Hello and welcome to our Preschool (3 yr old) class!! My name is Mrs. Michelle Hagarman and I will be your child’s teacher this year. Allow me to tell you a little about myself before going into detail about the year ahead. This is my 15th year at St. Joseph. I taught Kindergarten for 8 of those years and 2nd grade for 6 years. I enjoyed teaching both grades, but the littlest learners are my favorite.
Before coming to St. Joseph, I taught preschool for regular and special education students, worked in an early intervention program with children ages birth to three, was a registered behavior technician for Autistic children, and did some mental health work with both adults and children. I graduated from Shippensburg University in 1991 with a degree in Psychology and then went back to school at Immaculata University and received my teaching certificate in regular and special education. During that time I raised my son (who is now 27) and my daughter (who was adopted from China and is now 19). I have lived in the Hanover area my entire life, as did my husband of 29 years. My dog, Willow, is my companion now that my kids are grown. Both of my children are SJS and Delone Catholic graduates. I am excited to take on a new role this year as the teacher of the preschool program in the mornings, as well as, a learning/behavior support specialist in the afternoons. I was ready to pass the torch of a regular education classroom teacher to a younger teacher. Our preschool program is very exciting as it is the first time many of these little children have been in a structured school environment. I promise to take wonderful care of our littlest learners!! I know many of you have anxieties about leaving your children in the hands of someone else for possibly the first time, but we will have tons of fun in preschool and your child will make new friends, learn new skills, become a bit more independent, and learn all about how much God loves them! Each day the children will be involved in activities that include gross motor skills, fine motor skills, songs, reading, religion, and social skills. Our three hours together will go by very quickly every day. There are many, many changes occurring at St. Joseph this year. We are expanding and preparing to grow our school in lots of different ways. Please bear with us all as we navigate these changes in the first few weeks of school. If you need to contact me before school begins, please feel free to email me at: mhagarman@sjshanoverpa.org. You can also call the school office at: 717-632-0118. You should have already received information regarding our Back to School meetings that are upcoming, but if you misplaced the information or just didn’t receive it, here are a few dates to keep in mind.
This year your child will need to bring a backpack (large enough to fit a standard size folder), a water bottle, and a healthy morning snack each day. Please label the backpack and the water bottle. It would be great to label your child’s snack each day, as well. Ziplock bags of Goldfish are a hot item! I am also asking that each child bring in a spare set of clothing (including pants, shirt, underwear, and socks) in case of an accident. Please put this extra set of clothing in a labeled Ziplock bag to be kept at school. Just a reminder that all children must be potty trained and able to take care of bathroom needs independently. I will be giving each child a green folder that will go back and forth between home and school each day. Please check this folder regularly and send back any monies, paperwork, notes, etc. in the folder provided. We will check your child’s folder each morning when they arrive for anything that is needed to be turned into school. At the Preschool meeting on August 8th and/or the Back to School night meeting on August 17th, I will have your child’s folder available. It will include another informational packet, any pertinent paperwork from the school office, a name tag for the first few days of school, and possibly a few other items. For now, enjoy these last remaining days of summer and prepare your child for their first school experience. I look forward to meeting all of my new little friends very soon!! If you have any questions between now and then, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Mrs. Michelle Hagarman |
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