Kindergarten Enrollment

Enrollment Guidelines

HOPE has Open Enrollment to their All-Day Kindergarten program. Open Enrollment means that HOPE accepts new students throughout the school year.

Any child entering Kindergarten must attain the age of five years by September 30 of the year that they are enrolled.

We encourage the family to visit HOPE and meet the faculty.

Once the parent or guardian wishes to pursue enrollment, they may request an application for admittance into HOPE’s program. Once the application is completed and signed, it must be returned to HOPE with a nonrefundable $75.00 application fee.

A pre-enrollment Interview consisting of the student applicant and their parent or guardian with the teacher and/or principal as well as a one-on-one interview with the prospective student and teacher are required before any child is accepted to HOPE.

All prospective Kindergarten students are required to take HOPE’s Kindergarten Readiness test.

Curriculum

Because HOPE believes in a traditional education, HOPE uses the A Beka curriculum as our standard classroom material. Kindergarten curricula includes the following: introductions to numbers and early math skills, phonics, reading, early writing skills, cursive writing, science, history, and foreign language vocabulary, particularly Spanish and American Sign Language.

As a Christian school, in line with the Scripture from Psalm 119:11, “I have stored up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You,” students memorize Scripture, have daily Bible reading, and prayer. Each week, students and faculty gather for a weekly chapel service which varies in content but typically includes songs, a Bible story, lesson, and prayer.

At HOPE, we consider the Arts, Physical Education, and Performing Arts important to a well-rounded education. Therefore, we incorporate art and music into each week. Art encourages imagination and enhances fine motor skills. Since music is the joy of life, HOPE encourages students to develop musical appreciation through games and activities, singing, movement, and bell choir. Throughout the year, at special monthly Chapel Services, the children are called upon to share what they have learned with family and friends.

Physical Education for our youngest students includes refining fine and gross motor skills while promoting listening skills and teamwork. Learning how to throw a ball, learning how to jump rope, learning how to dribble and make a basket for basketball, completing simple obstacle courses which involves a review of learned skills, going on tiger hunts, and playing abandoned ship are just a few of the fun activities in which our Kindergarten students participate throughout the year.

We use the Computer sparingly as a way to enhance learning. Too much of a good thing is too much and can be detrimental to a child’s well-being; therefore, we do not use electronics as the center of learning. However, we do use certain computer games to enhance learning and familiarize children with the computer which they will need as they grow older.

School Day

As per state law, students have a daily rest period.

Each morning has a snack time, and each day has recess in the morning, at lunchtime, and in the afternoon. We consider these as time for free play where children are encouraged to use their imaginations.

HOPE’s Field Trips are designed for students to have fun while learning about science, history, or the world in general. Usually, our trips occur in the fall or early spring. However, we will take time out of our school day to visit a nearby graveyard for Memorial Day or the local library in search of inviting books. Some of our field trips have taken us to local farms for apple or pumpkin picking, William Penn’s home, Washington’s Crossing National or State Parks, the Franklin Mineral Museum, and Crystal Caves.

Spread throughout the school year, HOPE’s youngest students celebrate unusual special days. These special days include Thomas the Tank Engine Day, Mo Willems Day (Elephant and Piggy author), Sesame Street Day, count to the 100th Day, and Colonial Day on April 19th to celebrate “the shot heard round the world."

A small but important part of the Kindergarten student’s learning is cooking which enhances cooperation, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, reading, math, and science. The children have fun and have a meaningful snack at the end of their accomplishment.

Community Days

HOPE’s students are encouraged to help others in our local community as well as the world at large. Therefore, once per quarter, HOPE adopts a community outreach such as the Flemington Food Pantry, Samaritan’s Purse, Friendship Center for New Beginnings, Toys for Tots, and the Salvation Army. During emergencies, the children have collected and donated supplies to people left homeless due to fire, flood, or other natural disaster.