by Simon Tuffnel-Long Island City, NY
On June 28th of this year, Jin-A Child Care Center held its 8th annual graduation ceremony. It was a marvelous experience for both parents and children, to see the beautiful and innocent smiling faces of the 32 graduates who would become the class of 95. They are ready to go to Kindergarten with a wonderful preschool education as their foundation.
The teachers at Jin-A do their very best to help these special children uncover their unique gifts from God. Because of this, they are confident the children will always remember their wonderful school on the hill, their friends and teachers, and leave with many precious memories.
The day was blessed with good weather, the sun was shining all day and a tent had been prepared for the festivities. Everyone enjoyed watching the children sing and dance and even demonstrate their Karate skills. Following this was the raffle organized by Mr. Ken Hendricks, the outgoing JPA president and Mrs. Sue Ferabolli. There were many excellent prizes, not least of which was a trip for two people to Niagara Falls and also a TV/VCR combo. We were especially grateful to the many business's and individuals who donated prizes, without whom the raffle could not have been so successful.
Although she was still packing for her long journey to her husbands hometown in Australia, Mrs. Mamiko Rattley was able to attend the graduation and give a farewell speech. This was a touching moment because it was Mrs. Rattley who, along with the support of HSA leaders, had founded Jin-A Child Care Center in 1986. She shared with us some of the difficulties of the past eight years, but told us that the victory of seeing the smiles and hearing the voices of the laughing children who were graduating makes all the struggles worthwhile. Since 1986, more than 300 children have graduated from Jin-A and over 500 have attended the program.
Jin-A has a beautiful environment for children, deep in Gods creation. It is a pioneer for a new approach in teaching; "Shim-Jung Education", or education with heart. This program embraces children from all races and religions and provides a variety of experiences to nurture and educate the whole child; heart, mind and body.
Goals of our program:
* Promoting self-help, independence and decision making.
* Building self-esteem and a positive self concept.
* Encouraging each child to express their unique creativity; providing opportunities for development of their potential, while supporting their own style of learning.
* Focusing on social readiness and making healthy relationships with family and peers.
* Developing basic concepts and thinking skills as the foundation for future education. Inspiring the child's natural curiosity and inquisitiveness, to encourage lifelong learning.
* Fostering an appreciation of traditional family values.
* Our religious goal is to provide a foundation for each child to live, grow and pray in their own faith and in harmony with other faiths. The virtues of love, faith and hope are our unifying goals and are the basis of loving and caring relationships.
Jin-A Child Care Center is committed to strive for the highest standards in Early Childhood Education.
Mrs. Christine Brunkhorst, the director of Jin-A, and herself a mother of two, told us what an enormous foundation Jin-A has given to her children. She went on to say that the most precious part of all is that the relationships and friendships started here can grow throughout the years to come. It becomes especially important during the teenage years to have friendships with other blessed children to help stay pure and connected to the True Family. It is such a great blessing when children can be in a protected environment in their early years of life.
Next September Jin-A is proud to start its first Kindergarten class. Please call for information about any of the programs at 201-279-1203.