St. Raphael Preschool Raleigh, NC

A Message From the Principal

Welcome to St. Raphael Preschool! We recognize that you as parents are your child’s first and most important teachers. As Catholic educators our goal is to support your family as we work together to provide a warm, stimulating, and secure environment where every child grows in God’s love. We strongly believe that collaboration between home and school creates a caring community that encourages all young students to reach their full potential.

St. Raphael Preschool strives to meet the diverse needs of families in our community by offering a high quality, faith-filled early education for children. All domains important to nurturing the whole child – language and literacy, math, science, creative expression, social-emotional understanding, physical development, health and safety, and most importantly faith development – are incorporated into our curriculum. Our teachers plan hands-on learning activities based on their knowledge of children’s interests and strengths as well as developmentally appropriate teaching practices.

It is our sincere hope that each child’s positive preschool experience fosters a love and excitement for learning as well as a lifelong relationship with Christ.

Mrs. Belem Ponce

Director

bponce@saintraphael.org

Mission

St. Raphael Preschool provides a safe, nurturing learning environment that promotes Catholic values and fosters the dispositions and competencies that prepare children for future learning and life experiences. We respect and value each individual and family and the unique contributions they offer to our community.

Faith

Faith education is integrated throughout the early childhood curriculum. A variety of religious education materials are utilized, including the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (for 4 and 5-year-olds). The goals of faith education for the child are to:

Learn about Jesus’ life and teachings
Grow in relationship with God
Discover and appreciate God’s creation
Worship God in prayer and song
Begin to experience the Catholic tradition
Exhibit Christian respect for self and others

Academics

Early childhood education is a distinct period of learning. Preschoolers acquire a great deal of their knowledge and abilities as they participate in hands-on activities that engage all their senses. St. Raphael Preschool provides experiences that focus on the spiritual, social-emotional, physical (fine motor skills), cognitive and creative expression (art and music).

Extracurricular

St. Raphael Preschool offers specials' classes including creative movement, music and Spanish as well as enrichments in the cultural arts.