So Much to Celebrate at Children’s Day!

It may be mid-summer, but we are excited to share some of the fun events that marked the end of our wonderful school year together. While 2021-2022 certainly presented its challenges, it was also a year of tremendous growth and success- from our children to our families to our staff. It's already been a month since the last day of school, but here at Children’s Day- it’s always a good time to celebrate!

Here’s a quick rundown of all the fun things that have been going on.

During the first week of June, we had a Staff Retreat Day where all of our staff were able to relax and enjoy some fun activities combined with a few presentations and some group work with a guest speaker, Dr. Gloria Andrade, known for her work in MSU’s SEFI program. Throughout the day we were able to enjoy the beautiful environment of the Van Vleck House & Gardens. The presentations focused on creating a deeper understanding of the different domains of self-care and the benefits of planning for self-care as a part of your own daily/weekly routine. The retreat day was made possible through a special grant from the Turrell Fund- and we are so incredibly thankful for their support of our program!

What Retreat Day would be complete without some delicious food and a little bit of fun?? All of our staff enjoyed the different activities we had planned. We offered a yummy breakfast to kick-start the day, nutritious sandwiches and salads for lunch, and capped the afternoon off with some fabulous cookies. Yoga/Meditation brought calm and peace to the day, while team-building activities brought the fun. Staff participated in several games- including a very competitive Scavenger Hunt in and around the Van Vleck property. Everyone wanted the bragging rights that went along with winning first place!

Soon after, it was back to work as we became busy getting ready to wish our Preschool graduates a farewell. We held separate graduation ceremonies for all of our classrooms. All of our families enjoyed the ceremony that had our students singing and dancing as they said farewell to their teachers. Visit our Instagram or Facebook page to see more pictures/videos of our graduation ceremony!

Not only did our students graduate from preschool, but two of our staff members graduated from college! Yaneth Gutierrez and James Acosta, both graduated from Montclair State University. We are extremely proud of their accomplishments and commitment to their career. Yaneth graduated from MSU Class of 20’ with a BS in Family Science & Human Development and the ceremony had to be delayed due to COVID restrictions. James graduated from MSU Class of 22’ with a BS in Business Administration - Marketing. In case you missed it on our social media pages, James is not only a college graduate but (not so long ago) was a Kindergarten Graduate of Children’s Day in 2006!

In addition to those exciting celebrations, CDP had a few bitter sweet ones as well. It was time to say goodbye to two of our wonderful co-workers. Ms. Eugenia, one of our assistant teachers in Classroom 8 is retiring after working at Children’s Day Preschool for over 18 years. Ms. Eu has a huge, loving heart, and was always ready with a warm smile for each and every child, parent, and co-worker. We would like to wish her the best of luck during her retirement and also thank her for all the years that she has committed to her students and our school. We also said goodbye to our school nurse, Ms. Julie, who has been a part of our family for the past two years. We cherished your time here and wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

We’ve had such an amazing school year and can’t wait to continue with our students that are moving up for the 2022-2023 School Year and our new students!

Children’s Day wishes all of our readers an amazing summer!