it is not too late to give! In 2024, construction is beginning, and the finish line is in sight! All incoming donations received from this point on will help us reach our final $7.5 million goal.

Summer of the Arts 2024

Enrollment opened for Summer of the Arts and priority placement is offered to current POTA families until Jan. 31. Open enrollment to returning SOTA families and the greater community will begin Feb. 1. Our summer program offers two three-week sessions for campers: June 3-June 21 and June 24-July 12.

We welcome children 18 months to 8 years old and we love to welcome back POTA alumni and POTA siblings! Our extremely popular summer program offers five half-day or five full-day enrollment options. This year’s theme is “Storybook Summer at SOTA” and we are so excited to ignite your child’s imagination with exciting storybook-themed adventures that inspire curiosity, learning and play!

Attention pre-K families

To apply for out-of-zone or school choice for the 2024-2025 school year, visit www. collierschools.com/parentalchoice. The application window opened Jan. 18 and the priority window will run through Feb. 26. Parental choice allows parents, under specified conditions, to request another school of enrollment outside of their geographic zones

Heartfelt condolences

The entire Preschool of the Arts community sends sincere condolences to our own Samantha Lewandowski for the loss of her beloved grandfather over winter break. As a longtime POTA pre-K teacher, Lewandowski is a treasured member of our community. Our thoughts are with her and her family during this difficult time.

January curriculum

Inspired by Tu B’Shvat, January’s curriculum was all about gardening. The children had ample opportunities to explore the garden, investigating trees and plants and the many related art and science activities that tie into these themes.

Our youngest classes made “garden art” with collages of flower petals, leaves, sticks and colorful paint. They also created plant patterns and seed art inspired by different patterns in the world of plants. Our very youngest students practiced the developmental skill of filling and dumping. The sensory table was filled with twigs, leaves, acorns, and more that the children examined. Children also practiced picturematching photos, a skill that helps toddlers with vocabulary and allows them to explore abstraction – making the connection between a photograph and the real object.

We are very excited about another semester of growth and success!