“Though no 4 or 5 year old has the verbal language to represent it, they are profound and symbolic thinkers,” St. Catherine’s JK teacher Pam Oken-Wright said. “As long as I have been teaching, you would not think I could still be amazed, but I am, constantly. As I have said before, we are witness to 1,000 moments of brilliance a day.”

There’s a kind of magic in the enthusiasm and excitement of a 4 year old child.  In the all-girls environment at St. Catherine’s School, curious minds are given bright futures.

For decades, girls have flourished in the Reggio Emilia inspired Junior Kindergarten (JK) program at St. Catherine’s. A new expansion opportunity will enable more girls in the Richmond region to enroll in JK for the 2015-2016 school year and beyond. To meet the needs of today’s families, full-day and half-day JK academic options will continue to be offered.

“The formative years are critical for a child’s growth and development, and every girl can benefit from an early start at St. Catherine’s,” said Dr. Terrie Hale Scheckelhoff, St. Catherine’s Head of School. “Our JK Program is truly unique as it is fully embraced by the vast resources of master teachers, talented students, extensive facilities and countless opportunities made possible by our girl-centered JK-grade 12 program.”

To make room for the expansion, St. Catherine’s will more than double the educational space for these young students.  St. Catherine’s is honoring their commitment to early childhood education by dedicating an entire building to the Early Childhood Center. Renovations will begin at the conclusion of the 2014-15 school year and the expected opening for fall coincides with the School’s 125th Anniversary.  Young explorers will continue to benefit from a unique outdoor classroom space with water, sand and rocks reflective of the city of Richmond.

In addition, as part of St. Catherine’s Early Education, the School is offering “Girls Discover” enrichment courses uniquely designed for girls ages 3-5.  Programs such as Girls Discover STEM provide young girls the opportunity to engage in unique topics and activities that expand their intellect and encourage creativity.  Learn more about St. Catherine’s Early Childhood programs here.

Apply for St. Catherine’s today and watch your child flourish in this remarkable program.

This article is sponsored by St. Catherine’s School.

CommuniKids Preschool and Children’s Language Center, with centers in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC, is now open at 3111 Lauderdale Drive in Short Pump. CommuniKids offers several programs designed especially for young children in Spanish, French, and Mandarin Chinese, including full and half-day preschool, weekly classes, summer camps, and after-school care.

The benefits to starting foreign language instruction early in life are immense. The optimal time for language learning, or the “Window of Opportunity,” occurs in young children from birth to age 8. At that time in their development, young children’s brains are extremely flexible and are “hardwired” for language learning. Very young children have the ability to learn any of the world’s languages and to recreate them with a near-perfect accent. Recent research confirms that the advantages of learning another language go beyond the practical. Multilingual children also perform better in school in all subjects and have higher executive function skills.

For families searching for part- or full-time preschool, the CommuniKids language immersion preschool program offers a well-rounded, play-based, full-immersion curriculum in Spanish or French. Our after-school and weekend language classes give children enrolled in other schools a chance to complement their education with weekly exposure to French, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish. And our summer camp program offers six weeks of full-immersion fun to students of all proficiency levels looking for intensive exposure to the language. CommuniKids also plans to offer an immersion after-school care program for school-aged children with transportation from nearby elementary schools.

For more information, email admissions@communikids.com or visit CommuniKids online.