KEKAHA — Sydney Kelidosty, a third grade student at St. Theresa School, was busy changing out the wall at the science class, Monday.
Her mother, STS science teacher Keli, held the storage container as youngster moved pieces of information and artwork from the wall.
“I’m finished with my work, today,” Sydney said, referring to her day’s work list during the distance learning experience forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, and spending time helping her mother at school.
Wendy Castillo, the STS principal, commented on the value of child care for essential workers, and said St. Theresa School is taking advantage of the students’ absence on campus to prepare for the fall semester when they anticipate the return of in-person education.
“Mothers having to bring their kids to work because there is no child care?” Castillo asked. “This demonstrates the importance of child care for essential workers. We’re taking advantage of the COVID-19 people staying at home, and utilizing the people we’re allowed to call back to prepare for the fall.”
“We anticipate being back in school, in person,” the principal said. “We’re planning for social distancing and other aspects that need to be complied with. We are also preparing, and ready for alternative education if we need to fall back on it.”
St. Theresa School is currently accepting registration for all students in hopes of “getting some solid registration numbers, early to plan for the coming year.”
“Simply, no registration fee if registered by June 30,” Castillo said. “There is all registration information on the school’s website at www.sttheresakauai.com.”
One of the programs Castillo is looking at is the school’s unique Transitional Kindergarten program that is enjoying its second year of success after being inspired by STS kindergarten teacher Kim Johnson.
“We have 10 students in the program currently,” Castillo said. “But one of the difficulties of having a small school with a small number of students is how hard it is to operate.”
Students who are considered late-born — born after Aug. 1, but reaching the age of 5 years old by the end of December — are automatically registered to Transitional Kindergarten. Under the current state Department of Education guidelines, these late-born students would be relegated to another year of preschool, or child care before entering kindergarten.
TK is a bridge between preschool and kindergarten, states an informational flier on the STS TK program.
“It is a separate class for learners who are not yet ready to enter kindergarten based on teacher recommendation, parental wishes, and other assessment results,” the flier states.
Castillo said she is not aware that a similar program exists at the St. Catherine School, the second Catholic School on Kaua‘i, and the STS program was firmed up after the Kindergarten staff studied programs of several schools, gleaning the better points of each school’s programs before firming up the STS TK program.
Once a student is registered for TK, usually the late-born students born between August through December, the class is assessed for “Kinder Readiness” during the first two weeks of the school year. This assessment includes parental opinions, assessment results and is considered when making final placement for learners.
Assessment complete, the teachers in Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten may confer with parents to recommend a change of class assignment as they deem necessary. This means a child initially enrolled in TK may move to K, and vice versa, meaning a child in K can be assigned to TK based on assessment.
“There is a lot of development taking place in a child’s early years of education,” the flier states. “Children mature at different rates, handle expectations differently, and respond to instruction differently.”
Castillo said the TK program serves as a bridge between early learning, and “The Big School,” or the gateway to lifelong learning.
“It’s a big school,” Castillo said. “Bigger students, More students, bigger things. A child that has not yet mastered correct pencil-holding can become easily frustrated when asked to write his name. This is understandable.”
TK students function as part of the STS student body, wearing the regulation school uniform. Unique to TK is naptime where during the first quarter, TK students will have naptime. This will transition to rest time, and finally, transitioned to no-nap by the year’s end. There is no nap time in Kindergarten.
“The goal of TK is to give learners a bridge year to be fully confident and ready to master Kindergarten,” Castillo said. “It does not replace Kindergarten. If a TK learner is progressing at a rapid rate academically and socially, a conference will be held with parents to determine whether Kindergarten or First Grade is the right choice for their child.”
Similarly, if a child transfers to a Department of Education following TK, the DOE school will enroll the student in Kindergarten and offer testing for First Grade Readiness, according to DOE guidelines.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
