Little BUCs Graduate from High School Pre-School Program

On June 8, two weeks prior to their big sister and brothers’ graduation from high school, the youngest students on campus enjoyed their emotional and fun-packed graduation. RBR’s Little Bucs Preschool held an informal graduation for family and friends with lots of help from their high school student teachers. There were many songs, displays of art work, rainbow ribbon waving as well as conferment of graduation certificates by their teachers. A very spirited rendition of Wheels on the Bus had parents and grandparents grinning with pride from ear to ear. Two separate events were held, one in the morning for Sue Eads class, and one in the afternoon for Kristin Quigley.

The program has been operating for at least 25 years with just one morning class. Last year, it expanded to cover an afternoon program due the overwhelming popularity of the Early Childhood Development program with high school students. Many of these students intend to continue their studies in college in pursuit of a careers working with young children. The pre-school is their laboratory portion of this field of study. The program will continue next year with two sessions, with slots still available to be filled. Anyone interested in applying for a spot should contact AM director, Kristin Quigley at: kquigley@rbrhs.org or call 732-842-800 ext. 315 or Susan Eads at: seads@rbrhs.org or call 732-842-8000 ext. 331. Please provide your name, your child’s name and age, your email, phone number and address.

The program runs from the first Tuesday in October, with graduation taking place on the second Thursday in June. The ratio of student teachers to pre-schoolers is one-to-one. The recommended age for acceptance into the program is three (or soon turning three) or four years old. Children are welcome from RBR sending districts and all neighboring towns. There is a small one time activities fee of $125 to fund holiday events, photos, and school outings. The morning session runs from 8:45 am to 10:20 am. The afternoon session runs from 11:50 am to 1:25 pm. The program takes place in a professional Early Education Classroom located within the RBR school building. The classroom is self-contained and has an exit door which opens onto a patio for outdoor activities. Drop off and pick up will take place at the front door of Red Bank Regional. The Little Bucs Pre-school takes place from October to June in two half day sessions on the RBR campus.

Kristin Quigley, who joined the RBR staff last year to launch the afternoon pre-school program, states of the program, “By just having that one-to-one interaction, the student teachers and the children form a great bond with one another. The high school students really take what they learn in the Early Childhood Development class to the Pre-school Lab class. The student teachers have commented that they really learned a lot about children’s physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development and have enjoyed witnessing how each child grows and learns.”