Welcome Letter from our President, Marissa Bogatch
Greetings and happy August!
I hope this note finds you all well…and possibly well rested now that summer is in its late stages : ) My family and I have the unique opportunity to spend our summers upstate in Saratoga Springs while my husband works at the beautiful and historic Saratoga Race Track. Our boys have the pleasure of lazy days at the lake interspersed with day trips to the numerous child and family friendly locations around the area. I have the pleasure to watch them run free, problem solve at their own pace, and make new connections with other children who we happen upon. I am grateful to spend these days relishing in the sheer joy of a simple, unscheduled childhood summer.
While I ponder the start of a new school year, my stomach feels those all too familiar back to school butterflies. I feel them not only for myself but for my boys, especially my older son who will be entering the second grade. How will he adjust to the Stratford Ave building? Will his teacher be a good fit for him? Who will he sit next to at lunch? How will he find comfort if he’s nervous? After taking deep breaths and reflecting on his GCNS background, I ease.
Here at GCNS our children learn not only the skills that lay the foundation for a life of academic success, but more importantly, in my opinion, the essential skills for strong interpersonal relationships and the ability to cope in the face of a challenge. I know that once he and I get over that initial hardship of letting go and getting on the bus, he will be just fine. He is a nice, kind boy with wonderful social and pragmatic skills, of course his teacher will like him. He knows exactly how to jump into a group of playing children and join in on the fun, of course his peers will want to be with him. And he knows that at the end of the day I will be there, just where I said I would be to welcome him home and be whatever type of sounding board he needs to unwind from his day. These are the tools that our children need to obtain in nursery school to successfully transition onto the next stage of life, and these are the skills mine certainly cultivated at GCNS.
This is my final year here. I am both sad and excited to enter Pre-K with my little guy, Eli. This marks the end of our family’s time at GCNS and I will be forever thankful that this is where we chose to spend our early developing days.
Undoubtedly this was the best choice in nursery school for my boys and our family and I am delighted that you have also chosen this path. I sincerely look forward to leading our school through a fun and successful year and getting to know you all personally and collaborating with you as parents for not only the continued improvement of our school but especially for the mutual benefit of our children. I hope that you all have a wonderful end to your summer and an exciting and hopeful beginning to the school year. See you in September!
Sincerely,
Marissa Bogatch, 2017/18 President, Pre-K West |
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