A new ministry of Millersville BIC Church via a partnership with the newly formed Amberland Kids Academy preschool will start on Monday, Aug. 31, the same day school starts for Penn Manor students.
Amberland is accepting students ages 2 years, 7 months through prekindergarten. Available time slots are from 8:30 a.m. to noon, from two to five days a week, with extended hours until 3 p.m. on two or three days a week.
Amberland was created from staff of the former Stepping Stones Preschool in Millersville. For several years, Millersville BIC had wanted to start a preschool, but never had the necessary combination of resources.
This past spring, Stepping Stones Preschool, a non-sectarian, community-based preschool in Millersville, was scheduled to permanently close when the owner retired. Two of the staff members from Stepping Stones, Liga Landis and Mary Rohrer, approached Millersville BIC with the idea of providing a ministry via a community-based preschool.
Amberland aims to teach language and socialization skills along with the arts and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts.
Amberland has taken safety considerations for COVID-19, including drop-off and pickup by car, preventing the need for parents to enter the building; touchless temperature checks; COVID-19 related questions every day at drop-off; frequent sanitizing and disinfecting; face coverings for staff and children; social distancing within classrooms; and frequent activities outside as weather permits. For children, either family-provided masks or school-provided face shields are acceptable. Each child will be assigned his or her own basket containing school supplies and toys that will not be shared with others.
For security, all doors into the preschool area will be locked.
To help facilitate communication between parents and teachers and to help parents know what activities their children participated in during the day, Amberland will use a mobile communication app. The platform will allow parents to instant message with teachers; see videos, pictures and comments related to their child's activities throughout the day; and pay tuition online, with the option of automatic payments. Parents can also receive an instant mobile notification when their child has been dropped off at school in the case that a friend or relative drops off the child.
Tours of the preschool are available to parents and registering new students.
Amberland plans to hold several special social activities when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
Amberland is located in the lower level of Millersville BIC church at 3116 Blue Rock Road, Lancaster, one mile west of Millersville University. For more information, readers may contact director Liga Landis at 717-292-8861 or visit http://www.AmberlandKidsAcademy.com.
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