Conestoga Valley townlively.com
OCTOBER 18, 2023
October Is
Breast Cancer SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LIX • NO 43
Awareness Month
Taking away the scary CVSD prekindergarten program makes transition to school more comfortable BY ANN MEAD ASH
t’s a great opportunity for these kids,” said Karen Sullivan, First 10 administrator with the Conestoga Valley School District (CVSD). “The transition to kindergarten will be so much easier because they have been in the buildings.” Starting school on the first day of kindergarten will be more comfortable for more than 100 CVSD children thanks to the opportunity to take part in a full-day prekindergarten program made possible by a Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts Grant. The program brings 3- and 4-year-olds to their homeschool (whenever possible) on a bus with their siblings. The six prekindergarten classrooms are located in Brownstown, Fritz, Smoketown, and Leola elementary schools, along with Lancaster Mennonite School. Each classroom has 18 students and two teachers. Steps to Success Inc. and Owl Hill Learning Centers are lead partners with CVSD in several of the classrooms.
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Children in Conestoga Valley School District who qualify may attend prekindergarten classes in school district buildings.
Adriana Witman, school-age program administrator with Steps to Success, said that the preschool began discussing the program with CVSD early in 2023. “(This prekindergarten program) is for families at 300% of poverty level,” she said. “It gives those kids the
opportunity to get a high-quality education through a grant-funded program.” Steps to Success employee Anneliese Gural, lead teacher at the Leola Elementary Pre-K Counts location, said that the program uses the Creative Curriculum, which is
literacy based, and that a variety of books are part of the daily learning program, including those with social and emotional stories and topics related to the learning units. The classroom has a number of learning centers, including those dedicated to science, dramatic play,
blocks, a light table, art, writing, math manipulatives, fine motor skills, and sensory activities. There is also a cozy corner for problem solving and identifying feelings. “(The students) work on fine motor skills to prepare them to write. They work on sounds, and, depending on the level of the child, they may work in small groups,” said Sullivan, who noted that activities for families will be part of the program as will Play and Learns, which involve open gyms and story times intended to develop social and emotional learning and sharing skills. To keep parents informed, Gural said, an app is used to message families throughout the day. “We send photos of the children completing work,” she noted, adding that a review of the unit that is being studied is sent home, along with work on a particular subject. “We will send home simple things so families can see the progress the child has made in the areas we’re working on,” she said. See CVSD pg 11
BY JEFF FALK
The bond between humans and dogs is different from those that exist between any of God’s other creatures. Puppies with a Purpose harnesses that relationship and even puts it to the test. In association with Lancaster County 4-H, Puppies with a Purpose is a dog fostering program designed to prepare young canines for a life of serving people with visual impairments. Bred for service by The Seeing Eye of Morristown, N.J., the puppies live in the homes of
Puppies with a Purpose members for about a year before receiving five months of professional training to become certified guide dogs. “Humans and dogs form that bond,” said Paula Cook, the leader of the Lancaster chapter of Puppies with a Purpose. “If that bond is there, it’s a mutual thing. That’s kind of how dogs are wired. With a personality of a dog, it’s a two-way street. That’s why people bond with their pets. That’s why visually impaired people bond with their guide dogs.” During monthly meetings at the See Puppies with a Purpose pg 3
Authors, crafters, food, and more Salem Hellers plans holiday bazaar BY ANN MEAD ASH
Deb Burns, one of the organizers of the annual Salem Hellers Evangelical Reformed Church bazaar, has a room set aside for visiting authors this year. Last year, George Cooper, author of the recently published book “Joseph of Nazareth: A Story of Uncommon Love and Faith,” joined in the event to autograph copies of his book. This year, four more authors have signed on, along with more than 20 crafters and home-based Deb Burns (left) and Betty Snyder are preparing for the annual Salem Hellers business representatives to
enhance the offerings of the event. The 2023 holiday bazaar will be held on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the church, 2555 Horseshoe Road, Lancaster. According to Burns, among the many crafters will be those who sell jewelry, dog scarves, crocheted items, wood crafts, handmade note cards and greeting cards, wreaths, candles, repurposed wine bottles, and handcrafted bags. Home-based business vendors will sell Avon products, items from Pampered Chef, baskets, Discovery Toys, Tupperware, and Thirty-One Gifts. See Salem Hellers pg 5
Evangelical Reformed Church bazaar. GELT BUS SCHEDULE M Brandywine Shoe Shop Honey Brook, 9a-5p
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Ephrata, 9a-5p
T Noble Road Milking
Oxford Produce Auction
Valley View Hardware
John M Hess Auction
Kirkwood, 9a-5p
Oxford, 8a-12p Apr-Nov
Lincoln Univ, 12:30p-5p Apr-Nov
Manheim, 9a-5p
W Sunrise Green House
Beiler’s Sawmill
Vibrant Church (parking lot)
Reifsnyder’s Ag Center
Peach Bottom, 9a-11:30a
Quarryville, 12p-5p
Terre Hill, 9a-5p
Bernville, 9a-4p
TH Dutch-Way Market
Green Tree Hardware
Meadowcreek BBQ Supply
Gap, 9a-12p
Quarryville, 12:30p-5p
New Holland, 9a-5p
F RH Rohrer and Sons
Oxford Produce Auction
Valley View Hardware
Reifsnyder’s Ag Center
Quarryville, 9a-5p
Oxford, 9a-5p Dec-Mar
Lincoln Univ, 12:30p-5p Dec-Mar
Bernville, 9a-4p
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