Stepping Stones to Academic Success
Lakewood offers 4 specialized programs:
K-4:
A half-day program designed to give a strong phonics foundation for students who are going to kindergarten the following year. This program lays a solid foundation for academic success. K-4 offers a loving and structured environment where students grow and develop physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Enrichment Kindergarten:
A full day kindergarten program designed to give extra emphasis to students who assess with at least one "at risk" factor. At risk factors may include motor skill development, knowledge exposure, or maturity level. This kindergarten will be taught with strong emphasis on hands on learning.
Full Day Kindergarten:
A full day kindergarten program designed to give students a strong academic start in their reading and math skills. The full day kindergarten experience gives students an excellent opportunity to mature socially and lays a strong framework for the future education to build on.
Junior First:
A full day program designed for students who are already reading or need a year to further develop skills before entering first grade. Junior first can be a step year before a student enters first grade or replace the kindergarten year for students who qualify through assessment.
Our Kindergarten teachers create active, age-appropriate classrooms that nurture
curiosity and excitement for learning. Children memorize songs, poems, and Scripture to expand their language skills and use a strong, phonics-based program to learn to read. The day is a balance of academics, fine arts, physical activity, free play, and rest.
Each new elementary student (pre-K through 6th) is introduced to his or her grade-level
teachers to help reduce normal anxiety of meeting the teacher and seeing a typical classroom; acquaint the teachers with the child’s God-given strengths and needs; convey information to the teacher that is unique about the child’s personal development; and present ideas for summer activities that will help the child start school with confidence.
Our Design Learning Center offers extra help in boosting a child's competence, independence, and learning ability, and finds ways to challenge those who are ready to go beyond the curriculum. All of our students benefit from a safe, nurturing environment and regular communication between school and home.
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• Bible
• Computer .
• Arts & Crafts .
• Gym .
• Spanish .
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• Music
• Chapel .
• Phonics .
• Math .
• Library . |
• Science
• Social Studies .
• Hot Lunch .
• Field Trips .
• After-School Care |
Field Trips
In the fall, kindergarteners visit Lemper’s Pumpkin Farm. We watch apple cider being made, take a tractor ride, pick pumpkins, go in corn mazes, see the farm animals, and enjoy a snack.
In the spring, we learn about wild animals. We take a trip to Black Pine Animal Reserve to see many wild animals up close! We are able to feed some of them, as well as enjoy our lunch there.
Enrichment Opportunities
During school:
Spanish, music, PE, library, computer
After school:
baton, sign language
Other:
Kindergarten graduation in May
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Kindergarten Teachers
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Mrs. Donna Jewell
I graduated from college in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Baptist Bible College in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. I hold a lifetime certification from the Association of Christian School’s International (A.C.S.I). My first teaching job was at Baptist Park in Taylor, Michigan, where I taught fifth grade and then two years of first grade. My husband then took a position as youth pastor and principal at Grace Baptist in Saginaw, Michigan. I taught half-day kindergarten at Grace Baptist and also worked as a director of their daycare. We remained there for six years until the Lord called us to Lakewood Park. My husband serves as the senior pastor here. I help out by serving as an Awana leader, Sunday school teacher, supervisor for preschool Vacation Bible School and participant in the annual Festival of Lights Christmas program.
I have taught at Lakewood for 11 years now, ten have been in kindergarten and one in preschool. The Lord has blessed us with four daughters, three of which have already graduated from Lakewood Park. We have been very pleased with the education and spiritual leadership that our children have received here. It is so easy to serve here in a school/church ministry where the church is so supportive of the Christian school. When I was in junior high I felt God prompting me to teach someday. I love what I do, and working with the little ones is so much fun because I am really a kid at heart!
djewell@lakewoodpark.org
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Mrs. Linda Weaver
I became a Christian when I was eight years old. I graduated in 1985 from Carson Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee, with a BA in Church Recreation. I received a Master of Religious Education in 1987 from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. My family has lived in this area for seven years, and I was a teacher's aide here at LPCS for five years. In 2005, I taught first grade at First Christian Academy in Kendallville. I am very thankful that the Lord has given me the opportunity to teach Kindergarten at Lakewood Park. Watching God work in the lives of young children is an awesome experience.
My husband, Bill Weaver, teaches high school history at LPCS. Our four children have attended school here since 1999. It is great to see how Lakewood Park has grown and changed during this time. It is wonderful to teach the Kindergarten students, and I love being a part of this amazing team of teachers, administrators, and support staff.
lweaver@lakewoodpark.org
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Mrs. Randa Witmer
I came to Lakewood Park Christian School as a freshman and attended here throughout high school. It was while a tutoring younger students here that I felt God leading me into the teaching profession. I graduated from Lakewood Park in 2002. I then attended Taylor University, Fort Wayne, and graduated in May of 2006 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Elementary Education. I have since been licensed by the state of Indiana and by ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International).
Two weeks after I graduated from Taylor, I was married to my husband, Tyler. We live in Leo and have a miniature dachshund named Harley. We also care for our class pet, Bella (a beta fish), on the weekends. I enjoy collecting children’s literature, and my husband is glad to have some room on the bookshelves at home since I’ve had my own classroom!
It is such a privilege to be able to interact with these children on a daily basis. It is such a blessing to see little ones growing academically, physically, emotionally, socially, and most importantly, spiritually!
rwitmer@lakewoodpark.org |
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