Turtle Creek Learning Academy Blog

Owner of TCLA Wins County Superintendent’s Award

smac2977 — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:31:04 +0000

Congratulations to Virginia McDonald, the owner of Turtle Creek Academy, for winning this year’s Monmouth County Superintendent’s Teacher Recognition Award. In recognition of her outstanding work and meritorious service at Marlboro Elementary School as the teacher of the gifted and talented, Mrs. McDonald was recently bestowed this honor by the New Jersey State Assembly on May 22, 2009.

With over 25 years at the public school and over a decade since the establishment of Turtle Creek Learning Academy, Mrs. McDonald has become a central figure in the community of Marlboro, touching the lives of numerous families. ”One of my greatest thrills,” says Virginia, “is seeing the children of my former students join the Turtle Creek family. I have been so deeply honored to serve our children.”

Contact Turtle Creek Learning Academy if you would like to learn more about our stimulating curriculum.

TCLA Trike-A-Thon Benefits Arms Wide Open

ginamcd525 — Sat, 02 May 2009 12:14:52 +0000

MARLBORO — Students in prekindergarten, preschool and kindergarten at the Turtle Creek Learning Academy rode their bicycles in a trike-a-thon charity benefit on April 30 and May 1. Charity events at Turtle Creek have become an annual tradition every April as part of Month of the Young Child. Read more about this charitable event here.

Arms Wide Open

“Arms Wide Open” was founded by Dena Sherwood in 2008. Dena was an active member of the Turtle Creek Learning Academy PTO for the past 3 years and served as the PTO President just last year. Last summer, Dena’s son, Billy, was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer. Dena knows first hand how hard it is for a family to have to go through this with their child. Therefore, just this year, Dena founded “Arms Wide Open” to try to help families in need.

The goals of “Arms Wide Open” is to provide financial and emotional support to families of critically ill children and to fund medical research forpediatric cancers and improvements in chemotherapy.

By supporting “Arms Wide Open” you will be helping Dena Sherwood fulfill a dream to help other families in need. Let’s join together with our children, to help this new charity make a difference in the lives of people who so desperately need it. Please help support this worthwhile cause!

We are asking for a minimum donation of $10 per family. After the event, children will be rewarded with an ice cream sundae party!

The Mission Of Turtle Creek Learning Academy

ginamcd525 — Sat, 02 May 2009 03:41:50 +0000

Turtle Creek Learning Academy - Start Your Child's Success Early

The mission of Turtle Creek Learning Academy is to provide exceptional education for the pre-school child in a loving, nurturing environment. This is accomplished through the efforts of a professional, caring, and dedicated staff who inspire children, involve parents and support colleagues so that all children successfully achieve a love of learning, confidence in themselves, and respect for others.

Click Here To Read Further About Turtle Creek Learning Academies Mission, Philosophy and Goals.

Camp Turtle Creek

ginamcd525 — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:50:52 +0000

“Camp Fun Club” - Summer Enrichment

Camp Fun Club is thematically organized around a literature-based curriculum. We have developed two major themes:”Once Upon a Time” and “It’s a Small World After All.” Literature is selected based on that theme. Every activity in all the content areas dovetail with the theme for each of the three-week sessions.

All of our staff are trained and experienced teachers of young children who know how to teach to this age group. The emphasis is on engaging hands-on experiences. Children are grouped by age, but there is flexibility in our grouping according to a child’s specific academic needs.

We offer a two day or a three day mini day program (9:30-1:30) with extended hours, until 3:00, if needed. Each session runs for three weeks. Your child must attend all three weeks of the session for the maximum benefit and continuity of skills and instruction.

Session I: “Once Upon A Time” June 25-July 16

This three week session will immerse our children in beloved fairy tales and nursery rhymes,

Session II: “It’s A Small World After All” – July 19 – August 16

This three week session will expose children to stories, customs, art and music from around the world.

Each session will culminate in a unique mini performance for our parents.

Tuition Per Session:

Three Day: $598.00

Two Day: $398.00

All Turtle Creek Students will receive a 10% discount if enrolled my March 1st.

5% sibling discount.

Gifted & Talented Courses Grades 1-6

ginamcd525 — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:18:49 +0000

TCLA's enrichment program creates a challenging environment which prepares students for standardized tests.

Course Offerings for Students in Grades 1-2

Students in these primary grades will be immersed in developing their reasoning skills in a variety of content areas: math, reading, logic and science. They will come to understand how critical thinking can be applied across content areas. Our students will be able to:

Apply deductive reasoning skills to solve classic logic problems and word problems
Apply critical thinking to fiction and nonfiction
Ask questions & challenge ideas
Gain confidence in their ability to think through unfamiliar problems

Course Offerings for Students in Grades 3-4 & 5-6

Reading

Critical Thinking in Fiction

Our students will be able to:

Identify literary elements in fiction and poetry
Infer meaning from text
Summarize and paraphrase
Expand vocabulary

Critical Thinking in Non-Fiction

Our students will be able to:

Identify structural elements
Determine authorial perspective
Summarize and paraphrase
Expand vocabulary

Writing

Writing From The Narrative

Our students will be able to:

Respond to essay prompts
Make text-to-text connections
Transform experiences into narratives
Develop strategies to captivate an audience

Writing A Research Paper

Gather research
Evaluate reliability of the source
Summarize, outline and synthesize information
Apply mechanics of paper writing

Math

Our students will be able to:

Apply Logical Thinking
Utilize and communicate problem solving strategies
Write and solve equations

Virginia McDonald, the founder of TCLA, has been a teacher of gifted and talented students for over 25 years and is passionate about helping children develop critical and creative thinking skills. She has created innovative and stimulating curricula to help gifted students achieve their maximum potential.

Ms. McDonald, along with her staff of experienced and highly qualified teachers, is committed to the growth and development of these bright and highly motivated students.

A Walk For Billy

ginamcd525 — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:12:59 +0000

A Walk For Billy brought out the entire Turtle Creek and Marlboro communities to raise money for a good cause.

MARLBORO – A crowd of 359 people took to the streets of Marlboro on Oct. 5, 2008 to support Billy Sherwood Jr., a 16-month-old boy who has a stage 3 neuroblastoma, a form of cancer that occurs in infants and young children. Turtle Creek Learning Academy helped support this worthy cause by donating 200 T-Shirts for people to wear during the walk. Click here to read more about this wonderful day.

About Turtle Creek Learning Academy

ginamcd525 — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 20:52:10 +0000

Turtle Creek Learning Academy is located in Marlboro, NJ.

Turtle Creek Academy was established in 1998 by Virginia McDonald in response to the current research on how preschool children come to learn. Based on current research and best practices in education, Mrs. McDonald created a stimulating curriculum with help from a very devoted and nurturing staff. The well-developed program, the professional and caring teachers, and the charming facility make this preschool an optimum environment for children to flourish to their maximum potential.