Frequently Asked Questions About Trinity Christian Preschool

What are the student hours?
What is the student-teacher ratio?
How big is the school?
What does my child need to enroll?
Who makes up the student body?
Do the children eat during the day?
How is the school governed?
How is the school funded?
Is financial aid available?
Do the children attend field trips?
Do you have extended care?
Do you have extracurricular programming?
What do parents have to say about your preschool?
How can I contribute to the preschool?
Can my child attend TCP if he/she has food allergies, diabetes, autism spectrum or other conditions?
Is TCP in a flood zone?

Why do two and a half year-olds need preschool?

How do I decide how many days my child should attend?

What is the significance of your logo?

Do you offer any summer programs?
 
 
What are the student hours?
9:30 AM to 12:30 PM

What is the student-teacher ratio?
2 teachers per 10 students in the 2-year old class.
1 teacher per 8/10 students in the 3-year old classes and a shared assistant.
1 teacher per 10 students in the 4-year old classes and a shared assistant.

1 teacher per 10 students in the 5-year old classes and a shared assistant.

How big is the school?
We are currently licensed for a maximum of 108 students.

What does my child need to enroll?
All children must be toilet trained. The documents required are the Official State-issued Birth Certificate and a School Entrance Health Form with immunization records.

Who makes up the student body?
We have children of all faiths attending from Poquoson, York County, Hampton, Newport News and other neighboring cities.

Do the children eat during the day?
Parents provide a lunch and drink for their child each day.

How is the school governed?
The program is administered by a director and an assistant director who are supervised by the church pastor and the governing Preschool Board of Directors.

How is the school funded?
We have three sources of income: tuition, fundraising, & church donations.

Is financial aid available?
We have funding to provide various levels of scholarships. Confidential applications are available upon request.

Do the children attend field trips?
We have two fieldtrips which include the Pumpkin Patch visit and Bluebird Gap Farm picnic. Parental transportation is required.  We also have numerous visitors from the community speak to the children about various occupations.

Do you have extended care?
We offer "Stay & Play" twice a week from 12:30-2:30 where the children bring a snack and have free choice indoor & outdoor play. This is offered on a first-come-first-serve basis. The fee is $10.

Do you have extracurricular programming?
We provide Gymnastics instruction every other Monday for no extra charge.  Music is taught every Wed. by the church children's choir director.  Students also attend chapel on Wednesdays with the pastor of TUMC. 

Our sponsoring church, TUMC, offers preschool choir every Wed. evening.

What do parents have to say about your preschool?
Check out parent reviews at GreatSchools.org

How can I contribute to the preschool?
Please contact Amber Bray, Director, at 757-868-6174, extension 16.

Can my child attend TCP if he/she has food allergies, diabetes, autism spectrum or other conditions?
 Yes, our preschool board is willing to admit children with a variety of developmental delays or medical conditions on a case-by-case basis. Our staff has been trained to accomodate a variety of needs preschoolers may face and we are open to adapt our environment to help your little one adjust to the preschool experience.  Children with food allergies will be accomodated on a case-by-case basis dependent on the level of risk for their particular allergies. 

Is TCP in a flood zone?
Yes.  Unfortunately, our host church, Trinity United Methodist Church, is in a flood zone, therefore the church may be closed due to Nor'easter related flooding. If Poquoson City Schools are closed, our preschool will be too.  Please note that this does not happen often.

Why do two and a half year-olds need preschool?

We used to ask the same question until we started this class in the fall of 2009.  Our teacher observed a 2.5 year class at another local preschool and spent some time talking with the teacher in preparation for this new endeavor.  What we have discovered since that time is that the students who have reached 2.5 by September are ready for a little "taste" of the preschool experience; particularly the peer interactions in a structured setting away from their familiar environments.  We have been amazed at the growth and development of these children at the end of the school year and most of them are grouped into our "older" threes class the following year.

How do I decide how many days my child should attend?

Our two year-olds are only offered Tues./Thurs. classes.  These parents typically expect their child to participate in three years of preschool.  The following year they plan to attend for 5-days and for the final year participate in our Young-Fives class.

Three's are offered 3-day or 5-day classes.    A parent's choice will depend on the birth-month, maturity, development, birth-order and socialbility of their child.  Very mature and social children who are modeling their older siblings with an eagerness to learn often participate in the 5-day class.  Young children who are the oldest in their family and have late, Spring-September birthdays often take the 3-day class in anticpation of attending a four year-old 5-day class the following year.

Our four year-olds have 2 choices available to them: 3-day and 5-day.  Often our 3-day students have many other activities they participate in on a weekly basis  and like to have Tues/Thurs free for attending other opportunities like gymnastics, storytime or a bible study.  Other 3-day students have late Summer or early Fall birthdays and plan to attend the Young-Fives class the following year. Some of our 5-day students are attending preschool for the first time and their parents want the opportunity for maximum preparation for kindergarten.  Many others were three year-old attendees who learned a lot in our three year old program and are ready for the rigorous work of a 5-day program.  The 5-day class helps children adjust to the five full days of attendance expected of them in kindergarten.  Some children who did not attend full week preschool find it difficult to maintain attentivenss for six hours of academic learning.

Our Young-Fives class is a very unique program designed for a specific population of children.   To be placed in this class,  children must meet minimum birthday and academic requirements.  Children in this class turn 5 between May 31 and January 31.  Half of them could have attended public school kindergarten but their parents have decided to give them the "gift" of time due to their late birthdays.  The other half just miss the September 30th cut-off requirement for kindergarten and they are very mature learners who are ready for a little more academic challenge than a typical four year-old preschool class.  Most of the children leaving this class are excelled readers for their age and are socially ready for the challenges of a 20 student kindergarten classroom.

Ultimately the parents' choice is very personal and varies greatly from child to child.  We are very willing to meet with you to assist your decision in any way we can.  We always joke with our families that this is not a "college-level" decision and since they know their children the best, whatever they decide will be a great choice for their very loved little one. 

What is the significance of your logo?

Our community is surrounded by water on three sides and we are referred to as "Bull Island."  The founders of this tight-knit community worked the waters in the seafood industry.  One of the many benefits our small town is the access to water-recreational activities including boating and fishing.  Our playground was also designed with this boating-theme in mind.  Our logo was created by a local architect and life-long resident, Kevin Wiggins, especially for our grand re-opening.

Do you offer any summer programs?

Yes, we offer a one week "summer camp" during the first week of June.  Typically, we offer 1 to 2 classes with 10 students in each class.  The science based themes utilized in the past were "Sea Life" and "Safari Animals" where crafts, music, centers and experiments relate to the developmentally appropriate theme.  The daily hours are 9:30 to 1:30 and classes are filled on first-come, first-serve basis.