Saint Raphael Preschool is accepting enrollment applications!
Mission Statement
Saint Raphael Preschool, guided by Dominican values, partners with parents to support the holistic development of young children—spiritually, emotionally, physically, and intellectually. In a safe, nurturing, faith-based environment, the preschool fosters children’s awareness of God’s love and prepares them to become well-rounded, responsible citizens.
Philosophy
At Saint Raphael Preschool, we believe in nurturing the whole child in a safe, loving, and engaging environment that encourages exploration, creativity, and growth. Each child is valued as a unique individual, and learning is fostered through play-based, developmentally appropriate experiences. Our dedicated educators promote a strong sense of community rooted in mutual respect and trust, while helping children build confidence, moral character, problem-solving skills, academic readiness, and a lifelong love of learning.
Links
Please click the buttons below to check out our Facebook, Instagram, and Yelp page!
Award winners for Best of Marin 2022
Gold Growing Strong Award
Saint Raphael Preschool was presented the prestigious honor from Marin Child Care Council of the GOLD: GROWING STRONG AWARD for its dedication to Child Health and Wellness and Quality Child Care! This award recognizes that the staff and teachers at Saint Raphael Preschool are dedicated to nutrition, physical activity, and empowering children and families to make life-long healthy choices!
Recognition
Marin Child Care Council nominated Kathy Damato as Teacher of the Year, as well as nominated Edith Yates for Director of the Year 2019!
Enrichment Programs
Weekly Music Class with Mr. O!
Mr. Orjuela, or Mr. O as the children call him, performs his music lessons with his acoustic guitar that inspires the children to sing, dance, and play! Utilizing traditional children's songs as well as religious music, Mr. O introduces magic to the children that lifts their spirits, builds social-emotional literacy, strengthens their pre-math skills (clapping to a beat, keeping rhythm, etc.), and creates community among the students! The children absolutely love music time with Mr. O!
Bi-weekly Karate Class with Coach Derek!
Coach Derek, as the children call him, is a Marin County native and he has been practicing martial arts for over 25 years! He earned his first degree Black Belt at West America Tae Kwon Do in 1999. Since January 2000, Derek has taught at Taylor’s House of Karate, a martial arts school right here in San Rafael, which is owned and operated by his family! Under the instruction of Daythan Taylor, a key instructor at the school, Derek earned his fourth degree black belt. Coach Derek brings his martial arts expertise, along with a great sense of humor, to engage our students in learning basic martial arts techniques as well as helping to boost their confidence, self-esteem, and gross-motor skills! We are so very fortunate to have Coach Derek working with our children and they all look forward to their weekly class with him!
Kimochis: Social-Emotional Development Tool
Can you say Ki-mo-chis? Great, you just learned how to say "feelings" in Japanese! The children at Saint Raphael Preschool are learning daily about their feelings/emotions, and that everyone has feelings and some feelings are hard to have and some feelings are easy to have. Using the Kimochi curriculum, we help our students to identify their emotions and also learn new tools to help each child express their emotions correctly. Using Kimochis in the classroom also develops social-emotional, language, and cognitive development in children, as well as early literacy, creative expression, and appreciation for the arts.
HEAL Program!
Saint Raphael Preschool is proud to be a participant in the HEAL (Healthy Eating, Active Living) Program offered through the Marin Child Care Council! Our teachers are highly dedicated to teaching their students daily about nutrition, exercise, and making healthy life choices! Periodically, free HEAL classes or workshops are offered to our families and parents as well. Our preschool was even awarded the 'Growing Strong Award' from the Marin Childcare Council for adopting HEAL initiatives and policies at our site and for our teachers' dedication to child health and wellness, and quality childcare!
Saint Raphael Preschool’s Annual Summer Program!
Saint Raphael Preschool offers an annual 6-week Summer Program for children ages 3-5 years old, who are fully potty trained, and will be enrolled in the following school year. We offer a fun, dynamic, educational, and very exciting curriculum that will incorporate S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) daily. A variety of S.T.E.M activities will be incorporated into a different theme for each week. Our Summer Program is really a blast for all!
Please contact our Director to schedule a tour and to learn more about our Preschool.
Phone:
(415) 456-1702
Email: preschool@straphaelschool.com
(Se Habla Español)
We are located at 1100 Fifth Avenue, San Rafael, and are part of Saint Raphael Elementary School.
- When you come for your tour, please park in the Saint Raphael Elementary School parking lot on Fifth Avenue.
- You will ring the bell next to the orange/brown gate and tell the office you are here for a preschool tour. From there, you walk straight up the walkway and go through the silver chain-linked gate.
- You will see blue footprints painted on the asphalt going up the hill. Please follow those painted footprints up to the front doors of the preschool and ring the doorbell so a teacher can let you in.
- Feel free to call us at 415-456-1702 and someone will meet you at the parking lot and escort you to the preschool.