Our Adventures at Westminster School What a wonderful adventure The Griffin Academy children had when they spent not one, not two, but three full days at Westminster School. As a broken water main at St. Alban's Church may have been forced to close The Griffin Academy, Westminster School opened its doors to our students and staff. Westminster’s Gryphon Theater was transformed into three separate preschool classrooms. Tables, chairs, nap time cots, toys, books, sensory tables—all were transported to Westminster to create a “classroom” for the children that was as normal as possible. With very little effort at all, the children adjusted to class at the big school. Not knowing any better, one would have thought that the children spent every day at Westminster. Each day at Westminster held a special happening for the children. Each morning, the children played in the gym with balls and scooters. They were reunited with their second-grade reading buddies for recess on the playground. Mrs. Polchert invited the children to the library for story time. Mr. Valdivia entertained both teachers and children with familiar songs, some famous puppets (specifically, Elmo and Cookie Monster), drum playing, and more during their visit to the music room. The enthusiasm and joy on the children’s faces were priceless. The Griffin Academy students were able to shop for and enjoy yummy baked goods at the 8th-grade bake sale. With their remarkable acting talents, the teachers brought the book, Pete’s a Pizza, to life. This was followed by the children pairing up and “kneading and baking” each other! Following the story, the children enjoyed a special snack which included homemade pizza English Muffins and fruit smoothies. If that wasn’t enough excitement, on the fourth day, the children started school at Westminster, but shortly after arriving, boarded the bus for a little field trip—back to The Griffin Academy! Thank you so much to the administration, staff, and students of Westminster School for making the preschoolers and preschool staff feel at home. We truly felt ourselves to be part of the “Westminster family.” The Griffin Academy of Westminster School is housed in St. Alban’s Church at 6800 Columbia Pike in Annandale, VA. This location is special because Mrs. Goll rented space from the church for her first Kindergarten class in 1962. Of course, the location is also convenient for parents who have a child enrolled at Westminster and at The Griffin Academy as the church is only a short distance from the school. A Year in Pictures The slide show above is a journey through The Griffin Academy.  It highlights the first day of school, field trips, special events and days, as well as everyday school life.  The pictures capture the wonder and excitement found in the eyes of young children as they discover something for the first time, enjoy playing with friends, ride on school buses to new places, and experience all of the fun that preschool has to offer.     The overall goal of the Griffin Academy is to provide a nurturing learning environment for preschool-aged children. There will be a routine to the day which will include exploration of various topics, including academics, as well as social learning. Children will be encouraged to use proper manners, learn to respect themselves and others, and to work and play together harmoniously. The academic program for the three-year-old classes will introduce children to letters and their sounds, numbers, science through nature, social studies through community, music, art, French, drama and free-play. The children will experience indoor and outdoor play, structured and non-structured time, quiet and active times during the day. The academic program for the four-year-old classes will help to prepare the children for kindergarten. Older four-year-olds (those who are five by December 31), will be placed in the junior kindergarten class, which will be more academic than the younger fours’ class. Both classes will be exposed to a phonics-based pre-reading/reading program which will prepare them for the joys of reading. Story-time will be part of the daily routine when the children will be exposed to classic children’s literature, nursery rhymes, and poetry.