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Vol. LXI, No. 38
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Wednesday, September 19, 2007
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Vol. LXI, No. 38
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Wednesday, September 19, 2007
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Youngsters at the Crossroads Nursery School on Olden Lane may not be aware that the school reached a milestone this year with the 60th anniversary of its founding, but the new set of playground equipment is sure to make an impact.
“The school’s 60th anniversary coincided with new safety regulations for playground equipment, so we looked with fresh eyes at our playground needs,” said Danielle Otis after succeeding longtime Director Myrna Jenkins, who retired this year after almost three decades in the post.
Part of the new up-to-code playground has been dedicated to Ms. Jenkins, who was a teacher at the school before becoming its director in 1978.
“In harmony with Myrna’s and the school’s hands-on philosophy, we have called a section of the playground ‘Myrna’s Muck-About Pit,’” said Ms. Otis.
“The Institute [for Advanced Study] carpenters have done a wonderful job in building a sand pit with a section for mud play and a section with rotting logs so that the children can watch changes in the natural world.”
The school offers a traditional, child-centered education for approximately 60 youngsters, many of whom come from overseas as the sons and daughters of Members of the Institute for Advanced Study as well as from the Princeton community.
It provides nursery care to children from three months to five years of age, with programs offering educational, recreational, and social activities.
The school’s philosophy of learning through play — the belief that the work of children is play which has intrinsic value for learning that cannot be readily measured — often features exploratory walks to the nearby woods and fields, to take advantage of the rich natural environment of the Institute surroundings.
Thirteen teachers serve the school’s five age groups. Infants from 3 to 15 months and toddlers from 16 to 29 months are enrolled in a full-day program. Three pre-school classrooms serve children from 2- to 5 years of age, with two part-time and two full-time program options.
Contrary to popular misconception, not all Crossroads pupils are the children of Institute Members. “About one third of our children come from families connected to the Institute for Advanced Study,” said Ms. Otis, who came to the Princeton area three years ago and was a parent and then a board member before becoming the school’s director. “About two thirds are from the community and live in Princeton or nearby.”
Ms. Otis, who with her Swedish husband has a young son in the school, said she feels right at home in Princeton’s international community.
Crossroads gives first preference for admission to children of members and staff of the Institute for Advanced Study; then to children returning from the previous year; and then to siblings of community children who have been in the school in the past.
While Institute families have always brought an international dimension to the school, several recent refugee families have enrolled children there. Pupils from Sudan and Burma add to the rich cross-cultural environment and, as a result of a teacher’s friendship and the Nassau Presbyterian Church, several Bosnian families have joined the Crossroads network, said Ms. Otis.
According to Ms. Otis, connections with international families expand the experience of all the school’s children and connections with local families expand the experience of Member visitors to the Institute.
The school has been known to feature multiple languages including Spanish, Serbo-Croation, Italian, French, Russian, and Mandarin Chinese.
“Crossroads has been described as a mini-U.N. and that’s great for every one.”
History
Founded in 1947 to serve the needs of Institute for Advanced Study personnel with young children, Crossroads Nursery School was originally housed on Olden Lane Circle and then in two World War II-era huts, before moving to its present location at 225 Olden Lane in 1994. Its current building was once home to the Institute’s famed Electronic Computer Project led by John von Neumann and the school maintains a close relationship with the Institute, which provided the labor to install the new playground equipment and put up half of the $35,000 cost of materials.
The school raised the rest of the funds needed through contributions to its 60th Anniversary Fund, further (tax-deductible) donations to which will be used for need-based scholarships at the school. The school holds an annual crafts fair in support of its scholarships. This year, the fair will be held on December 2 and will feature hand-crafted children’s toys and clothes, home-baking in an English tea room, children’s activities, and a silent auction.
A small number of places are still available for children in the pre-k (four to five year-olds) class.
For more information, call (609) 951-4699.