Here's How Saint John's Nursery School Is Helping Children Learn And Grow

Saint John's Nursery School is a pre-school for 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds that seeks to provide a fun, safe and loving Christian environment for children. At Saint John's, your child will receive more than just a babysitter. They will develop the skills necessary to succeed in their continuing education. The staff consists of educated teachers and nurturing mothers who will treat and care for your child as their own. Melissa Coyle, director at St. John's Nursery School, lets Patch in on how the school's 30 years of successfully educating little ones has brought families back year after year.

Patch: How do Christian principles fit into the nursery school’s day-to-day?

Coyle: Students begin the day with their morning routines, which include a short prayer, and an additional prayer is said before they eat snack. When the children attend music they also sing some Christian songs.

Patch: Tell us about the school’s curriculum. How do you distinguish between your 3-Year- Old Program and 4-Year- Old Program? What’s the workload like for students in the 4-Year- Old Program?

Coyle: All students that attend our program will learn letters, numbers, colors and shapes. The main difference between our 3-year-old program and 4-year-old program is that our 3-year-olds are being introduced to the school setting, and for most of them it is the first time they are being separated from their caretaker. The big things our 3s are learning is to share and following simple instructions. Our 4-year-old program is very different from our 3-year-old program because we are focusing on preparation for kindergarten. Kindergarten has changed so much since I was a kid, and we try to teach them in a way that is still fun while learning. Our 4-year-old students will receive letter and number homework during the year that allows them to practice their writing at home and identify letters and numbers.

Patch: What are the benefits of a nursery school versus a daycare center?

Coyle: I honestly feel that one isn’t any better than the other as long as your daycare center is teaching your child and not just babysitting them. I know it is difficult for families, especially those with parents that need to work, to find the perfect setting for their children that works around their schedules. We began working with a local daycare center called A Step Ahead in Lindenhurst. The director at A Step Ahead will drop off and pick up your child from our nursery school.

Patch: St. John’s Nursery School seeks to provide a fun, safe and loving environment. How is this accomplished?

Coyle: Our staff are all active teachers and amazing mothers. We care and worry about our students as if they were our own. We have rules for the classroom and playground that we review with our students throughout the year. Our staff is CPR/AED certified.

Patch: Can you tell us a little about the nursery staff?

Coyle: For the 2016-2017 school year our staff introduced four new staff members, which unfortunately meant losing four staff members that moved, retired and some whose children were older that were looking for full-time positions. All of our staff live in Lindenhurst, and most of us have children in the
Lindenhurst School District. They are active moms, whether it be in their children’s sports, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and school activities.

Patch: What is the story behind the school’s inception? How has it transformed since then?

Coyle: My grandmother, Miss Beverly, started St. John’s Nursery School in February 1980 with her friend Helen. Miss Beverly ran the school for 30 years before retiring in 2010 and passing the torch on to me, Melissa Coyle. Coming in with my master’s degree in early childhood and childhood education, we have been making the changes needed to prepare our students for kindergarten.

Patch: How does the school measure success?

Coyle: I would say we measure our success with families returning year after year. I always ask parents when they come in how they found out about our school, and I love when they say they were referred to us by another family.

Patch: How can Patch readers and parents learn more about St. John’s Nursery School programs?

Coyle: They can check out our Facebook page, St. John’s Nursery School; call us at 631.226.1440 or email us at stjohnsnurseryschool@gmail.com with any questions about our programs!

Image Credit: Saint John's Nursery School

This Patch article is sponsored by Saint John's Nursery School