September 2008 and Beyond

Bilingual Beginnings, the newest site for Pine Village Preschool, opened their doors at St. John’s in early September. Twenty-five children ages 2–4 from the Jamaica Plain/Roslindale area have been enrolled.

Director Emma Lougheed says that they feel blessed and grateful to be housed in our attractive, newly renovated basement space. She says that they needed to do no special advertising to achieve their current enrollment, and credits the J.P. Mom’s listserve for alerting families to Pine Village’s planned arrival. She looks forward to enrolling new families as the year progresses.

At present the school comprises two preschool readiness groups, ages 2 – 2.9, and two preschool groups, ages 3 and 4. Next year Emma predicts that they will include a prekindergarten class.

The Pine Village teachers are a little United Nations: one each originates from Spain, Puerto Rico, Bolivia, and Columbia. The student population is equally diverse: the majority of children have at least one Latino parent, and other families come from Israel and Eastern Europe. Many children have been adopted from Central and South America. Several come from two Mom families.

Emma describes the school parents as very engaged, involved, supportive, excited, and open to her communications and to the creative problem solving that accompanies any start-up. She expresses as well her appreciation for the flexibility of the St. John’s community and for the help and welcome she has received from parishioners.

We at St. John’s feel equally blessed and grateful to begin our new relationship with Pine Village. We have long dreamed of opening our historic building to be used and enjoyed by the wider community, and we believe that the presence of Pine Village at St. John’s represents the answer to our prayers.