Students entering our Kindergarten program must be 5 years old as of September 1st of the applied for academic year.
In addition to the requirements for students in all grades, a Kindergarten applicant will participate in a screening at the beginning of the year. This screening provides vital information for the teacher about the areas of strength and areas for growth for each student.
We work on Language Development that includes:
-
Building letter/sound automaticity
- Developing word building and sound segmenting skills
- Building strong sight word recognition
- Guided and small group reading
We also work on building Math skills that includes:
- Developing an understanding of number sense
- Exploring number relationships
- Building acknowledge of addition and subtraction operations
- Exploring properties of two and three dimensional shapes
- Understand the telling of time and measurement
A Typical Day includes the following:
Morning Work: Reinforce Previous Day Curriculum, Social and Emotional Learning
Prayer & Service: Integrating Faith and Compassion
Morning Meeting: Calendar Skills, Sight Words and Math Review
Math: Expressing Different Ways to Represent Numbers, Sorting and Organizing
Specials: Library, Music, Art, Technology and Physical Education
Language Arts: Letter Recognition and Formation, Phonics, Guided Reading Comprehension
Introduction to Content: Early Concepts of Social Studies and Science
Writing Workshop: Relationship Between Letters to Words and Words to Sentences
Outside Play: Learning How to Be a Good Friend
Get to know our Kindergarten Teachers:
Mrs. Kelly Mastrogiovanni
Email: [email protected]
Hometown: Lancaster, PA
Education: Pennsylvania State University
(BS in Early Childhood Education)
Teaching at Saint Leo the Great School: 1998 – present
Favorite Saint: Saint Francis of Assisi because of her love for animals
Everyone knows Mrs. Mastrogiovanni as Mrs. M! She developed Saint Leo School’s first Preschool program and was the teacher for 18 years. She moved to Kindergarten after that and absolutely loves it! She has a passion for teaching and believes her students should be actively involved in their learning. She feels they should be given many opportunities to make choices, express ideas, and grow in their faith.
In 2023, Mrs. M. received the Golden Apple Award from the Diocese of Harrisburg and generosity of the Donahue Family foundation. The Golden Apple Award symbolizes a teacher’s professional excellence, leadership, commitment to Catholic values, and devotion to teaching in Catholic schools.
When Mrs. M is not teaching she enjoys traveling, attending concerts, spending time with her family… and cheering on the Nittany Lions!
Some favorite Kindergarten activities: *Pirate Pajama Party, Rock & Roll Day, Western Wednesday, Hands-On-House Math Picnic, Happy Hair Day, Color Week, Funny Feet Day
Curriculum: Please reference the Diocese of Harrisburg website for more information on our curriculum.
Ms. Elizabeth Baak
Email: [email protected]
My Favorite Saint: Saint Monica
Favorite Bible Verse: Psalm 139:
13 For it was you who formed my inward parts
you knit me together in my mother’s womb
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
Education: Villanova University (B.A), Holy Family University (M.Ed). Certifications in Early Childhood Education/Elementary Education, PA state certification K-6, SPED Certification.
Teaching at Saint Leo the Great: 2017 – Present
Hobbies: Board games, baking, puzzles, and spending time with my family
Pets: An adorable cavapoo named Kerry
Ms. Elizabeth (Liz) Baak has been teaching at Saint Leo the Great since 2017. All four of her children attended Saint Leo School and Catholic education has always been a priority in her life. Ms. Baak went to college at Villanova University and loves cheering on the Villanova Wildcats basketball team.
When Ms. Baak isn’t in her classroom, she’s at home with her cavapoo puppy named Kerry, playing Scrabble, and baking. She loves spending time with her four children, especially around the holidays. In 2023, she went to Ireland with her oldest daughter and explored the entire country! She often plays videos of Irish dancers around St. Patrick’s Day for everyone to enjoy.
In Kindergarten, we encourage learning in ways that are fun and memorable. We have some special days during the year to coordinate with our letters of the alphabet, such as, Rock and Roll Day (my favorite), Western Wednesday, Happy Hair Day, Funny Feet Day, and a Pirate Pajama Party.
Ms. Baak believes that a positive early childhood education sets the stage for success in school. She can’t wait to meet you!
Curriculum: Please reference the Diocese of Harrisburg website for more information on our curriculum.
