Fourteen students graduated from the Piedmont Community College Child Development Center in early June. This marks the center’s 39th graduation.
The special ceremony, held on PCC’s Person County campus, began with Kennadi Barnes, Tommy Barker, Jackson Douma, and Malachi Stephens singing, “Hello! How are You?”. As a group, the students also sang, “We are the Bears”, a song that was originally written by Joanne Kirby. Kirby was the first director of the center in 1977.
The ceremony was filled with songs and poems by all of the graduates, and also featured a video, created by assistant teacher Nadine Dunkley. The video shared memories of the many fun and exciting activities the students participated in during the year. Family members smiled, laughed, and cried as they watched the timeline of growth while their children were at PCC.
“When your children first started preschool, there was much separation anxiety. The beginning of a new school year is like that for children…and for parents,” recollected Anna Walker, lead teacher at the Child Development Center. “And now, it is the end of the year. It is time for your children to move on and, guess what? It is us, the teachers, who have separation anxiety…. but, we smile through the goodbye tears because we are so grateful to have been part of their lives and your family during this time.”
To close the program, all of the graduates, Elijah Bailey, Tommy Baker, Kennadi Barnes, Christopher Douma, Jackson Douma, Nikolas Drumwright, Chloe Ezell, Dayla Garner, Brayden Heaton, Ilyjah Johnson, Trinity Mayaka, Allie O’Briant, and Malachi Stephens, sang “We’ll be going to Kindergarten”, professing how they “will learn lots of things and make new friends” at their new school.
“They say it takes a village to raise a child and we appreciate you letting us be part of your village,” commented Child Development Center Director, Kim Davis. “Every child at the center holds a special place in my heart and the hearts of the teachers. It is such a pleasure to be part of an early learning environment that, in the coming year, will celebrate 40 years of quality child care to the families it has served.”
PCC’s Child Development Center has been providing child care and preschool education for PCC students, faculty and staff, and community members since 1977! Located on the Person County campus, the center has a 5-star rating from the NC Division of Child Development and employs a highly qualified and educated staff dedicated to meeting the developmental, educational, and social needs of young children.
The Center has a warm and welcoming environment that was recently enhanced with brightly painted ceiling tiles by students in PCC’s Fine Arts program. The Child Development Center is open 6:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, year-round, serving children three to five years old. For more information, contact Kim Davis at (336) 322-2338 or kim.davis@piedmontcc.edu.
Photos: Graduation photo by Stephanie’s Creative Photography
1st Row staring at the bottom: Chloe Ezell, Allie O’Briant, Kennadi Barnes, Ilyjah Johnson, Tommy Baker, Nikolas Drumwright
2ndRow: Elijah Bailey, Malachi Stephens, Dayla Garner, Brayden Heaton
3rd Row: Teacher Anna Walker, Christopher Douma, Trinity Mayaka, Jackson Douma, Teacher April Duncan
Brick Wall photo by Nadine C. Dunkley
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