Golden Pond School Winter News

GPS is always working hard to give parents the support they need.

An additional Preschool Enrichment class is now available for current or new families from 7am - 6pm! Young students thrive in our cheerful classrooms with an engaging curriculum and impressive teachers.

Please visit Golden Pond School at an upcoming
Open House or Informational Session.

Events

RSVP Here!

Program Spotlight: Junior Kindergarten

Junior Kindergarten (JK) is specifically designed for the older 4 year old/younger 5 year old student.
- JK is available until 11:10am

- JK Extended until 1:15pm
- Preschool Enrichment can be added from 7am - 6pm

The Junior Kindergarten (JK) program introduces journaling and as the year progresses, journaling evolves from child-dictated sentences to child-written sentences. Our JK students are encouraged to use inventive spelling and continue to manipulate print as they sign-in daily, label projects, create graphs and add to class messages. Children also practice increasingly sophisticated applications of math concepts and are introduced to simple addition and the concepts of greater than and less than. This program also continues our daily Spanish lessons. JK Extended builds on the social, physical and academic skills of the day with additional time to foster friendships and work on special theme-related projects. JK Extended students enjoy lunch together each day (a hot lunch is provided, or children may opt to pack a nut-free lunch) and have an additional recess in the afternoon.

Join teachers at our Junior Kindergarten Information Sessions

Thursday, Jan 30, 2020 | 9-10am & 6-7pm | RSVP HERE

Learn more about our Junior Kindergarten program here.

Recent News

GPS Kindergarten trip to

Washington D.C.!

The excitement was palpable as the charter bus crossed the Potomac and the children spotted the Washington Monument! The private tour of the Capital Building is another treasured memory for our Kindergarten families.

The monthly theme, Washington D.C., is creatively brought to life in the Kindergarten classrooms through centers and activities. Skip counting is especially fun when it is a photo puzzle of a monument. Fine motor skills and reading are enforced with lettered clothespins for completing sentences about The White House. Building Legos in a sensory bin to create sentences about the trip is an active way to teach language. Using a pulley system to find coins and identify images is a creative way to learn together with friends.

The Golden Pond School Kindergarten curriculum is designed to encompass all the conventional skills of literacy and math plus the increasingly essential skills of creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and problem solving. Golden Pond ensures small class sizes to allow for individualized and specialized instruction. This program comes with the expectations of greater learning, higher test scores, and confident students. Our experience confirms that GPS Kindergarten students enter First Grade with a love of learning and a thirst for more knowledge!

Join us and discover the benefits of Golden Pond's Kindergarten program at our upcoming Information Sessions

Wednesday, Jan 29, 2020 | 9-10am & 6-7pm | RSVP HERE

Learn more about our Kindergarten program here.

Staff Spotlight

Michelle Horton

Lead Teacher, Preschool Enrichment

Teacher at GPS since 2017

18 Years of Teaching Experience

Michelle first toured Golden Pond School in 2004 as a parent searching for the perfect preschool for her oldest daughter. As an educator with 17 years of teaching experience including 12 years as a preschool teacher, Michelle knew what she was looking for and Golden Pond School was it! She was immediately impressed by the friendly, encouraging teachers and faculty, the fun, challenging curriculum and the nice variety of programs offered. Michelle felt it was the total package and a perfect fit for her child. After taking time to raise her children Michelle returned to teaching in 2017 and returned to Golden Pond School as a teacher in our Preschool Enrichment program.

Michelle is a Northern Virginia native who has lived in Loudoun County her entire life. She currently lives in Ashburn with her two daughters and son. Michelle enjoys painting, puzzles, playing games and spending time with her family. She loves working with children and cannot imagine ever doing anything else.

"It is amazing to watch a child's mind at work!"