Latest news with #ChristtheKingSchool
Hamilton Spectator
03-06-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Shaunavon Cooperative Playschool offers unique preschool experience
Walking into the Shaunavon Cooperative Playschool room, situated in Christ the King School in Shaunavon, I was greeted by Superwoman, aka Sue Peterson. Known lovingly as 'Miss Sue' to preschoolers over the past two decades, she does indeed have superpowers which are on display every Tuesday and Thursday, not only on Superheroes Day, which is when I happened to meet up with her to learn more about what the Playschool has to offer. This is Sue's twenty-first year with the Playschool and it is the school's 20th year occupying a classroom at CKS. The Playschool has been around for much longer; it was incorporated as a co-operative in 1986. It is not affiliated with any school division; they simply rent the space from Christ the King School. Nineteen children were enrolled this year, a decrease from last year. This meant that classes were offered only on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, with afternoon classes removed. Peterson says, 'We've had up to 34-36 kids in the past; 15 per class would be ideal. Some of our kids do come over from daycare to attend playschool, and we also have a drop-in program. For example, if Grandma is babysitting visiting grandkids for the week, they can register ahead of time and attend on a drop-in basis.' Classes run from 9:00 am - 11:30 am. There is open enrollment throughout the year; children can begin attending in the month that they turn three, provided that they are potty trained. Classes begin in early October and run through to the end of May. The year end celebration and graduation took place on May 29. Megan Lewans is Chair of the volunteer board and says that enrollment for next year is open right now and they are urging local families to consider the playschool as a great option for their pre-schoolers. Details and links can be found on their Facebook page or you can email them at shaunavoncooperativeplayschool@ Fees are $800 to attend twice/week or $520 for once/week with a 10% discount available if fees are paid in full during the first week of school. Megan is one of many parents who volunteer their time to ensure that the playschool can continue to operate. She says, 'This has been one of our most successful years of fundraising. Fundraising offsets our costs to operate (salaries, insurance, rent and supplies), which have continued to increase. We increased tuition slightly last year and hope to keep it at its current level. Fundraising is essential and the community has been very generous.' Several successful fundraisers were held throughout the year including raffles, selling Mom's Pantry products and a new endeavour is asking people to purchase items for the classroom from 'Miss Sue's Wishlist' on . Cash donations are gratefully accepted as well, along with donations of toys and supplies; Sue encourages people to reach out to her for more information on that. Lewans adds, 'We really hope that new families will consider our playschool as an option for their pre-schoolers. Our numbers have decreased which I think is partly due to a decrease in babies during Covid and the availability of other options for preschoolers in Shaunavon.' Those options include Shaunavon Children's Learning Centre which provides daycare and there is also a Pre-K program offered at Shaunavon Public School. Megan is Sue's sister-in-law and Cindy Nelson, Playschool Assistant, is Sue's aunt. Sue says, 'There's lots of family connections right now, but we consider all of the kids to be 'our kids'. A day in the life of playschool includes arriving, finding their name and putting it on the board for attendance, plenty of playtime, singing songs, making crafts, reading stories, having snack time, and physical activity such as an obstacle course. Playschool touches on many things that children need to learn including the alphabet, name and letter recognition and numbers but the main focus is on 'play', albeit structured. The classroom is filled with fun options including a rice table, play kitchen, play-doh, puzzles, books and a myriad of toys. The room is lined with crafts and artwork made by the children. Peterson describes some of the benefits of attending playschool, saying, 'The kids know they're loved. They make new friends and learn how to be a friend. We experience and explore music, crafts and they get to play with different toys than what they might have at home. They become familiar with the school overall so that it's not such a big and scary place if they come here for Kindergarten, which many do.' Lewans echoes those sentiments from a parent's perspective, adding, 'This is so much more than childcare; kids are building confidence and getting ready for Kindergarten. My son comes home talking about ALL they did each day.' Her son will enter Kindergarten this fall and she says he is ready to go now. Lewans will be stepping down from the Board as her son graduates and new parents are encouraged to step up to help run the organization. Their annual meeting is being held on June 5 at 5 pm in the basement meeting room at the Grand Coteau Heritage & Cultural Centre; everyone is welcome. When asked what she has found most rewarding over the years, Sue says, 'As the year goes on, you see the development and improvement in all aspects. They go from being scared on the first day to marching right in and forgetting to say 'bye' to Mom. Seeing that change at the end is amazing. And, we hear stories of how, years down the road, the kids are still pulling out their photo album that we create for them at the end of each year.' Peterson has every intention to continue in her role, saying, 'Everyone has their 'thing' and place in life, and I think this is mine.' And, while she may not wear her Superwoman costume every day, she is a superhero everyday to her playschool kids. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Starting early: 11-year-old Lexington boy says he's running for Congress
LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — It's not unusual for a political candidate to launch a campaign on social media, but it's uncommon for the candidate to be as forward-thinking as William Huffman of Lexington. At just 11 years old, William can't run for Congress until 2038, but he recently announced on Instagram that he is throwing his hat into the ring now. Starting early: 11-year-old Lexington boy says he's running for Congress Hazel Green, Kentucky gets a makeover as a 'Celtic Village' Bath County celebrates the mysterious meat shower of 1876 William Huffman: 'The reason for that is you need momentum to, you know, get there to win,' William said. 'It's like a horse. You just can't send it straight off. It has to have training.' William, a fifth grader at Christ the King School, has been around politics all his life. His dad, Stephen, is a lobbyist and was chief of staff for former Lt. Gov. Steve Pence. His mother, Kim, is also a familiar face in Frankfort. William has traveled many times with his parents to the state Capitol and the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. William has pictures of himself alongside both Republican and Democratic newsmakers, such as Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), as well as Sen. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). He promises to be a politician who works the middle. William said, 'I feel like it's way too divided right now. I feel like every candidate just hates each other at the moment.' He's friends with Sixth District Congressman Andy Barr (R-Ky.), but he wants his job. What if he has to run against Barr 13 years from now? Best of 'Spirit of the Bluegrass' 2024 'The primary shall state it,' William said with a smile. His dad never pushed William's interest in politics, but he said he often finds his son watching news coverage of the Kentucky General Assembly. It was on a recent vacation when his parents realized how serious he was about running a campaign. Stephen Huffman said, 'We were in Florida, and in his final two hours, he could've been at the pool or on the beach like the other kids, but he was in the business center making his logo for his run for Congress.' William writes and records his own speeches, which he posts to X and Instagram, and has a slogan in mind: 'Bringing common sense to Congress,' because, he says, 'common sense is not common.' William said he has big ideas on how to improve health care and cut government waste, a platform that will become clearer as he gets closer to the election. After all, that's years away. His dad knows he may have to help William run a campaign someday. Jerry's Restaurant in Paris is the last of its kind Stephen said, 'I guess so. I'll be ready to write a check.' William may have plenty of time, but he's not missing opportunities to drum up support. Recently, he was asked if he wanted to say anything when he was invited to sit in on a meeting of the state House transportation committee. He leaned into the microphone and told the lawmakers, 'I'm going to run for Congress in 2038, and I'm going to win.' William Huffman hopes central Kentucky voters will get to know his name now and, maybe someday, they can put an X by it. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
World-famous guitar collection on display Tuesday in Burlington
A legendary collection of guitars will be on display Tuesday at Christ the King School in Burlington. The Blue Guitar Collection honors famous guitar builder, Jimmy D'Aquisto, who died in April 1995 at age 59. D'Aquisto was a teenager when he started learning the art of building archtop guitars in the 1950s, when he became an apprentice to John D'Angelico, considered the grandfather of archtop guitar construction. Today, D'Aquito's deluxe models routinely sell for well over $100,000 and are coveted by collectors around the world. Watch: Christ the King music teacher Nick Verdirame plays the Benedetto La Cremona Azzura In 1995, one of those collectors, Scott Chinery, asked more than 20 respected luthiers to each build a guitar in tribute to D'Aquisto. The only rules: The guitar had to be an 18-inch archtop (hollow acoustic or semi-acoustic guitars that are favored by many jazz guitarists); and it had to be the exact shade of blue as D'Aquisto's Blue Centura Deluxe. At the time, Chinery, who died in 2000, said the goal was to bring the best guitar-builders together to interpret the same guitar. 'All of these great luthiers saw this as a friendly competition, and as a result they went beyond anything they'd ever done,' he said. 'We ended up with a collection of the greatest archtop guitars ever made.' The Blue Guitar Collection was displayed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History from November 1997 through October 1998. After Chinery's passing in 2000, the guitars were passed along to The Archtop Foundation, which as part of its mission, exhibits the collection at shows, museums, and schools. Tuesday's exhibit starts at 9 a.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
