Summerville Nursery School was organized in May 1959, by the Summerville Presbyterian Church. It is no longer sponsored by, or affiliated with, the church, although our classrooms are located at the church. Our program is non-denominational and is open to all children.

We seek conscientiously to reflect the best thinking in the field of early childhood education and to create an environment that will encourage the healthy growth of young children. Play experiences are the curriculum of the nursery school. We believe that through play, young children grow best in all areas of life: social, emotional, physical and cognitively. Play enables the development of all of these areas simultaneously. These growth areas for toddlers and preschoolers need to be integrated rather than isolated. We encourage children and their families to share in the school program and thereby enjoy these "magic years". With the working assistance of mothers, fathers and other caregivers, we endeavor to develop a joint understanding of their child's needs and stronger mutual goals for home and school.

We want chlldren to ask questions, and we try to help them find meaningful answers. We try to excite their curiosity about the world around them. We are concerned about children's social and emotional growth at this age. This sets the stage for intellectual development. We want to help them relate warmly to other children, to find pleasure in developing new skills, to help them understand their feelings and deal with them constructively, to develop self discipline, and to learn to like themselves.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

1. NAME
   Summerville Nursery School, Inc. The organization is made up of all parents whose children are enrolled in the nursery school. The school meets in the Children's Center of the Summerville Presbyterian Church, 4845 St. Paul Blvd., Irondequoit, NY. The phone number is 338-3830. It is an independent organization which rents space from the church.
2. PURPOSES
1. To afford, through the cooperation of all parents and teachers, the advantages of a nursery school at a reasonable tuition rate. Our nursery school needs the "cooperative" active participation of all parents in order to operate. Parents or designated assistants act as aides in the classroom on a regular basis.* They serve on committees which fulfill various needs at the school and/or serve on the Board of Directors. In the 4 year old classes, parents drive on field trips.

   *We do accept a number of private students or partial assist students whose parents pay an extra fee in order to be replaced by an aide in the classroom.

2. To complement the home life of preschool children. In the school, the children are encouraged to learn to feel at home in a group setting, to grow emotionally, cognitively, socially and physically under trained supervision. They learn to relate to adults other than their own parents by associations with the teacher and other assistants in the classroom.
3. To give parents and other assistants the opportunity to observe their children at play with other children, and to gain a better perspective of their own. Parents and other assistants observe how the teachers handle the children. They also see how their children interact with other adults and with other children.
4. To offer parents an informal educational process.