Special Programs

List of 9 items.

• Christian Education

  Weekly Christian Education instruction for preschool students includes play-based bible lessons. Bible story activities, art, music, projects, and outreach opportunities are incorporated into weekly lessons. Knowing a loving God is a significant concept that is important to help children develop in early childhood, and that message is reinforced through our Christian Education programs.

• Social-Emotional Learning and Support

  At Ascension, our preschool Social-Emotional Counselor provides individual interventions, classroom guidance, and parent and faculty education and support. Additionally, classroom discipline combines Conscious Discipline, a brain-based social-emotional learning curriculum, to build resilience in our students, families, faculty, and school community with Dan St. Romain's "Cultivating Character in Kids" program to facilitate relationship-building between parent/child, teacher/child, and child/child through safety, connection, and problem-solving.
  
  It empowers adults to move away from traditional discipline, consisting of immediate reaction to being conscious, pausing, and then responding.   Teachers assist students in learning how to identify and regulate their emotions, which improves behavior and is an important life skill. Another important life skill that these curriculums focus on is internal motivation, making choices because they are helpful and the right thing to do instead of for an external motivator (candy, clips moved, smiley/frowns) that may not always be present. All preschool teachers and assistants are trained in this method, and these concepts are integrated into the regular school day.

• Innovation Lab

  Innovation Lab is a dedicated learning space for all preschool students to engage, explore, and exercise their creativity. Every week all students visit the lab and participate in various activities and challenges with our Innovation Lab teacher and assistant. Students learn collaboration, complex communication, critical thinking, self-reflection, persistence, problem-solving, and resilience. The lab supports Ascension’s mission of balanced educational excellence by nurturing the spirit, stimulating the intellect, and encouraging creativity.

• Library

  The Tricia Naumann Memorial Library at the preschool campus contains a collection of appropriate literature for very young children. The extensive collection, from picture books to early readers, instills a love of reading in our students from a very early age. The preschool librarian instructs students weekly on the use of the library and instills in them a healthy respect for books. Each week during designated library times, children in grades PK4 and Kindergarten are allowed to check out books of their choice. Parents and other special guests are invited to come and read to their child’s class throughout the year.

• Motor Development

  Preschool children participate in motor development daily, refining their fine and gross muscle development. Our outdoor playground is designed with safety in mind, and teachers supervise climbing, running, and jumping on outdoor equipment. Activities during Motor Development include physical fitness, rhythmic games, educational movement, and creative exploration. Other activities like skipping, hopping, and participating in games and obstacle courses involve developing all muscle groups. The Motor Development Program uses music, seasonal themes, and colorful props to create excitement for the students, with each day being a new, fun activity.

• Music

  The preschool music program provides students a unique, comprehensive, and fun daily musical experience. Music classes include vocal and physical activities allowing students to sing, play, and dance. Through these activities, students gain a solid understanding of essential musical elements such as melody, beat, and rhythm. Above all, the goal of our music program is for students to have fun while learning music in a safe, Christian environment.

• Seesaw Learning Journal

  Through the Seesaw App, parents are offered a sneak peek into our PK-4th grade classrooms, with our teachers sharing photos, videos, and student work throughout the school year. These online learning journals follow the student throughout their school year.

• Sign Language

  All preschool students participate in “sign language day” once a week. A certified American Sign Language teacher teaches this course and provides a fun and engaging way for our students to play and learn. Students gain the ability to learn basic signs, which they often demonstrate through weekly chapel songs.

• Weekly Chapel

  Weekly chapel is a community time to gather and praise God and worship with our youngest Blue Gators and their families. Preschool students attend informal chapel services once a week on Wednesdays at 8:45 am in the Ark. Regardless of their faith traditions, students are encouraged to participate in prayer and song. Parents are invited to attend chapel services each week.