The annual Main Street Preschool Christmas Program will be held this Sunday, December 18th at 3PM.

Main Street Preschool is located at the Tipp City United Methodist Church at the corner of 3rd. St. and Main St. in Tipp City’s historic downtown business district.

Administrators and teachers welcome the public to enjoy the sounds and the sights of Christmas and also welcome you to hear about plans for January registration.

Suzanne Collins, Main Street Preschool Director shared, “For the preschool this is a great way to teach our children about community and helping others. The children especially enjoy getting to tour the Needy Basket and seeing all the food that is going to help others.”

“We feed lots of families around town and those families very much appreciate your generous family donations” shared Mr. Brenner as he addressed the students of Main Street Preschool. The students collected a total of 65 jars of jelly along with other non-perishable goods and walked their donations up to The Needy Basket on the chilly Friday morning of November 18th.

The Needy Basket was started in 1946 and at that time just served 4 families in town. It has been a mainstay of the community ever since. The Needy Basket serves nearly 800 families during the holiday months, all of those families to be supported by the Needy Basket.

Main Street Preschool teachers accompanied the students on their way to and from the Needy Basket. This is the fifth year that the school has helped students to understand the plight of the families and children who need this food very badly. Each child helped to load the non-perishable foods into bags and deliver them to the volunteers at the Needy Basket. The children learned that families are not able to choose the food that they will receive, but that the Needy Basket employees make sure that they have a bit of everything to provide them with nutritious foods to eat. Families with special needs children or those with allergies are allowed to indicate what products they can and cannot eat and the Needy Basket does what they can to accommodate every request. On top of non-perishable food products the Needy Basket has a cooler for fruits and veggies as well as a small stock of bath and personal hygiene items.

Operating hours for families needing assistance are

Monday 10AM to noon
Wednesday 10AM to noon and 3PM until 5PM
Friday 3PM to 5:30PM

Any resident within the service area may apply for help if he or she can provide:

1. Proof of residence, and;
2. Certify that total household income is less than the poverty level for a household of their size, as shown in Ohio tables published in July of each year.

Registration for the 2012-2013 school year begins on January 9 for current families and TCUMC families, and on January 11 for the public.
On Sunday, January 29, from 2:30-3:30 p.m., the staff of Main Street Preschool invites the public to its Open House. Families can meet the teachers, tour the classrooms, and register at that time.
Teacher assistants in each of the five classes allows for small-group activities which emphasize the teaching philosophy of growth and development of the whole child physically, emotionally, socially, intellectually and spiritually.

As in years prior, the library, Tipp Monroe Community Services and downtown businesses eagerly agreed to greet the Main Street Preschool children as they make their way down the streets of Tipp City for their annual Halloween Parade. Every year the classes at Main Street Preschool dress up as their favorite characters and, along with a parent or other adult, march in a Halloween Parade with the preschool staff.

Director Suzanne Collins found it was easy to get new businesses to participate in the Parade when she visited shops along Main Street and a few on Second Street. This year 11 stops are planned for the goblins, princesses, Star Wars characters and more.

Main Street Preschool continues to be thrilled with its location in Tipp City’s historic downtown retail district where it receives wonderful support from its local organizations and merchants.

Parents will have an opportunity to meet the director, teachers and office manager, as well as other parents. Important dates and policies will be shared along with a parent handbook.
Classes begin on Tuesday, September 6, for the 3-year-olds, pre-k, and multi-age classes. Wednesday, September 7, will be the first day of classes for the 4&5-year-olds, and on Monday, September 12, the 2-year-olds will be welcomed to the preschool.