That’s A Wrap! Shirley Reaback Early Childhood Center 2013 Kindergarteners Hold End-of-Year Play and Celebration

Kindergarteners wrapped up the school year with an end-of-year play and celebration earlier this month, on Thursday, June 6, 2013, at the Mandell JCC Shirley Reaback Early Childhood Center, 1079 Hebron Avenue, Glastonbury, CT. The play was a conclusion to a long-term project the students worked on, in which they went around their communities and saw the people and places that “make up a town.” The children acted out the roles of townspeople they got to meet first-hand, including policemen, firemen, doctors, librarians, postal workers, and supermarket employees. Parents in attendance had excellent things to say about the event and the school. “I love the smaller class size and student-to-teacher ratio,” Courtney Parmelle, East Hampton resident, and mother of twin girls who attend the Shirley Reaback ECC, said. “There is a sense of community here.” Some families even come from as far as Colchester to attend the school. “The school fosters community in the classroom, and my child has gotten so much out of being here—not just academically,” Susan Curry said. “I still thank my friend for telling me about this program.” “I like the creative learning, and incorporating Jewish values,” Meghan Wildstein, who also commutes daily from Colchester, said. Shirley Reaback ECC projects focus on building respect, self-confidence, and helping to make the world a better place. Registration is now open for the summer programs and the fall 2013 school year at the Shirley Reaback ECC, an affiliate site of the Mandell JCC, which consists of small class sizes with low student-to-teacher rations. During the summer season, the ECC offers Summer Workshops for children ages 3-6. For more information, contact Kate Bodmer, Director, 860-652-0396, kbodmer@mandelljcc.org. Enrollment and membership to the Mandell JCC and its preschools is open to people of all faiths and backgrounds. The Mandell JCC, founded in 1915, is supported by funds raised by the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, a recipient of funding from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford, and a member of the JCC Association of North America.