Remarks: August 29, 2006 Parents Meeting
Remarks: August 29, 2006 Parents Meeting
(L-R): Greg Buehler, Clare Adel Schreiber, Mady Noble, and Heather Yomboro
Clare Adel Schreiber, Director Emerita and Consultant to The College of Wooster Nursery School, along with Greg Buehler, Mady Noble and Heather Yomboro, delivered the following remarks at the August 30, 2006, Parents' Meeting.
The College of Wooster Nursery School began its 60th year Tuesday evening with director, Joyce Murphy, welcoming parents. Special guest speakers celebrating the school’s history of nurturing young children were Mady Noble, Greg Buehler, Heather Yomboro, and Clare Adel Schreiber. Ms Noble, Mr. Buehler, and Ms Yomboro all attended the school as children. Ms Noble and Mr. Buehler were also Nursery School parents. Mrs. Schreiber, retired as teacher/director, continues to serve the school as a consultant.
Ms Noble shared that her mother June Miller was a member of the Junior Women’s Club (later Civic Club) which founded the Nursery School. Her early memories include remembering “the basement room in the old College of Wooster chapel where the school was then located, especially the green ‘climber’ (still in use today) and the kindness of Mrs. Bates, our teacher.” She told when it was time to send her sons to Nursery School, “there was no question in my mind where the would go….As a parent, I remember being nurtured almost as much as my children with kind words, helpful strategies, and reassurance about some issue or difficulty at the time. I was also so happy to see my children given free range, within limits of course, to be creative and to explore all kinds of things.”
Greg Buehler remembers the green climber being really big when he was a child. When he brought his daughters, Ashley and Eylie, to school, it didn’t seem nearly so overwhelming. He remembers the child-sized sinks, finger painting, and riding the one tricycle with the chain pedaling mechanism. Most of all he remembers the love of his teacher Mrs. Schreiber and her wind-up toys. He excitedly wound up for all to see the very bear toy he watched as a child.
Heather Yomboro, a College of Wooster student, told the parents, “I remember more about pre-school than I do about high school. For years one of my paintings hung in our playroom. When my mother took it down, I cried. She remembers the Nursery School as “a very creative place where my curious attitude has gotten me where I am today. All of my memories are positive.”
Clare Adel Schreiber shared that the College is beginning its 137th year. The Nursery School has been affiliated with it for nearly half of the College’s existence. She congratulated the parents on choosing a school where “the children know that they can play safely and happily. PLAY, the 4-letter word and concept is in danger of extinction in a success driven society. Nursery School is a place where things that don’t matter, matter a great deal to the children. She invited all in the words of the German educator, Friedrich Froebel, to ‘come let us live with our children,’ for if we do, life will be rich and rewarding.”