The one word that truly embodies the spirit of that week for me is passion. Every single person who has become a part of our community has done so because they are passionately invested in what The Grove School stands for. Take Dr. Shefali Parmar for example, one of our parents who is also a pediatrician. She spoke at The Grove School of Cary about the importance of children’s health, and gave other parents a great list of things to do for their children to ensure an all-around healthy lifestyle. As I listened to her workshop, I found myself taking notes to use at home for my daughter.

Another great example is Stephanie from Stretch-n-Grow, who at The Grove School of Plano took children through a set of exercises and an obstacle course, all while teaching them the names of various muscle groups. I loved hearing the class of 3-year olds pronounce “trapezius” in unison!

Or, take Ms Ali at The Grove School of Cary, who I personally watched scrape the ORTs from her plate into a bin for composting, and then recycle her plastic plate. Talk about passion!

To me, meeting these folks just helped to reinforce that we’re all here not because it’s a job, or because it’s a convenient place to take our kids. We’re here because we all truly believe in a similar set of ideals, and are passionate about living them out (personally, professionally, or through our children). Of course, I’m no exception. While traveling, I managed to successfully adhere to my diet which consists of lean meats, fruits and veggies, and specific fats (and excludes grains, gluten, legumes, dairy, and heavy starches – check out the Paleo Diet). I also managed to seek out a local CrossFit affiliate, where I train back home 5 times per week. My coworkers gently kid that I’m obsessed.

It’s was great to spend a week amongst such passionate people. But most importantly, it was great to see children getting such a great educational experience at the school. When we sought out to build The Grove School, our goal was simply to create the best preschool a family could ask for. After being there and witnessing such amazing educational experiences, I can confidently label The Grove School “best” in any category.

Cary Town Councilwoman Gale Adcock reads to children at the opening of The Grove School. CaryCitizen photos by Hal Goodtree.

Lindsey Chester of the Cary Citizen wrote a nice article about the school’s grand opening. Read the full article.

10:30 Storytime, Growing with the Trees
11:30 Learn how to make pretzels!
2:30 Storytime with Councilmember Gale Adcock
3-6 More pretzel making, Tumblebus (a gym on wheels!), an animal adaptation demo and free play in the Outdoor Grove

And we’re proud to share this day with these amazing local businesses and organizations who’ll be giving demos and answering your questions:

Pediatrician Dr. Shefali Parmar
Whole Family Chiropractor Dr. Debra Bell
Great Harvest
BA Tumbler’s Tumblebus
Downtown Cary Farmer’s Market
Whole Foods

Come by anytime!

State Representative Nelson Dollar and Councilmember Ervin Portman will help with our 10 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony.

And Councilmember Gale Adcock will read a story to the children at 2:30 p.m.

There’s something for everybody at our grand opening. Stories and snacks for the kids, demos and tours for the parents. So bring your family and join in the fun, even it’s just for a few minutes.

For a full schedule of the day’s events, click here.

10:00 a.m. Ribbon cutting with State Representative Nelson Dollar and Cary Councilmember Ervin Portman

11:00 a.m. Celebration of opening lead by Ty Durekas, President of The Grove School
Storytelling and teacher lead activity for the children

11:15 a.m. Community partner proclamation

11:30 a.m. School tour lead by Head of School, Dr. Scott Andersen

11:45 a.m. Classroom technology introduction and demo

12:00 p.m. Introduction of our “sister school” in Plano, TX via Skype

12:15 p.m. Lunch buffet catered by Whole Foods

1:00 p.m. School tour – curriculum introductions lead by Education Manager

1:45 p.m. Outdoor Grove tour/ Healthy Planet activity

2:15 p.m. Snack

2:30 p.m. Story time with Cary Councilmember Gale Adcock

2:45 p.m. Classroom technology introduction and demo

3:15 p.m. Community engagement and communication

4:00 p.m. Children’s activities (indoor and outdoor planting), admissions and educational breakout sessions, including:
• Dr. Shefali Parmar, Pediatrician
• Dr. Debra Bell, Whole Family Chiropractor
• Paige Williams, Great Harvest Bread Company, the anatomy of bread making
• Organic gardening
• Jamie Patrick, Explore (Art, Music, Dance)
• Laura Lainhoff, Tumblebus
• Jennifer Gibbs, Cary Farmer’s Market
• Town of Cary, Recycling program
• Classroom technology introduction and demo

5:30 p.m. Meet the teachers – introductions of staff

6:00 p.m. Parent connections – meet and greet for current and prospective parents

6:45 p.m. Closing remarks

Join us on:

Wednesday, February 24th in PLANO
Thursday, February 25th in CARY

We’ll have kids’ activities running throughout the day (from 10AM-7PM). And school and community leaders will be on hand to answer questions. We’re thrilled to be in these communities and hope that you’ll join us in celebration.

Feel free to stop by at a time that works best for you. We’ll post more details and a complete schedule soon.

Sample Schedule of Events

Morning

- Celebration of opening lead by Ty Durekas, our president
- School tour lead by the heads of school
- Storytelling and teacher lead activities
- “Skyped” introductions from sister school via the Teach Smart Board
- Hatch smartboard overview (how it’s used in the classroom and benefits)

Afternoon

- Lunch buffet catered by Whole Foods
- Pre-school fair (meet and greet and lots of fun activities for the kids)
- School tour lead by the Head of School
- Curriculum overviews lead by our education managers (focus on Healthy Mind)
- Outdoor classroom tour and activity (focused on Healthy Planet)
- Nutritional snack and intro to Healthy Body
- Overview of technology in the classroom