Dear Park’s Edge Preschool Families:

Turning the tassel from left to right is always a melancholy occasion…and the evening of Thursday, May 23rd was no exception for twenty-three Park’s Edge preschoolers entering kindergarten in fall. The graduates ceremoniously crossed over the bridge from preschool to kindergarten. Emanuel Church’s ‘Good News Group’ was present handing out the ‘goody bags’to our graduates. Imagine what the world will be like when the children entering kindergarten in fall will graduate from high school in 2032!

Welcoming new families and saying ‘sad farewell’ to our families departing for the summer months or leaving for good. As the season changes so is the Park’s Edge Preschool staff…Ms. Jacoba has been working part-time in our infant room since her recovery from breast cancer. She has decided to ‘retire’from PEP and work only one job, full-time, at Muskego Pick & Save. Best wishes Jacoba! The PEP children and staff had a going away party for Ms. Dee in wishing her a sad farewell too.

Thursday, May 23rd, we celebrated Ms. Dee’s successes with a singalong. We included all of Ms. Dee’s favorite… ‘The Wheels on the Bus’, ‘The Frog Song’ and‘If All the Raindrops were Lemon Drops and Gumdrops, Oh What a World This Would Be’! Everyone teared up when she bid us good-bye with ‘You Are My Sun- shine’…a center-wide favor- ite song…especially the way Dee sings it! Dee is leaving for personal reasons and promises to stay in touch. I want to personally say‘Thank you’ to Ms. Jacoba and Ms. Dee, you will always be loved and truly missed at PEP!

PEP is welcoming back Ms. Caitlin returning to PEP June 11th, from the birth of her son, Declan. Watch for a staff packet with biographies of PEP’s staff, coming to family mailboxes in July!

Celebration…come on…Park’s Edge Preschool is celebrating 20 years on June 1st, 2019! Emanuel Church made the decision twenty years ago to open its doors to a childcare program as a Christian outreach to the community. Thank you, Emanuel Church! A ‘thank you’ also goes out to the families and staff of Park’s Edge Preschool for making Park’s Edge Preschool your decision too! Peggy Burg, an Emanuel Church leader, instrumental when Park’s Edge Preschool was in its infancy, reflected on PEP’s early beginnings. Peggy is a past PEP Board member, as well as a Grandmother in our program. She has this to say about PEP’s 20-Year Anniversary:

Congratulations PEP for 20 years! As a church member, I was on the Board of Directors when PEP first opened. The goal was to develop a preschool that was Christian based and provided quality day care. Today’s Park’s Edge is an outstanding example of this, as well as maintaining a 5 Star preschool rating. Thanks to Ellen for setting strong goals and high expectations. Thanks to the staff for their hard work, and dedication; and their compassion and concern for the children. Walking through the preschool on any given day, you will see a buzz of activities, smiling faces and quality teaching. I am very proud of Park’s Edge Preschool. Keep up the good work. Congratulations, Peggy Berg

PEP’s twentieth anniversary will be celebrated with cake and ice cream on Sunday, June 16nd after Emanuel Church’s Worship Service during Fellowship Hour. Our classrooms will be complete for a tour of Park’s Edge Preschool! I hope you’ll consider joining PEP for Emanuel Church’s Worship Service at 9:30 am to celebrate 20 years! The celebration will continue throughout the year…come see what we have planned for AugustFest, Sunday, August 4th and the Hales Corners National Night Out, Tuesday, August 6th, 2019! Happy 20th Anniversary Park’s Edge!

Happy Summer, Ellen Kvalheim