Unity Preschool News

Dear Preschool Families,

We had fun celebrating Kindness Day in January. Below are some pictures from our special day. The Two's class made a kindness chain. Anytime someone was being kind, a link was added to the chain. The Three's classes made a card for our hardworking Church Staff that we will give to them on Valentine's Day. Our Four's classes made Valentines cards that we will mail to some of our homebound church members.

We also had a great Chapel lesson on Kindness with Pastor Matt who shared the Good Samaritan story and Ms. Lindsay from Isaiah 117 House. Thank you for the many Valentine Treats that you sent for our Isaiah 117 House/York County DSS treat bag gift. We are grateful to Ashley Jones, Danielle Peralta, Cassie Perkins, Chelsea Whitten, and Carolyn Blair for their help in assembling our treat bags. Several of our Preschool Staff will be distributing them next Tuesday after Preschool at the DSS office in Rock Hill.

Just a reminder that we will not have preschool on Monday, February 17th because the FMSD will be closed in recognition of President's Day.

Much love,

Ms. Linda

Director - Unity Preschool

Our next Color Day and Spirit Day is Thursday, February 13 and it will be PINK DAY! We are looking forward to celebrating Valentine's Day in our classrooms. Your student's teacher will send additional information soon.

Ms. Jane, our storyteller, teaches science classes to our Four's students once a month. This month the topic was construction. The children loved the hands-on, engaging activities. Ms. Jane's goal is for the children to gain knowledge through observation, experimentation, and play. Other lessons include leaves, apples, measurement, trees, magnets/weights, insects, plants and birds. Our Three's classes also enjoyed a fall science lesson about pumpkins and will have a spring lesson about frogs. We are so grateful for Ms. Jane and her gift for nurturing our future scientists.

This month, we feature our Fours (Fish) class teachers: Ms. Maureen and Ms. Kellie.

Ms. Maureen Nolin is beginning her sixth year at Unity Preschool. She currently is our Lead Teacher in the Fours (Fish) class. This is her fifth year working with our Fours classes. She was previously our Lead Teacher in our Threes class. Ms. Maureen is a former Kindergarten teacher when she lived in New York. Ms. Maureen and her husband, Tim, have three daughters: Ellie and Bailey (students at Fort Mill High School), and Colleen (a student at Pleasant Knoll Middle School). Ms. Maureen and her family are active members of St. Philip Neri Catholic Church in Fort Mill.

Here are a few of Ms. Maureen's favorites:

Favorite Foods: Seafood, BBQ, and Chocolate!

Favorite Music: Country Music

Favorite Book: "Giraffes Can't Dance" by Giles Andreae. Gerald the giraffe learns that "we can all dance when we find music that we love." This is a great motto to teach and to live by.

Favorite Movie: “Grease”

Favorite Activities: Spending time with my family and going to the beach!

Ms. Kellie Ellis is celebrating her ninth year at Unity Preschool and her fifth year with Ms. Maureen. She currently assists Ms. Maureen in our Four's (Fish) class and serves on the Preschool Advisory Board. This is her sixth year working with our Fours classes. She previously worked in both Twos and Threes classes at Unity and other preschools. Ms. Kellie and her husband, Jeff, have two children who attend Clemson: Ainsley, a recent graduate, and Ryan, a Sophomore, and a beloved dog, Savvy. We are so grateful for Ms. Kellie and the abundant joy that she shares with us often, especially when she dances in our hallways.

Here are a few of Ms. Kellie's favorites:

Favorite Foods: guacamole, tacos, and Korean food ("bulgogi and kimchi are amazing!")

Favorite Music: all music but country. Ms. Kellie loves going to concerts, especially with her daughter.

Favorite Book: "Wonder" by R.J. Palacio. Ms. Kellie says "I think everyone should read this book so they can learn about humility, acceptance, and inclusion."

Favorite Movies: action/adventure with a good "chick flick" sprinkled in once in a while.

Favorite Activities: Clemson football games, playing cards (Wipeout and Seven), traveling, and riding rollercoasters.

Conferences for Ms. Elizabeth's class will be March 4 and 5 and conferences for Ms. Maureen's class will be March 18 and 19. An email with more details and a sign-up genius link will be sent later this month.

Another one of our tools that we use daily in our classrooms is our Light Table. The light table is a fantastic way to entice young children to play. It engages their sense of sight, makes regular activities more fun, and can be used in many different ways. Often, we think of the sandbox or the sensory table as the only sensory resources. The sense of sight is just as important as the sense of touch. The benefits of using a preschool light table center are almost too numerous to list. In addition to the sensory experience, children can work on: fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, cooperation, sharing space and materials, oral language, math concepts, problem-solving, creativity, and much more.

We had a successful registration in January and we are full in our Four's class with a wait list. We have a few openings in our Older Two's class and one opening in our Three's classes. Please let your neighbors and friends know - we love referrals.

If you registered your child or a sibling for next year, Ms. Linda will contact you if we still need registration documents. We only need immunization records for new siblings enrolled, not for current students. We will send an email in May with fall date information.

Vacation Bible School will be held Monday, June 9th - Thursday, June 12th from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. for children in Rising 4K-4th grade. Mission Camp will be held concurrently for children currently in Rising 5th and 6th grade. This year's theme is “Road Trip: On the Go With God”. Registration will open for Unity families, grandchildren of Unity members, and Unity Preschool families on March 10th. Sign up now to volunteer and help us make this summer the best VBS ever: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4AA9AF22A4FE3-54606563-vbs2025

*Preschool Closed:

President's Day Holiday: Monday, February 17

FMSD Work Day: Monday, March 17

Spring Break: April 21 thru April 24

*Warm Jackets and Hats: We go outside if the temperature is above freezing and it is not rainy or too wet. Please send your child in warm jackets, hats and mittens. They need and enjoy fresh air and exercise!

*Folder Reminder: Please remember to empty your child's folder at least every week!

*Tuition Withdrawal: Our next tuition withdrawal date will be Tuesday, March 4th.

Front Row - Left to Right by teaching pairs:

Ms. Maureen and Ms. Kellie (Fours - Fish)

Ms. Kristen and Ms. Elizabeth (Fours - Owls)

Back Row - Left to Right by teaching pairs:

Ms. Jennifer and Ms. Danielle (Older Twos - Bees)

Ms. Sarah and Ms. Becca (Threes - Monkeys)

Ms. Laura and Ms. Brandi (Threes - Frogs)

Ms. Linda (Director)

Missing: Ms. Carolyn (Librarian/Tues & Thurs Helper/First Call Sub)

Unity Preschool does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and other school-administered programs.

Email: preschoolatunity@gmail.com
Website: https://www.preschoolatunity.com/
Location: 303 Tom Hall Street, Fort Mill, SC, USA
Phone: 803-396-8454