The original Jamaica Plain school is located in St John’s Episcopal Church within the historical neighborhood of Summer Hill,. Along with our fenced in playground, kids love our bright sunny classrooms and large parish hall for big events! Our Director, Ana Nieto, shares a few of her favorite memories and ongoing events at our Pine Village Revere St. preschool in today’s blog!
Hola!
My name is Ana. I am from Madrid, Spain. 9 years ago, when I arrived in this country, little did I know about the thousand adventures that I was going to experience here. I had my third child and my professional career began to shine with the opportunity that Pine Village gave me, first as a teacher and then as a director. And even though I started at the JP Revere St. location right after we reopened amid the pandemic in August 2020, I felt blessed and grateful.
I still remember my first day walking to the school on a hill, inside a beautiful church. When you go from Elm St to Revere St, you are in awe. Usually the sky is super blue and the contrast with the building is just beautiful. I felt so happy every morning walking there. I usually see families dropping off their children and teachers greeting them.
I think the JP Revere St. location is special, not only for its location, which is a kind of oasis in the middle of the busy city, but especially for our community. The JP Revere St families are incredible. They are very supportive and understanding. They understand that we come from Spanish-speaking countries, where English is our second language and they respect the staff and support us in whatever is needed. You can feel the love from families throughout the year and especially during teachers appreciation week. And then the teachers… they are just an amazing team of educators. JP Revere has the most experienced teachers who love their job, because they love the children. They help where needed and know all the children in every classroom. We truly feel like one big family.
A Typical Day at JP Revere St.
A day at Pine Village JP Revere is full of love. From the time the children are dropped off in the morning, the teachers and and families have wide smiles on their faces. After being together for an hour, we split up the groups and all classrooms start their routines. Circle time and sharing the fruit in the morning are two big daily events. The children might do a project inside or outside the classroom, and they go for a walk or to play in the public parks every day. We are proud of the number of outside activities that we do at our school. In the afternoon, after a well-deserved siesta, we try to go out again or do some movement activity. Saying goodbye in the afternoon and seeing the big smiles on the children’s faces is a gift.
Our Children + Community
Our children love to do crafts, explore and play in all of the learning centers and go out to the park! Their imaginations go beyond everything. They can spend hours playing with an imaginary city they are building or pretending to cook in the dramatic area. They also love listening to stories and when families come to read, their little eyes just light up.
This year we are very excited to participate in the common Pine Village Preschool events. We will have our Imagination Week, which is all about creativity and the use of costumes. Children love experiments and the Science Fair will be the perfect time to do lots of them. Gallery Night is a big event at our school, because our “gym” is transformed into a museum of art, and all children’s artwork are exhibited. And of course, our Multicultural event is a huge one! This represents the essence of Pine Village, since all of our staff and most families come from different countries and speak different languages. In our last year’s Multicultural event there was a representation of 33 different countries among all our staff and families.
Apart from these events inside the school, when we want to have some outdoor fun, we go to play in the public parks. The one next to the train or at Brookside Ave are two of the favorites and the one with the sprinkles on the Green St is a must during the summer. We also love going for ice cream at the local ice cream parlor! Children love to go to the pond too. They play and dance in “la casita del bote”, and when we go back to the school through Center St, our children are recognized by their yellow Pine Village t-shirts. Many people greet them and smile, and we always wave to the firefighters!
Thank you +See You Soon!
I hope you feel why I love the Pine Village Preschool JP Revere St. school. Having the opportunity to be immersed in this Spanish program and hear the children speak in Spanish is something that I strongly believe connects us all and creates respect and appreciation for so many cultures in our world.
This is a bit of us. If you want to know more about our school, our doors are always open. Come to visit and say Hola!
