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Who we are

We are a small family cooperative preschool, offering programs during the school year for children aged 3 to 5 years.  Residents of any town are welcome. We are NAEYC accredited and earned 5 STARS and are a preapproved PreK Partner.  Our school has highly skilled and experienced teachers and is overseen by a volunteer board of directors. 

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Children

Shelburne Nursery School serves children ages 3 to 5. Children must be 3 years old by September 1 for the program. Children who turn 3 between September 1 and December 31 may be considered if space allows.  If the program is not full by May 1, these children may register and join the class when they turn 3. 

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Family Cooperative

Family involvement plays a large role in a child's educational success. 

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Shelburne Nursery School is a cooperative and therefore relies on families to help in as many ways as possible. Although our teachers develop the curriculum and teach all classes, all families are a part of the organization and administration of the school. This allows for the opportunity to play an important role in a child's first school experience.

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Each family agrees to our Co-Op Responsibilities and Expectations which are: 

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  • Assisting at one Cleaning Day (August or June)

  • Cleaning the school two weekends throughout the school year 

  • Helping with fundraisers

 

By cooperating together, all families will contribute to Shelburne Nursery School's on-going success. We offer a safe, fun and enriching environment thanks to your time and effort.


We sincerely appreciate your future assistance in the education experience of our children. 

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Faculty

Director

Sheri Hill, BS

Sheri was a stay at home mother for nearly 9 years when she began substitute teaching at SNS. In 2008, she was hired to join the teaching staff of Shelburne Nursery School.  Today, she serves as the program director overseeing the daily operations of the program.

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She currently holds a Professional Educators License with an endorsement in Early Childhood Education.  Her experience over the years began in a volunteer capacity. She served as President of the School Board for the Shelburne Nursery School as well as fundraising coordinator, each for two years, while her daughters attended.

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In her spare time, she enjoys time with her family, being near the water, kayaking, boating, etc. 
 

Sheri resides in Colchester with her husband, Shawn.   They have two daughters, Rachel and Anna and one little dog, Tucker.

Teacher

Rachel Valliere, BS

Rachel enjoys being outside, hiking, bird watching, running, snowboarding, swimming, all those fun things. She got her start “teaching” at Camp Hochelaga. She fell in love with environmental education by teaching the campers all that she had learned in school that year. From there she helped out at Ascension Childcare for a little bit and fell in love with the natural curiosity of young children. She was one of their toddler teachers for about 5 years and loved every second of it. She stretched her wings by becoming a behavioral interventionist at the Orchard Elementary School EEE program, where she learned valuable lessons with young children with special needs. She enjoyed that so much that she is actually back at school seeking her early childhood special education initial license.

 

Rachel likes to think that she takes on Miss Frizzle’s philosophy when it comes to teaching: “Take Chances, Make Mistakes, and GET MESSY!” She will be there right along side your kids getting as messy as they are, laughing and getting excited as they discover something new. The curiosity of a child cannot be beat, and she wants to help scaffold their learning and take it to the next level.

 

Rachel and her partner Derek both love to explore and have been to about 7 different countries together and separately they've gone to about 15 different countries each. If you need some travel pointers just ask, she would love to help, it would have been her back up plan if she didn’t fall in love with teaching.

Assistant Teacher

Susan Bokelberg, BS

Susan joined our staff in 2020 after teaching for ten years at another local preschool. She has her Bachelor of Science from Clarkson University (Chemical Engineering) and earned her CDA credential in 2013.

 

When not teaching, Susan enjoys playing soccer, skiing, hiking and reading. Her favorite thing to do is spend time with her family! She lives in Colchester with her husband Eric and children Ethan, Evan and Sarah.

Assistant Teacher

Kim Stevens, BA Psychology

Kim joined the staff at Shelburne Nursery School in the Fall of 2016. Prior to that she was a substitute teacher at the Shelburne Nursery School and The Shelburne Community School, as well as working in the Early Essential Education Pre School classroom at the Shelburne Community School, for two years.

 

She believes strongly in the values and educational approach that is promoted by Shelburne Nursery School.

 

Her three children attended the Nursery School and during that time Kim volunteered in the classroom and sat on the Board of Directors.

 

As a parent, educator, coach and playgroup facilitator Kim is creative, resourceful and flexible. Before working in the schools Kim was active in promoting a public health approach to child sexual abuse prevention, and continues to support such efforts.

 

Kim and her husband enjoy attending many of the extra curricular activities and events that their children participate in. They also like spending their time walking, skiing or paddling around our community, you are likely to cross paths with them one day.

Board Members

President

Kiri Iovu

Vice President

Julie Thompson

Secretary

Madeline Wilson

Fundraiser

Emily Dem,psey

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Becky Brinkmerhoff

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