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North Salem Nursery School Moves To PQ During Renovations

NORTH SALEM, N.Y. – The North Salem Nursery School, which has been housed in the Parish Hall of St. James Episcopal Church for 45 years, will be moving to the Pequenakonck Elementary School (PQ) for the 2013-14 school year, while the Parish Hall gets some needed renovations.

St. James Parish Hall, home of the North Salem Nursery School, is getting a makeover.

St. James Parish Hall, home of the North Salem Nursery School, is getting a makeover.

Photo Credit: Katherine Pacchiana

“We are grateful to district officials and to Mary Johnson, principal at PQ, for taking us in,” said Nursery School Director Karen Weinsten. She went on to explain that the school has been regularly dividing its students into groups for fine-motor and gross-motor activities. “Having one large classroom will make it possible to create a center-based program, allowing for individual exploration in all of the subjects,” she said.

The renovation of the St. James Parish Hall will include new classrooms, designed for flexible use. Weinsten said that many parents are interested in an extended-day nursery school program, but the arrangement was inhibited by the building itself. The new classrooms, however, will be more versatile, so once the overhaul is complete, the possibility of an extended school day will be real.

“While we have evolved over the years to meet changing expectations, the relocation has stimulated us to examine all aspects of our program to see where it might be fine-tuned,” said Weinsten. “We are looking forward to an exciting transitional year at PQ and then to being re-established in our beautiful new quarters at St. James.”

Other improvements planned for the Parish Hall include a new roof, fresh paint, improved electricity and plumbing, a new kitchen, an elevator, and a new garden. The building is more than 100 years old.

The renovation is expected to be finished before the opening of the 2014-15 school year.

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