Yes. To meet our families' needs the school is open from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. There is a choice of full-day or drop-in care. The program offers special activities such as art, sports and cooking. In addition, there are supervised indoor/outdoor areas for free play. Care is provided on most school holidays. Windrush also offers a Summer Adventures Program for children between ages six and 11 years old.

Both structured learning and creative, choice-based activities are valuable to Kindergartners-indeed to students of all ages. The day includes core literacy, math, science and social studies, often embedded within a thematic project or various activities. Art and games are integrated to spark interest in the work. Daily routines are essential and include morning meeting, singing, read aloud and choice time. Outdoor play followed by "table time" to eat and digest, as well as regular water and stretch breaks are also central to learning at this age and round out what we feel to be a superbly balanced full-day program.

Windrush kindergartners move at their own pace (with astute faculty guidance)-from the comfort of classrooms and playground to working with and learning from older students. Our Buddy Program partners kindergartners with sixth graders on special projects once a month, and "Mix It Up Days" -within the elementary school and led by teachers- promote relationships among multi-age "families." Kindergarten classes participate in weekly Friday assemblies as well as many division and school-wide special events. Also, the K-5 Afterschool Program provides yet another opportunity for mixed-age learning and socialization.

We use a balanced literacy approach that integrates phonetic development based on a child's own language, reading and writing. Some children enter kindergarten knowing how to read, some begin reading in kindergarten, and some gather the tools and skills necessary to begin reading in 1st grade. Our small classes allow teachers to challenge each student at the appropriate level. Guided reading in small groups and individualized reading begin as students demonstrate readiness. Excitement about reading as a joyous event is key to our success.

Teachers provide two extensive written reports describing the child's progress in all areas. Also, parent-teacher conferences with each family take place twice a year. Teachers write weekly or bi-weekly newsletters describing current classroom projects. We recognize that informal day-to-day communication is essential, particularly at this age. Brief personal contact occurs frequently at drop-off and pick-up and parents may leave voice or email messages for any teacher.