I goofed. I accidentally deleted all of our photos from the end of the year picnic and the celebration of our retiring staff. I’ll try to make up for that here.
We are so grateful for the MANY years our retirees, Donna Massey, Laura Lauridsen and Leslie Wurtz, embraced young families, connected with children, laughed and loved here at Aldersgate Preschool.
Ms. Donna Massey worked here for 25 years! She shared her laughter with the children every day. I loved hearing her joking with the kids. I will miss hearing her laugh. Donna also served many years as our snack planner and “cook.” The addition of healthy and a variety of snacks served to make us an even better school. Donna also has a passion for mission work and that lead us to giving often to various groups in our community. Don’t be surprised if you see Donna around this year though, as she may be working as a sub at times.
Ms. Laura Lauridsen also worked here for 25 years! Laura worked with all ages throughout the years with her patience and loving smile. Laura has a gift for actually playing with the kids in a way that guides them to the next level of thinking and especially to more developed social skills. Laura’s positive spirit lifted us all through the years.
Ms Leslie Wurtz worked here for 24 years! Leslie’s natural drive for learning often led her to research the newest ideas and theories in Early Childhood. She worked tirelessly to provide children the most developmentally appropriate activities and environment. I loved to hear Leslie engage in conversations with the kids. She truly cared about the whole child. We are glad that Leslie has agreed to sub for us some this year!
We also honor the rest of our staff members that left us this year for various other reasons; Hillary White, Janette Parker, Robyn Nameth and Kari Guinn. We wish them well in their future ventures.
All that change has brought us renewed enthusiasm as we welcome Aisha Vyhanek, Andrea Niermeier, Becky Melton, Beth Houseworth, Julie Crabb Katka Johnson, Natalie Woods to our staff!
This year’s staff meeting had a bee theme.
Each year we recognize a staff member or two that served us well the year before, even in the midst of challenges in their own lives. Lori Thomas and Virginia Watson were chosen to receive the Jennie Nichols’ “Dancing in the Rain Award.” We celebrate their commitment to Aldersgate Preschool.
As usual, we had a variety of activities that drew us together in various groups, built connections, guided new thinking and built a strong team. We even learned that bees communicate with a technique called a “waggle dance.” Of course we had to do our own “waggle dance” as we communicate how much fun we like to have here at Aldersgate Preschool.
Don’t you just love our fearless “waggle dance” leaders!!
We ended the meeting with everyone choosing a word for what they will focus on this school year. Just a few of those include: lively, enlightened, kindhearted, purposeful, prepared, gentle, positive and kind. Sounds like a good place to live – right?
We ended our morning with sharing a wonderful lunch that the board provided. It was a great time to connect to those wonderful volunteers and church staff members that work to make Aldersgate Preschool great.
Aldersgate Preschool 