Saint Marks Bright Beginnings Preschool

PRESCHOOL TEAM (3'S) 

 Miss Caitlin

Hello everyone. My name is Caitlin and I am very excited to begin my second year at Bright Beginnings as a preschool teacher for the three year olds. I have a dual B.A. in Early Childhood Education and Psychology, with a concentration in Child Psychology from St. Joseph’s College, and I am currently working on receiving my M.S. in Special Education and Elementary Education from Long Island University.

I have had the pleasure to work as a teacher in a two-year old class and in a three-year old class at two other schools, and I have also worked as an ABA therapist for children with Autism at New York Therapy for the past year. I have gained a strong love and passion for working with young children through these various experiences. I am thrilled to now have this wonderful opportunity to work with your children and to share my love for learning with them.

When I am not teaching I love to spend my time with my family and friends. I have three sisters, Danielle, Lauren, and Sarah. They are my best friends and I have built many cherished memories with them.

I am very excited to begin the 2011-2012 school year and I know it will be a successful one!



MISS DESIREE

Hi everyone! My name is Desiree and this is my second year returning to Saint Marks Bright Beginnings. I am very excited to start this September and the 2011-2012 school year. I graduated from St. Joseph's college with my B.A. in Child Study and a minor in Psychology. I am dual-certified which allows me to teach general education and special education birth-grade 6. I am currently furthering my education at SUNY Stony Brook and anticipate my Master's degree in the spring with my degree in Child and Adolescent Development. I have always wanted to work with children. Working with preschoolers always keeps me on my toes and excited to come into the classroom every morning. Their excitement and love for learning makes me strive to do the best I can. The progress made and growth seen throughout the school year is the most rewarding to me.
When I'm not here at Saint Marks (although my students think I live here), I enjoy being home with family and friends. I also love to cook, swim, relax at the beach, and catch up on all my shows I miss. I actually really enjoy going to school and learning new things so after I receive my masters degree, I plan on going back and enrolling into a culinary program. I'm looking forward to meeting all my new students and for this exciting school year to begin!

MISS JENN  

Hello everyone! My name is Miss Jenn and I am excited to start my first year at St. Mark’s Bright Beginnings Preschool this September. In May, I graduated Cum Laude from St. Joseph’s College with a B.A. in the dual major of Child Study and Speech Communication. I am certified in General and Special Education from birth to grade six. Immediately after graduation I began to substitute teach in East Quogue Elementary School to further gain knowledge across grade levels. This Fall, I will be attending Long Island University for a M.S. degree in Literacy.

            I have always been passionate about teaching and working with children from a young age. I especially love the younger age groups because of the excitement and enthusiasm they have for learning and school. When I am not teaching or attending school I enjoy reading, running and any outdoor activity. I am looking forward to meeting you all and having a wonderful 2011-2012 school year!

 MISS SARA

 Hello! My name is Miss Sara and I am very excited to join the teaching staff here at Bright Beginnings. Last December I graduated from York College of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Music Education. Starting in February, I had the privilege of working as a teaching assistant with Miss Jesse’s three year old classroom. I have also worked the past three summers here at the preschool, and I am thrilled to be continuing to work this coming school year. I am currently going to Long Island University to gain my elementary certification as well as a Master’s degree in Special Education.

 In my free time I enjoy spending time with my family. As many of our students know, my mom is Miss Kerry! I am passionate about learning and I enjoy traveling to new places. I am looking forward to a fun year filled with new learning experiences!

Miss Anita

Wee Starters (18 months to 2 1/2)

                Joining the program at Bright Beginnings feels a bit like coming back home. My career in the field of early childhood education began  in a small privately owned nursery school followed by 15 years working as the lead toddler teacher and assistant coordinator at IGHL, Suffolk County’s first on-site corporate child care center. While working at IGHL, my husband and I welcomed our two daughters in to the world. This allowed me the opportunity to know early childhood programming not only from the perspective of teacher and administrator, but parent as well!   While my children were still quite small (in fact they were toddlers) I returned to SUNY Empire to receive my certificate in Infant Toddler and professional issues. In 2001, I received the Diane Grayson Wallace Child Care Advocate of the Year Award.

            In 2002, I joined the staff at the Child Care Council of Suffolk as the Regional Infant Toddler Resource Center Coordinator.  This was an exciting opportunity to develop and deliver training and technical assistance to others in the field caring for children under the age of three. This project was funded by the NY State Office of Children and Family Services to improve the quality of infant toddler programs across NY State. My daily travels involved visiting programs across Suffolk County – from the Nassau County boarder and as far east as Shelter Island. I also had the opportunity to work with the NY State Child Care Coordinating Council in Albany, where the State’s Infant Toddler Specialists received training from some of the nation’s most highly recognized authorities on Infant Toddler Development.  While working as the Infant Toddler Specialist, I contributed to Newsday’s Parent and Child Magazine Ages and Stages Column on a regular basis.

            While my career was always interesting, traveling so far from home and working long hours was a difficult balancing act.  My husband is a duck farmer and this means working long hours with little time off.   In 2007 I left my position with the Council to spend more time with my daughters who are now 12 and 13, but have continued to work with the Council on a consultant basis.

            I am looking forward to the opportunity to develop a program for toddlers at Bright Beginnings and return to the classroom.  While we travel the path of potty training, separation anxiety, temper tantrums and the wonder and joy of the toddler stage, please know that I will always view our relationship as a partnership. We’re in this together! Your children are so very new to this world and how we help them to feel safe and cared for while allowing them to explore and learn about the way the world works will set a foundation for all the many exciting experiences to come!

 MISS BRITTANY

 My name is Miss Brittany and I am very excited to start my first year at St. Mark's Bright Beginning Preschool. In May, I graduated from St. Joseph's College with a B.A. in a dual major of Child Study and Speech Communication. I am certified in General and Special Education from birth to sixth grade. This September, I  am going to Long Island University to receive my M.S. in Literacy.

Working with young people is an enjoyable challenge for me. My goal as an educator is to create a warm and nurturing environment that encourages children to answer when they are unsure and to question when they are confused. In my classroom, I will create a learning environment that fosters positive reinforcement, praise, and encouragement.  My greatest strength is planning and organizing my lessons to meet the needs of my students. 

When I'm not teaching, I enjoy being outside, swimming, and reading. Also, I  love playing with my dog Toby and cat Moby. I look forward to meeting everyone and to having a wonderful school year!

PREK TEAM 

Miss Karen

 My name is Miss Karen and this is my 4th year teaching Pre-K at Bright Beginnings and I am very excited to start the school year with your children. I graduated from St. Joseph's College with a B.A. degree in Human Relations; I also have a Master's in Education from Dowling College.  I began my teaching experience as an assistant at Westhampton Beach Elementary School in the kindergarten classrooms. Teaching Pre-K has been extremely rewarding for me, watching the growth of the children from the beginning of the year to the end of the school year is amazing!  I truly love this age group of children, the energy, enthusiasm and love of learning is demonstrated two-fold.  I bring to my classroom, compassion, love and much nurturing which are all necessary to create a home away from home!

Another one of my true loves besides teaching is my family. I have a wonderful husband and 3 three amazing daughters!  Kaitlin is a college senior and attending Gallaudet University in D.C.and Courtney is a freshman this year at the University at Albany and Rebecca is my step-daughter and is a sophomore in high school.  I love spending time with my family especially now since my girls will be home so infrequently, so every minutes is so precious, it goes too fast!  Our other family members are our 3 dogs!

MISS KERRY

MISS KIM

 I am so excited to be returning as a Pre-K teacher for the 2011-2012 school year!  This is my 3rd year as a member of the Bright Beginnings staff, and September will begin my 19th year working with young children.  I can truly say teaching is so very rewarding.  The enthusiasm and love for learning the students bring to the classroom is energizing and refreshing.  I am so fortunate in that I look forward to coming to work every day!