Valley Pre-School in the Granby Drummer (December 2014)
Tractor’s Train Chugs to Valley Pre-School
By Andrea Burns
December 2014, The Granby Drummer
Students at Valley Pre-School can now board a train and travel anywhere their minds take them thanks to the support of individuals and businesses from five different towns.
Curt Johnson, the father of two former Valley Pre-School students, raised the funds to win the train at the “All Aboard Litchfield Train Auction” on Nov. 1. The auction included approximately 25 trains, each measuring four-feet high by six-feet long. Local artists painted the trains all with a different theme. The donations from a team of six – GoodWorks Insurance, Jim and Tracy Marlor, Mather Corporation, Dave and Sandy Schupp, Simsbury Bank, and Triatic Inc. – allowed Johnson to win a bid and donate “Tractor’s Train” to Valley Pre-School.
“We hope the children will enjoy the train and that it will become a source of magical fun for many years down the road,” said Johnson, senior vice president of GoodWorks Insurance, a regional independent insurance and surety agency headquartered in Glastonbury. “Our ability to make this donation to Valley Pre-School was only made possible because of the generosity of the team who came together to support the project.”
The All Aboard Litchfield Train Auction benefited the Northwest CT Chamber Education Foundation, which was founded in 2007, and KidsPlay Museum, a destination for children ages one to 10 located on Main Street in Torrington. The two groups sponsored the collaborative public art project that produced the trains.
Nannie Brown served as director of Valley Pre-School when Johnson’s children attended the school and her chance encounter with him fostered the idea to donate a train to the school.
“We are so thankful to Curt and other parents who have circled back over the years to support the school in a variety of ways,” said Brown, who has been a part of Valley Pre-School since 1975 and currently volunteers as a science teacher. “It is the ongoing commitment of alumni that allows us to enrich the curriculum year after year and provide a unique educational experience through play-based learning.”
According to Brown, Valley Pre-School alumni have donated money to establish a scholarship fund, subsidize particular programs or to contribute to the annual appeal. In addition, many parents have donated their legal, medical or artistic skills or have volunteered countless hours as pretend grandparents. Others have constructed or donated equipment such as a stove in the kitchen area, clothes racks for dress-up, a wooden car for imaginative play, and outside climbing equipment.
“We hope this newest addition to the outdoor area will be yet another way to engage the minds of our students,” Brown said. “I can just picture two children traveling on an adventure together and using the train to dramatize stories they have read in the classroom.”
Although Johnson’s children attended Valley Pre-School years ago, he said “My wife Holly and I still have many fond memories from our children’s time at Valley Pre-School.”
“The other teachers and I feel intense gratitude to the alumni who support the school in ways we never imagined even after their children have been away from us for 10, 20, or more years,” said Kathy Jackson, current director of Valley Pre-School. “We feel privileged to be part of this special, lifelong community that is Valley Pre-School.”
Prospective students and families can check out the new train during the Valley Pre-School open house on Saturday, Jan. 26 from 9-11 a.m. at 219 North Granby Road, Granby. The Valley Pre-School 2014 Annual Appeal in now underway. Contributions can be made online or sent directly to the school at P.O. Box 749. For more information, call (860) 653-3641, or visit www.valleypreschoolinfo.org.