Hello to the friends of The Learning Trail!
We thought that you might like an update on our activities as we complete one school year and head into another. The Learning Trail enrolled 10 preschoolers and 29 students this past year. That was made possible by the 28 full-time tutors who volunteered their time to work with our elementary students after school and our two staff members who led our preschool in the mornings. Lots of fun summer books and learning materials were sent home with all of our students.
Our kindergarteners performed for their parents and the 3rd graders at the end of the school year. They showcased their progress in letters, sounds, songs, and even a little choreography. Nicely done!
This summer, The Learning Trail launched a new Enrichment Program. Five events were planned: a cooking day, a story and craft day, a trip to the Chatham Library, a science day, and a trip to the NC Botanical Gardens. Featured above, is a slime-making project as part of our science day. Volunteers and students alike enjoyed the fun and novel experiences. We plan to build further on this concept in the future.
We are sad to say goodbye to our preschool teacher, Mandy Monroe and her aide, Tania Jimenez. They have been wonderful teachers and guides to our preschoolers for 2 years, during the most difficult Covid periods. They have both decided to move on with their careers. We wish them well. We are now interviewing for their replacements. We would welcome any referrals or suggestions that any of our friends might offer.
We continue to be fortunate to have the support of our primary grantors. The United Way and Chatham County grants help cover the salary of our lead preschool teacher, Galloway Ridge helps cover the cost of our Preschool Aide, and the Women of Fearrington fund our Literacy Program. These are all essential parts of our programs and we are most grateful.
This spring we formed a partnership with Chatham Literacy to offer English classes to Learning Trail parents. Other Nature Trail residents have also joined us. We provide the facilities, snacks and babysitting, and Chatham Literacy provides the tutors, all of whom have been trained in teaching literacy skills. Classes have been in session since mid-May and are still going strong. We have a dedicated group of adults who are making good progress.
We were delighted to award Eladio Delucio the Carol Tomason Legacy scholarship. Eladio had been a student at The Learning Trail in his younger days and has now graduated from high school and looks forward to continuing his education at NC State. We are all very proud of his accomplishments and look forward to following his career. Eladio is shown here with Suzanne Morris, former TLT president, who administers the scholarship program.
Our students love to display their work. We are glad that The Learning Trail provides so many opportunities for them to shine. Our sincere thanks to all of our donors and volunteers who make it possible. Enjoy the rest of the summer. We will be back in touch once the new school year is underway.
Best wishes to all from The Learning Trail!