No matter how many children you have, sending them off to their first day of kindergarten is a big deal! It’s the first day of many years to come in the education system. Once you’ve been through the system for a while it probably seems crystal clear, but with child number one you’re left with a lot of questions. 

We’ve all heard of the phrase “mom guilt,” but the phenomenon is not just affecting women. Parent guilt is running rampant in this information age because now, more than ever before in human history we can see how other people are raising their families. Social media has the power to connect us with people all over the world, and unfortunately, we tend to use it as a tool for comparison. 

The beginning of a new semester of school is the perfect opportunity for parents to help their children set new goals and intentions for the rest of the year. This is an especially valuable opportunity for students who have fallen behind their peers or behind their capabilities so far in the academic year. Unlike the beginning of a new year which comes on the heels of a long summer vacation, the beginning of the second semester comes after only a short break. This helps many students to maintain academic focus.

At St. Barnabas School we have the pleasure of educating children from kindergarten through eighth grade. And while it's always sad to see our students age out and move on to high school, we do so with pride knowing that we have prepared them to be excellent students and community members in their next school. 

Most students begin the school year with us at St. Barnabas School, but that is not the case for our entire student body. Some students join us mid-year, others still trickle in throughout the year. Anytime a student transfers into a new school during the middle of a school year, it can be a hard transition both academically and socially. 

For some families the choice is easy. They’ve already decided their children are going to either public or private school and there is very little other decision making required. But for most families, it isn’t that simple. They must weigh the cost, quality, and accessibility of their children’s education, and in our experience, those decisions often come down to the following four issues.

As children, we grow up with our parents on a pedestal. It isn't until we grow up and become adults and then parents ourselves that we realize that our parents were just regular people who were doing the best they could. One of the big lessons we can teach our children is to admit when we’re wrong and make amends when we’ve hurt someone. And the most powerful way to instill this lesson is to exhibit the behavior you’re hoping to instill. 

You've worked hard to raise a good young boy or girl. They seem smart to you, but how do you know whether they're really prepared for school? Research shows that of all students assessed in the state of Florida roughly 50% of them passed a kindergarten readiness test. While that number seems extremely low, it raises the question that many of our incoming kindergarten parents ask. What do we need to do to prepare our children for their kindergarten education?

A question we’re frequently asked by parents who inquire about sending their children to St. Barnabas School is “can she attend even though we're not Episcopal?” And the answer to that is a resounding yes. We have students in our classrooms whose families practice a variety of different faith traditions and attend many different churches around our community.