Durham PreK End of Year Celebrations
May 30, 2024
It’s that time of the year again…time to celebrate! We are so proud of our sites for all of the milestones reached and accomplishments achieved this year. It delights us to highlight some of our sites who went above and beyond this year to ensure the bright futures of Durham’s young learners. Check out some celebrations from this school year!
Class of 2024!
Congratulations to the Durham PreK Class of 2024! You did it! We know that behind every bright student is a dedicated and passionate teacher. Both, students and teachers worked together and made this an amazing year! We wish all of our graduating preschoolers continued success in Kindergarten. To learn more about how to register for Kindergarten, check out this resource.
Site Accomplishments
Kiddie Kollege Early Learning Center Celebrates 50 years!
Congratulations on reaching this amazing milestone! We appreciate all your hard work and dedication to supporting Durham's young learners!
First Presbyterian Day School
Congratulations to First Presbyterian Day School who achieved National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation!
Yates Baptist Child Development Center
Congratulations to Yates Baptist Child Development Center who achieved National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) re-accreditation!
Durham PreK Teachers Recognized at CCSA Awards Breakfast
Two Durham PreK teachers were honored at the CCSA Awards Breakfast on March 8th. Pebbles Lucas from First Chronicles Day Care won the Mary Y. Bridgers Award and Debbie Timmons from Randy’s Five Star Academy was recognized as a semi-finalist.
Connecting with Nature
School Gardens
They are growing and glowing at Creative Schools at Davis Park in Ms. Jena's and Ms. Patricia's classroom! The young gardeners at Growing Legacy Early Learning Center are being taught how to grow nutritious and delicious veggies and herbs. Kiddie Kollege is promoting a healthy lifestyle to their families, neighbors, and visitors by providing fresh produce to the community. These sites hosted gardens to teach their students about the food cycle, growing plants, and nurturing living things.
"This month we are learning about gardening and insects. In our classroom, we have been planting seeds in our school garden and our families have been very helpful donating seeds to use in the classroom. We are exploring different types of insects that live in the garden and the roles they play within the garden. The children got a chance to release the butterflies and ladybugs that were in our classroom . With these lessons, the children will get the chance to experience and make connections to their environment by watching the lifestyle of the butterflies and lady bugs that were in our classroom being released. They will also observe and describe characteristics of living things and the physical world." - Ms. Jena Massey, Creative Schools at Davis Park
Family Engagement
Teachers and staff planned creative and exciting events to engage families!
- Garden Day at Growing Legacy Early Learning Center
- Transition Celebration at Brown's Early Learning School
- Family Fun Day at White Rock Child Development Center
Professional Development
Durham PreK is committed to high-quality early childhood education and to providing professional development opportunities for teachers.
MMCI Course Completion
Congratulations to the Durham PreK teachers on completing their Making the Most of Classroom Interactions (MMCI) courses!
- Awanya Reid- Hillandale Elementary School
- Sharlene Cameron- Whitted School
- Enjoli Royster- First Presbyterian Day School
- Adya Khanna- Children's Campus at Southpoint
- Sophia Berongoy- Durham Head Start Seminary
A.S.K. Conference
Every year, Child Care Services Association hosts the Advancing Skills and Knowledge Conference for early educators across the state. This year's conference was held on Saturday, February 17th. Teachers virtually attended informative and engaging workshops by experts in early childhood education.