Our preschool classroom is a combination of purposeful instruction and active play. We have created a classroom environment that promotes early learning and development. Through a combination of teacher-directed small group lessons, whole group lessons, and active play, exploration and experimentation, the children grow academically as well as thrive with their social-emotional development.
We utilize the Houghton Mifflin Pre-K Series. It is a proven-effective comprehensive program that ensures kindergarten readiness by building the foundation for success in school and life. The program encompasses all subject areas including Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Science and Art. With the use of a variety of learning resources including quality Literature, AlphaFriends Letters, Oral Language Cards, Rhyme and Chant Posters, the children develop their language and literacy skills. They practice listening, speaking, writing, and pre-reading skills including phonological awareness, word/print recognition, and exposure to print concepts.
HANDWRITING WITHOUT TEARS
The children are exposed to writing in many ways throughout the school day. We adopted the Handwriting Without Tears program for use in the classroom. The primary focus is proper hand grip while exposure and practice with writing letters and numbers. It utilizes fun, engaging and developmentally appropriate instructional methods that enable children to master handwriting as an automatic and comfortable skill.
MATH
Our curriculum includes math extensions but we also have the additional Pre-K Math set to augment what is included in the series. The children explore a wide variety of math concepts throughout the year including number sense, classification/patterning, measurement, and geometry with a strong focus on number sense.
RELIGION
The children are invited to explore, discover, and learn more about themselves, relationships with others, and about God's creations through our Religion curriculum. We use the Our Sunday Visitor “I am Special” series.
SCIENCE
In addition to the Science concepts introduced in the curriculum, we provide the children with a Science activity and exploration table in the classroom. This is a hands-on way for them to enhance and re-visit the concepts taught in the classroom.
Meet Our Director:
Jean Wilson
My name is Jean Wilson and I am very excited to be part of the Junior Jaguar Preschool Program. Being part of the staff is like “coming home” for me. I started working at St. Joseph back in 1988 in the Extended Day Care as an aide and later the director. I worked there all through college while I was receiving my degree in Child Development and my Teaching
Credential. Upon completing school, I started my teaching fourth grade here at St. Joseph. I taught fourth grade for three years before starting my own family.
After being home full-time for a several years, I started back to work part-time at Wilson Preschool in Santa Clara as a Parent Education Preschool Teacher. Raising my own children as well as my work at Wilson Preschool helped me to fully appreciate the wonder and importance of Early Childhood Education. I taught all age groups at the preschool level from Toddlers to Pre-K. I also have experience as Resource Specialist in Parent Education. I worked at Choices for Children in San Jose. In that role, I organized and presented workshops for parents on topics related to parenting including Positive Discipline, Taming Temper Tantrums, The Five Keys to Raising Healthy, Happy Eaters and Kindergarten Readiness. I also trained childcare providers on best practices with children in group settings.
Meet Our Teachers:
Bianca Liu
My name is Bianca Liu. I feel blessed to be one of the teachers here at SJC preschool. I have a master's degree in education and a Montessori Early Childhood Teaching Credential. Upon completing my graduate studies, I worked at Legend Learning and Family Resource Center for five years, teaching elementary school children in an afterschool setting. After starting my own family and staying home with my elder daughter for a few years, I went back to school and earned my teaching credential as a Montessori teacher. Then I went on to teach at Delight Montessori school for four years.
This is now my seventh year teaching at SJC preschool. I enjoy coming to school every day. It is a privilege to watch the children learn and grow in so many different ways. As a mother and a preschool teacher, I know how anticipated and at the same time how unsure a child would feel about starting preschool, you can be sure your child will find many loving and caring teachers here to walk that path with him/her. And for the Chinese families in our community, since I speak both Mandarin and Cantonese, your child will find an additional support among all the friendly teachers.
Maryla Nachnani
My name is Maryla Nachnani. I am looking forward to working with the children and the great team of teachers here at Saint Joseph of Cupertino Preschool this year.
I grew up in Poland where I received my Masters from the Pedagogical Academy in Cracow. My early work experience was as an elementary teacher in Warsaw. Then I moved to the United States and studied Early Childhood Education at DeAnza College. At DeAnza, I had the opportunity to work in the Child Development Center with preschool children. There, I discovered that I enjoyed working with this age group and decided to pursue my career in early childhood education. I worked at DeAnza's Child Development Center as a teacher for two years; during which, I received my site supervisor permit from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
I joined St. Joseph of Cupertino Preschool five years ago. I have fallen in love with SJC's unique community of faculty and parents, where everyone has a voice and is involved with the school.
Lauren Sullivan
My name is Lauren Sullivan and I feel very honored and blessed to be part of an amazing team of teachers and excellent preschool program for the Junior Jaguars Preschool at St. Joseph of Cupertino.
I believe that as a woman of faith my goal is to express my beliefs in my community through the education of children. I have had the pleasure of over five years of experience successfully planning, conducting and supervising activities with children of various pre-school and school ages. I enjoy creating exciting and enriched environments to enhance curriculum and quality learning experiences. I have an Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts and also completed coursework in American Sign Language. I recently received a Site Supervisor Child Development permit.
My dream had always been to work at St. Joseph School. My dream came true when starting my position in 2010. As an added bonus, I met my husband in the halls of St. Joseph (he is the sixth grade teacher). We were married in June 2013. It is so exciting to be living my dream and I look forward each year to inspire our students to start creating their dreams.
Nadine Tran
My name is Nadine I joined the staff here at St. Joseph Cupertino in 2017 but have been working for the Diocese of San Jose since 2008. I feel very blessed to be able to teach in our preschool and be a part of such a positive community. My background is in Early Childhood Education, Administration, and Inclusion of Children with Special needs.
As an Early Childhood educator I have worn many hats preschool teacher, adventure companion, parent-participation program facilitator, special needs aide, Preschool Director, motor skill development specialist, and now mommy (the most challenging hat of them all). I have always enjoyed coming up with unique ways of helping the families and children I’ve worked with move toward reaching their goals
Early childhood education in a Catholic setting is such a blessing and a calling for myself. I enjoy being a part of their development physically, cognitively, and spiritually. I also love what I do because I get to play, laugh...A LOT, and I get to see things from a different perspective EVERYDAY!