Here at St. Joseph Preschool and Pre-k, we are academically driven. Our staff strives to
educate and care for children so the children achieve a love of learning early in life. Our early
educators intentionally teach children through play, faith, and mealtimes by getting on their level and entering their world to scaffold their learning and neural development. We offer each child the full school experience by offering art, music, and physical education classes.
Our program is Montana state licensed which gives our program standards to maintain a safe, nurturing, and educational environment. The programs curriculum works hand in hand with the Montana Early Learning Standards (MELS), with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP). Early educators intentionally build their curriculum based off of the many developmental domains to help each child be successful in the present and later on in life.
Recent studies have proven that critical neural development begins right at birth and proceeds to three years of age. From age 3-5 children begin to develop socially and emotionally; our early educators are very well versed in how to properly guide this development accordingly. From an article found on the NAEYC website titled, “Promoting Young Children’s Social and Emotional Health” was this statement:
“Children’s social and emotional health affects their overall development and learning. Research indicates that children who are mentally healthy tend to be happier, show greater motivation to learn, have a more positive attitude toward school, more eagerly participate in class activities, and demonstrate higher academic performance than less mentally healthy peers (Hyson 2004; Kostelnik et al. 2015).”
Please call or email our Early Education Director, MaryPat Hertz if you have any questions.
(406) 549-7648 or marypat.hertz@mcsmt.org
Our curriculum is developed based off of the Montana Early Learning Standards with an added faith portion. Pre-Kindergarten students are offered gym, music and art classes which are taught by specialty teachers once a week during the school year. Teachers follow a curriculum map, found at the bottom of this page. Teachers are well educated and strive to provide the best learning environment for each student in their classroom. Lessons are developed off of student’s interests, as well as guidelines from the curriculum map and the Montana early learning standards.
We are delighted you are exploring St. Joseph School for your child.
To learn more, please call us or fill out the contact form linked here:
We are delighted you are exploring St. Joseph School for your child. To learn more, please contact our Early Education Director, MaryPat Hertz at (406) 549-7648 or marypat.hertz@mcsmt.org
We encourage families to apply online as it simplifies submission and provides parents the ability to track the status of their child’s application. To begin the Online Application process, Create an Account at the link below. Upon account creation, you will receive an email containing a verification link. Once your email address has been verified, log in to your account and Create A New Student Application for your child. You will then have the flexibility to log in and out of your account and access your open application.
A non-refundable fee of $252 must be submitted with each application.
After submitting the application, you will be able to track your admissions status at the school by logging in to your account. In addition, you will be able to print the completed application, monitor when the school receives any applicable supplemental forms and, if necessary, reprint the forms.
MaryPat Hertz comes to St. Joseph Early Education Program with over 28 years of experience in the field of early childhood education. In 2009 she graduated from The University of Montana Western with a BS in Early Education. MaryPat has always had a passion for early childhood and always dreamed of being a teacher. She began her career volunteering in her son’s Head Start classroom. MaryPat brings impressive credentials as an administrator and a trainer. In her free time she enjoys spending time with family, especially her new grandbaby.
Sharon Kost comes to us with 30 years childcare/preschool experience along with ongoing continual training. She believes God placed her in the Saint Joseph Early Ed Program because children are her passion. As she teaches all the Littles placed in her care; she is amazed and also learns so much from them. God has blessed Sharon with a wonderful family; her husband Willie, two grown children, and one grandson. They are the loves of her life. In her spare time, Sharon enjoys exploring Montana’s great outdoors. Her hobbies include hiking, fishing, bowling, and reading. She loves to interact with everyone; playing games is a must at all gatherings. Sharon believes we are placed here on earth to be God’s arms and legs. Her lifelong motto is, “Kindness Starts With Me.
Roxy Post comes to St. Joseph Early Education Program with over 40 years of preschool experience. Roxy has always had a love for working with children and she enjoys working at St. Joe’s because our early education program is all about the kids. Roxy has a daughter, two grandsons and a great granddaughter who just turned 2. Roxy has been with her honey for 45 years and feels that God has truly blessed her life. In her spare time, Roxy enjoys spending time with her family and her cats.
Say hello to Susan Osendorf, aka “Nana,” or “Nana Sue.” After retiring from teaching in the public school for 34 years, Nana moved to Montana to be closer to her daughter, Corinne and grandson, CJ. Nana comes in at least once a week to do a special project, cook something special for a snack or just give the other teachers some extra planning time. In her “spare” time, Nana plays with CJ, walks her dog Moose or relaxes with her husband, Dan at their home in Huson. Nana also has a son, Seth, aka “Santa,” who lives in California, but visits often.
Meet Cindy Hinricher, a native Montanan, mother of four, and grandmother of six. Cindy spent many years volunteering in local schools that her children attended and teaching in local churches in the Kid’s ministry. Her passion and love of children has brought her to St. Joseph’s as a teacher’s aide in the preschool classroom. Much of her free time is spent with her children and grandchildren and her little
dog, Bailey.
Meet Suzannah Richardi, although this is her first job working in a preschool setting, she has many years experience working as a nanny and also a big sister to two younger siblings. Working with children is her passion and Suzannah will soon be starting her college journey into early education. Suzannah was born and raised in Camden, Maine until two years ago when she decided to move to Montana. Suzannah loves to spend time reading and outside with her boyfriend and cat Mia.
