St. Columba's Nursery School

This is the loveliest preschool to exist on the planet. The outdoor space is amazing and the teachers are so kind and wonderful. It's an amazing community!

St. Columba’s Nursery School has been a warm, welcoming and nurturing environment for our inquisitive and playful son for the past two school years. We love the amazing teachers and staff and the incredible dedication they have towards the children. They are highly qualified and more importantly incredibly loving. We visited many preschools and knew when we set foot on the St. Columba’s playground that we had found the right place for our son. It is even more amazing now that it has been renovated! We love the ethos of making time for outdoor play every day rain or shine and of fostering creative outdoor play. One of the things we have benefited the most from as a family has been the incredibly warm and welcoming community of families at the school. We have grown friendships not only for our son but also for ourselves. Parenthood is a journey and having a community of friendship to travel with through it is a major blessing. Finally — if I had to choose one word that describes our son’s experience at St. Columba’s it would be joy. There is truly no other place like it in the area that we have found.

This school is a treasure and I’m so sad my daughter is in her 3rd and last year! The 2 best parts are the teachers and the commitment to letting kids be outside and be kids when they are so little. The playground is amazing and has maintained tons of natural elements to let them explore, improvise, and get dirty. Every year we have felt really nervous and sad to leave our teachers and move on to the next class, and each year our daughter has immediately formed a close bond with her new teachers and we are amazed by their warmth, dedication, and thoughtfulness in class activities and projects. SCNS is a community treasure.

We were initially drawn to St. Columba’s by the location, outdoor facilities and “no bad weather” policy. The school’s focus on outdoor education and play based learning are a great fit for our family and kids – and the enormous playground is unparalleled. What we didn’t expect was the incredible and supportive community within the school. The teachers, admin, and parents have truly created the “village” we wanted to raise our children with, and our entire family enjoys school events – from the pancake breakfast to gardens and grounds days to the new Spring Swing! The school offers (age appropriate) science and music to all students, which my kids adore and is full of friendly faces, from current and former teachers, to the admin and teachers who have never even taught my kids. They feel welcome, safe, and happy at school every single day. Additionally, the inclusive classrooms and focus on kindness have shown my kids how to be empathetic, thoughtful members of a community. The incredible and highly trained staff have instilled a love of learning in both of my children, who both go to school with a smile every day and come home eager to share what they learned. We feel very lucky to be part of the St. C’s community, and highly recommend the school to anyone looking for an amazing community for their preschooler.

Our family fell in love with St. Columba's Nursery School from the moment we toured its amazing facility (a true urban oasis). My children greet each school day with enthusiasm and, in the evening, want to pour over their daily classroom notes and photos to share their excitement with the family. The staff and teachers are kind, caring, thoughtful, and truly understand pre-schoolers. The parent community is engaged and welcoming. We will be sad when our younger child ages out of SCNS, but I know they have the building blocks for a bright future.