Pre-School Viewbook

Pre-School Viewbook

Imagine a Classroom Without Walls

At St. Anne’s-Belfield Pre-School, hands-on learning opportunities in the outdoor classroom abound. Our students navigate the natural world around them with wonder and perseverance. Our nurturing and experienced faculty guide our young learners each day as they gain skills and understanding. Keep reading to learn more about the joyful exploration and discovery your child could experience as a student in our Pre-School.

“My oldest daughter was the first to attend St. Anne’s. She blossomed and grew exponentially in her confidence, resiliency, and independence in particular. We fundamentally feel it is because of the outdoor learning environment and the fantastic teachers that support and foster kids’ imaginations.

“She is always eager to go back outside whenever she can after school and on the weekends, enthusiastically sharing her knowledge of our natural surroundings and the living animals and plants around us. Whereas before she needed ‘toys,’ she now creates magical outdoor kingdoms with her peers with only the sticks, rocks, and leaves that they find. I’m excited all three of my children are in the School.”

— Katharine Brooks, P. ’32, ’34, & ’37

What Our Parents Have To Say

“I’m a career educator, but I entered this community first as a parent. I had a daughter who was at school elsewhere and she was just fine...but she was just fine. She wasn’t thriving. So we came here. And from the moment she started, she was being noticed. She was being nurtured. She was being nudged, regularly. That’s what I want for your children. We want to really understand what makes them tick and what is more challenging for them, and not shy away from that. We want to know and support them with gentle pressure, relentlessly applied.”

— Lisa Keeler, P. ’15 & ’16, Head of the Lower School

“When relocating to Charlottesville, we wanted a school that would focus on the whole child, challenge our children educationally, and that believed in differentiated learning. We got that and more from St. Anne’s-Belfield School. St. Anne’s has nurtured our children’s love of learning.”

— Nicole Robinson, P. ’22 & ’22

Did You Know?

A “sandbox kid” is a senior who has attended St. Anne’s-Belfield since Pre-School, Kindergarten, or Grade 1. In the past three years, we’ve had 77 sandbox kids! Read what this parent had to say about her two sandbox kids:

“My two children had very different learning styles and strengths but at each division the teachers at St. Anne’s-Belfield met each of them where they were, challenging and celebrating them at the same time.”

— Karen Moran, P. ’19 & ’21

Our core purpose is to inspire and prepare the next generation of exemplary citizens and visionary leaders.

Meet the Director

Kathy Carpenter, P. ’07, ’09, & ’12

“Even after 20+ years as a leader in early childhood education, I am learning from my students. I am inspired by their curiosity, engagement, and creativity in the world around them. There is power in breaking down the walls of the classroom and letting our youngest learners get ‘sticky’ as we call it. That is why we strive to provide the best environment possible. The natural classroom creates unexpected situations and challenges that promote a growth mindset, benefitting each of our students’ academic and social-emotional needs. Joyful learning, nurturing and meaningful relationships for building community, and the natural world are at the heart of what our program is all about.”

It Takes a Village

At St. Anne’s-Belfield School, we are first and foremost a community. The best way to help children flourish is to support and partner with our families. Our community reaches beyond the classroom to build strong, intentional relationships with the whole family. This connection begins even before our students step onto campus on their very first day with Parent Partnership Meetings between family caregivers and faculty, and continues throughout the year with our Wednesday Wellness family education webinars, PreSchool parent/guardian chats, and volunteer opportunities on and off campus. Within our age 2 to Grade 12 community, relationships form between students of all divisions. Your young learners will meet and interact with students from all divisions of the School. From their first day of Pre-School to their last day of Grade 12, our students know they are part of a caring and vibrant community.

The Parents’ Association

The Parents’ Association welcomes volunteers. We provide many opportunities for families to become involved. In your student’s class, parents and guardians serve as grade level reps, read to children, serve at special events, and even transform into the Birthday Fairy, a treasured tradition in the Pre-School.

Parent/Guardian Programming

Wednesday Wellness Webinars connect child development experts with our parents and the larger community; Curriculum Night gives parents and guardians a peek into Pre-School daily life; and various webinars focus on aspects of our program, from our academics, to social-emotional learning, to executive functioning, and more.

Parent Partnership Meetings

Our Parent Partnership Meetings, the first of which is prior to the start of school, enable faculty and family caregivers to form an important connection between home and School life for these youngest learners at St. Anne’s-Belfield.

Community Events

Cheer on our Saints athletes at a game, bring the family to a music or theatre performance, attend a speaker lecture, come decked in maroon and white for our Fall Family Festival or Maroon & White Party. The School community loves to come together.

The Pre-School Program

In our Pre-School, children gain academic, social-emotional, gross and fine motor skills through immersive, integrated activities and experiences.

Special Programs and Features

• Hands-on learning in an outdoor classroom setting

• Experienced, caring faculty

• Interdisciplinary approach to academics

• Social-emotional learning

• Treasured traditions including the Pumpkin Patch celebration,Trike-a-Thon, and the Birthday Fairy

• Miss Dolly’s Storybook Garden Library

• Climbing logs, quarry, walking trails and an open meadow

Read more about our academics in the Pre-School Curriculum Guide

Two-Year-Olds

The Two-Year-Olds Program consists of periods of independent play, child-directed learning, teacherstructured group activities and periods of supported independent play. Children and teachers plant and tend to a garden, explore in an outdoor play space, engage in group projects including a weekly baking project, and gather daily for circle games, singing, and stories.

Format: Half day, morning program. Two, three, and five days per week participation options are available.

Pre-School 3 & 4

In the multi-age Pre-School program, three- and four-year-old children interact and learn together. Each day includes time for independent play, teacher-directed group activities, and individual instruction. The Pre-School teachers collaborate to implement an interdisciplinary program.

Format: Half day, morning program with extended day options available. Five days per week.

Junior Kindergartenten

The Junior Kindergarten program is designed to meet the needs of students who have completed Pre-School and are not yet ready for Kindergarten. Junior Kindergarten students receive increased instruction in early reading, writing, and math daily. In addition, they serve as leaders of the Pre-School program, interacting regularly with our Two-YearOlds Program. Each Junior Kindergarten student also has an Upper School buddy.

Format: Morning through mid-afternoon, with extended care options available. Five days per week.

See sample schedules at the back of this booklet for start and end times and after school programming options

How

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• Jan. 12, 2023:

• Feb. 2, 2023:

• Feb. 16, 2023:

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• April 14, 2023:

Statement on Inclusive Excellence

St. Anne’s-Belfield School believes that exemplary citizenship and visionary leadership are best nurtured in a welcoming School community based on equity, inclusivity, and the pursuit of excellence. Our School provides a well-balanced educational experience that affirms the richness and diversity of humanity, creates an expectation of belonging based on shared human dignity, and encourages a desire to learn about and from each other.

Non-Discrimination Policy

The School admits qualified students of any race, color, national origin, place of birth, ancestry, sex, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, or any status protected by applicable law, and extends to them all the privilege to participate in the educational programs generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, or any status protected by applicable law in the administration of its admission or its educational programs.

Take the next step at stab.org/apply

Steps

Junior Kindergarten

8:00 Arrival and outdoor play 8:30 Morning meeting

8:45 Academic instruction, outdoor learning stations

9:45 Snack and stories (provided by the School)

10:30 Academic instruction, outdoor learning stations

12:00 Lunch and centers

1:00 Playground recess

1:30 Story and rest 2:00 Choice time

2:30 Closing meeting

3:00 Dismissal if not participating in after-school programming

After-School Programming

Available for Pre-School 3 & 4 and Junior Kindergarten only

12:00 – 1:30 p.m. PS Lunch Bunch

1:30 – 3:00 p.m. PS Extended Day

3:00 – 5:30 p.m. PS & JK Full Day (snack provided by the School)

After-school programming for PS 3 & 4 and JK is available each day of the regular school year. Families must enroll by April 1 of the preceding spring semester.