Above: Algonquin students helping teach pre-school students through the school’s “learning lab” pre-K program (images contributed)
Following the Regional School Committee’s vote to change the Algonquin mascot, their preschool program followed suit. The Director of the Pre-K program formerly known as “The Tiny Tomahawks” asked me to let readers know about the changes for this fall.
The program has been renamed The Algonquin Preschool. This fall they plan to resume the in-school program. (As of the time of posting this story, their website is showing one open slot for the morning session and four for the afternoon.)
The website describes the learning lab program to benefit both high schoolers and tots:
The Algonquin Preschool, a learning lab preschool, is located within Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough, Massachusetts. The program has been in operation since 1978 and is currently run by Susan Muise, a Family and Consumer Science Teacher with a Master’s in Early Childhood Education. The name of the preschool changed from The Tiny Tomahawk Preschool in 2021 as a result of the school mascot, the Tomahawk, being retired.
As a learning lab preschool, the high school students enrolled in Mrs. Muise’s Early Childhood Program assist in the preschool and work under her supervision in providing classroom instruction to the preschoolers. The high school students interact with the preschoolers and present many of the theme-based lessons with supervision of Mrs. Muise. It is a unique, well rounded program for both the preschool students and the high school students. Throughout the years high school and preschool students alike have been learning from one another.
The preschool program has two 2-day sessions, a morning session and an afternoon session and follows the Regional School Calendar (no summer program) with a few exceptions such as the first/last days of school which vary from the calendar. Children must be at least 3 years old to attend and toilet trained. In order to reserve a spot for next year, please fill out the online registration form. We will accept students on a first come-first serve basis. Returning students always have a spot for the following school year and we do have open enrollment throughout the year, so long as we have available spots.
The website also offers a virtual tour of the facility (here).
Tuition is $400. To register, click here. For more information, visit the website.
