Fort Hill Preschool

Shaping Tomorrow Today

Our Preschool is an educational ministry of the Fort Hill Presbyterian Church.
The Program operates under the Christian Education committee of the church Session, and
is administered by the Preschool Board of Directors.

  • Our Mission

    The mission of Fort Hill Preschool is to provide quality, loving instruction to each child enrolled in our program, in a caring Christian environment. We help each child grow in his or her ability to express himself or herself through language, art, music, and play. We strive to provide opportunities for children to enrich their understanding of the world in which they live.

    Preschool-photo-7

  • Our Objectives

    • The development of your child as a whole person is our first concern.
    • We furnish a challenging environment, which provides an opportunity for children to grow in all ways…socially, physically, academically, emotionally, and spiritually.
    • We encourage the children to develop their natural potential while adjusting to a pleasurable and fruitful relationship with their classmates.

    Our Curriculum

    • The curriculum, which will be maintained at a high standard and will contain definite Christian, but non-sectarian teachings, will be planned by the director and teachers, subject to review of the Session’s Christian Education Ministry.
    • Our daily emphases include: music, art, poetry, story-telling, science and nature, and play, through which the child grows in his ability to create a positive self-image, to share, to express his feelings verbally, and to respect the rights of others.
    • Chapel will be held one morning a week.
    • Children have weekly Music classes and a chance to visit our preschool library to check out books.
    • As a part of the program, refreshments will be furnished each day.

  • What Do We Do in Preschool?

    • Circle Time is a group gathering during which we share our ideas, plans, and observations. Circle activities are designed to stimulate youngsters’ thinking, enrich social skills, and expand their attention spans.
    • Gross-motor activities give children the opportunity to use their muscles—as well as their imaginations—as they engage in fun, healthy exercises, such as running, jumping, and climbing.
    • Fine-motor activities help improve small-muscle development and eye-hand coordination. Some common items found in the fine-motor/manipulative area include puzzles, beads and laces, pegboards, crayons, and scissors.
    • Art activities help youngsters creatively express their thoughts and feelings. They help reinforce fine-motor skills and concept development in areas such as colors, shapes, and size relationships.
    • Dramatic-play activities help children express themselves, practice life skills, improve social skills, increase self-esteem, build vocabulary, and solve problems. And, well, dramatic play is just plain fun!
    • Music activities promote youngsters’ listening skills, creative expression, and social skills. In music, children can explore sound, volume, tempo, and rhythm.
    • Science activities offer children many hands-on opportunities for observation, exploration, investigation, making predictions, and experimentation.
    • Sand and water activities allow youngsters to experiment with textures and the properties of different substances. These activities also promote the development of other skills, such as math, science, and language.
    • Block play gives children experience with many different concepts, such as shape and size discrimination, spatial relationships, number skills, balance, organization, cause and effect, and classification. Cooperative play skills, problem solving, and creativity are also promoted in block play.
    • Storytime is designed to help youngsters develop an appreciation and enjoyment of literature. Reading activities enhance children’s vocabulary and comprehension skills, and also expand their knowledge base.

    Preschool Registration Packet

    2024-2025 Registration Packet

    School Closing Policy

    If Pickens County Schools are delayed or closed for inclement weather, our school will be closed. In the event that we feel that our schedule should be different, a teacher will call you prior to 8:30 am on the affected day.

  • Class Size

    The two-year old program allows a class of ten children with two teachers. Threes and Fours have classes of fourteen with two teachers in each class.

    Music, Chapel, Field Trips and More

    Each class has a music session once a week. Our minister leads weekly chapel times for each class, with Bible stories and songs. Older classes enjoy field trips to area attractions several times each year, including the Brooks Center, Denver Downs, the fire station, and more.

    Schedule, Tuition, and Registration

    It is registration time for Fort Hill Presbyterian Church Preschool for the 2024-2025 school year. Your child must be three or four years old on or before September 1, 2024, or two years old by April 1, 2024, in order to participate in our program. Applications will be available outside the FHOG office beginning Friday, February 1, 2024. Registration for new students will be February 9-11 at 9:00 am in the church Narthex; however, church members can turn in their application into the preschool mailbox in the FHOG office at their convenience, but on or before March 1, 2024. Current church members have registration priority through March 1, 2024. Please contact Kayla Webb at [email protected] with any questions.

    The Preschool offers the following enrollment programs:

    • Two-Year-Old enrollment is limited to a two-day morning session (T-Th)
    • Three-Year-Old enrollment has two programs (Three Day, M-W-F, and Two Day, T-Th)
    • Four-Year-Old enrollment has two programs (Five Day and Three Day, M-W-F)

  • Early Morning Care

    Early Morning Care (EMC) is a service offered to parents who work out of the home and are in need of childcare until 8:45 am. EMC begins on the first Monday of the school year and is available from 7:45 am until 8:45 am when students go to their regular classes. There is a limit of nine children allowed in EMC on any given day, and enrollment is first-come, first-served.

    EMC will only be offered if there are enough participants to support the program. This will be decided by September 1 on a yearly basis.

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    Families that register for Early Morning Care for the entire school year will pay a fee of:

    • $50/month for 5 days per week
    • $40/month for 4 days per week
    • $30/month for 3 days per week
    • $20/month for 2 days per week
    • $10/month for 1 day per week

School Staff and Board

  • Staff

    Jennifer Blackwell
    Five Day Four’s Lead Teacher

    Sharon Match
    M-W-F Four’s Lead Teacher

    Heather McKenzie
    M-W-F Three’s Lead Teacher

    Heather McKenzie
    T-Th Three’s Lead Teacher

    Kelly McRoberts
    Two’s Lead Teacher

    Kayla Webb
    Preschool Director

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    Amy Eill
    Five Day Four’s Assistant

    Holly Ruth
    M-W-F Four’s Assistant

    Jorie Feltus
    M-W-F Three’s Assistant

    Ceci Arthur
    T-Th Three’s Assistant

    Kayla Webb
    Two’s Assistant

    Amy Eill
    Early Morning Care

  • School Board

    Marcia Barker, Board Chair

    Mary Margaret Allman

    Emily Ewoldt

    Clarice Gustafson

    Heidi Martin

    Sally Martin

    Donna McCubbin, Treasurer

    Kayla Webb, Director (ex-officio)