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teacher with students math
ethnic kids with tug of war
teacher and girl painting
Suncatchers 1
A Childhood Enrichment Program Since 1989
Suncatchers 2
Where Learning, Fun & Friendship Come Together Naturally
Suncatchers 3
Three Decades of Celebrating Kids Just Being Kids
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teacher with students math
ethnic kids with tug of war
teacher and girl painting
Suncatchers 1
A Childhood Enrichment Program Since 1989
Suncatchers 2
Where Learning, Fun & Friendship Come Together Naturally
Suncatchers 3
Three Decades of Celebrating Kids Just Being Kids
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Baking Cooking

About Our Program

Suncatchers began over three decades ago. It was never conceived as, nor has it ever been, merely ‘day care’. Rather and instead, Suncatchers remains true to the original vision of our founder, Kathy Scott—accommodating the needs of working parents and their children—by combining fun, friendship, hands-on learning, practical life skills, personal development and other enriching activities.

younger team members
Some young members of our team.

Currently, approximately 250 kids are enrolled at Suncatchers’ privately run before-and-after school program, located at Melissa Jones School (MJS) —a public K4 in Guilford, CT. Our program serves students of levels K through 4. Suncatchers is also available to elementary school kids who don’t attend MJS, however their parents must arrange for transportation to and from our program.

Our safe, nurturing Suncatchers community provides an extraordinary environment, where kids are encouraged to try out new activities in a friendly, zero-pressure atmosphere. Life skills such as cooking, sewing, baking, along with arts & crafts are among the many endeavors that ‘Suncatchers’ (as the kids are called) can learn, experience and enjoy. Additionally, we offer sports and physical activities including Kickball, Basketball, Capture The Flag, Tug O’ War, Sock Bombs and more, as well as free play time—so kids can burn off extra energy. Nutritious snacks are also provided.

Our weekday hours of operation during the school year are from 7 – 9 am, and 3:30 – 6 pm. Additionally, we offer a 6-8 week Summer session as well.

Above all, “Come for the fun of it” is more than just our taglineit’s what Suncatchers is really all about.

For more information call us at 203.457.1833 or email us at: info@suncatchersllc.com.

Our Founder, Kathy Scott

Suncatchers is the brain child of long-time North Guilford resident, Katherine “Kathy” Scottwho founded our program in 1989. Kathy was a young mom and registered nurse (RN) then, with three children of her own. Along with her husband, Jim, the Scott household was a welcoming gathering place for their childrens’ friends and neighborhood kids. As Kathy recalled in a recent Guilford Courier article by Pam Johnson, “On snow days or no-school days, I had 6, 8, 12 kids at my house. And it was a blast! It was so much fun,” she says. “Everybody was good. We did a lot of cool things and it was great.”

KathyAdditionally, Kathy was active at Melissa Jones School (MJS), North Guilford’s K4 public school, participating in the PTA progam and assisting with the development of the (then) new playground, a Halloween fundraiser and other initiatives.

When Kathy’s son was kindergarten age, she noticed that in most other households, both parents were going back to work, resulting in a problem: what to do with little ones before and after school. This creates the void commonly known as “latchkey kids”—children leaving and returning to an empty home. This made the Scott’s home the “defacto gathering place” and inspired Kathy’s vision for Suncatchers.

Charlotte Nelson, the MJS Principal at the time, lamented the problem of how kids were simply dropped off before school. Notes Kathy, “There were benches in the front lobby, and these kids would just sit there until school started.” At a 1989 PTA meeting, Kathy heard the (then) new Guilford Superintendent of Schools, Thomas Giblin say something prophetic: “Somebody with an entrepreneurial spirit could take this and run with it.” Suddenly, Kathy’s vision began taking shape.

I went home, and with an old dot matrix printer, I typed up a four-page proposal for a before-school program, and had it on Charlotte’s and Tom’s desks the next day,” says Kathy. Both Superintendent Giblin and Principal Nelson loved the idea, and worked with Kathy through the summer to develop and implement the program so it would be ready for the start of the new school year. Additionally, Kathy, enlisted the help of a friend and former Montessori School teacher, Claire Hurley to co-lead the program with her. Loosely organized under the oversight of the Board of Education during the first nine years, Suncatchers evolved into a stand-alone operation and service provider—quickly evolving from a morning-only program with a small number of kids into its current, robust, before-and-after-school format.

Kids having fun together while learning life skills becameand remainthe cornerstones of the Suncatchers program. Kathy will proudly tell you that each and every child who has taken part in the Suncatchers experience through the years has likely “learned a thing or two”.

Stations set up throughout the MJS cafeteria offer several different activities, on each given day. During a recent afternoon, kids were choosing between such diverse choices as playgroups, knitting, simple stitching on a sewing machine, building constructs from different mediums, cooking/baking, and making gifts and decorations for whatever the upcoming holiday may be. For several years, a multi-part, rather complicated classic cloth doll-making project was a big hit among many Suncatchers kids, says Kathy. “Often times, when we’re starting a very involved project, they won’t touch it until somebody finishes it—and then they say ‘Oh, I want to do that,’” says Kathy. “And when they are interested in doing something and you let them, they get independent really quickly.”

“It’s such a privilege to be with these kids,” says Kathy. “When Claire and I started this, the first week, we were doing a needle work project and the kids were all working at it so hard. And Claire looked up at me and she had tears in her eyes and she said, ‘I think we should pay the parents for letting us be with them.’”

“My biggest complaint that I’ve ever had from parents is that their kids want to come all the time, and they never want to leave. It’s a neighborhood. It’s a big family,” says Kathy, adding, “It’s just a lot of fun, and the kids are enthusiastic, because they’re doing what they want,” she says.

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Meet The Suncatchers Team

Suncatchers maintains a full & part-time Staff of 15 who rotate to provide between five and six Staff members per session. Our Staff complement expands to more than 25 during Summer sessions.

Kate Pazera ~ Director

Kate Pazera

~Director

Kate Pazera was a “Suncatcher” as a child. She brings 18 years of experience as a member of our Team to her current position. Additionally, Kate serves as an Elementary and Special Education Teacher—and has spent several years working with children in various other settings.

Chris Penry ~ Assistant Director

Chris Penry

~Assistant Director

Chris Penry is in her 23rd year as a member of the Suncatchers Team. Additionally, she is an artist in her own right—specializing in hand papermaking, fine art, and teaching papermaking. As a colleague kindly says of Chris, “She make’s our kids’ days flawless”.

Lucy Meagher ~ Teacher

Lucy Meagher

~Teacher

Lucy Meagher epitomizes the caring, family-focused nature of our program. Fondly thought of by her fellow Team members and parents, alike as the “heart of Suncatchers”, Lucy has served as a member of our Team for 11 years and counting.

Deborah Gillette-Youngblood

Deborah Gillette-Youngblood

~Teacher

Formerly a special education teacher, Deborah Gillette-Youngblood has been a member of our Team for the past three years. A lifelong artist, Deborah shares her passion for doing crafts with our kids.

Annalise DeRusso

Annalise DeRusso

~Teacher

A former Suncatchers Graduate herself, Annalise DeRusso has taught in our program for one year. She is currently pursuing a career in early childhood education at UCONN. The world needs more dedicated teachers—go Annalise!

Liz Grace-Flood

Liz Grace-Flood

~Teacher

Liz Grace-Flood has been with Suncatchers for 14 years. A talented artist and craftsperson in her own right, Liz loves sharing her creativity and innovative ideas with the kids—and the kids love spending time with her.

Natalya Hyrb

Natalya Hyrb

~Teacher

Natalya Hyrb first came to Suncatchers as a child, then worked with us as a high school student. Long a familiar face at Melissa Jones, she returned to work at Suncatchers this school year. In addition to being an avid reader and an excellent pianist, Natalya loves to travel.

Nicole Onofrio

Nicole Onofrio

~Teacher

Well known to the kids at Melissa Jones and Suncatchers, Nicole Onofrio has taught in our program for the past 4 years. Formerly a Recess Aid at MJS, she also works at Baldwin Middle School. Along with her husband and two sons, Nicole is also a classic car enthusiast.

Catherine Shippy

Catherine Shippy

~Teacher

Catherine Shippy is new to Suncatchers, yet a familiar face around the halls of MJS. When not working here as part of our Team, she enjoys spending time with her family and their pets.

Nicole Porter

Nicole Porter

~Teacher

Formerly a Pre-School Teacher, Nicole Porter is new to Suncatchers. She shares her passion for creative learning activities and Yoga with our kids.

Ryan Brettman

Ryan Brettman

~Assistant Teacher

Ryan Brettman first volunteered at Suncatchers during his Junior year at GHS. Now in his Senior year, Ryan is officially one of our Assistant Teachers. His interests include crewing on the Guilford High School (GHS) Crew Team.

Caroline Walsh

Caroline Walsh

~Teacher

The newest member of the Suncatchers Team, Caroline Walsh likes to have fun and engage in creative ways with our kids—our kind of Team player!

Alan Shapera

Alan Shapera

~Assistant Teacher

Alan Shapera is a Junior at GHS and is enjoying his second year as a member of our Team. Like Ryan, Alan is also a member of the GHS Crew Team—in addition to which he’s an avid bicycling enthusiast.

Claire Kingsbury

Claire Kingsbury

~Assistant Teacher

A Guilford High School (GHS) Senior, Claire Kingsbury has been assistant teaching at Suncatchers for the past two years. Clair attended MJS as an elementary school student herself, and thoroughly enjoys working with the kids as a member of our Team.

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Registration & Forms

Our Suncatchers Online Registration Form is secure and convenient. Parents may also download our Introduction to Suncatchers, and two other forms requiring signatures in addition to their own: your child’s Health Record and Medical Registration Form. Click on each form to download (below).

Testimonials

All four of my children have attended Suncatchers, and each one has had a truly wonderful experience. The kids are exposed to all sorts of fun activities including cooking, arts and crafts, games, and outside playtime. My 5 year old twins even learned about Shakespeare last year as they participated in a production of A Midsummer’s Night Dream! There is even homework help when needed. The Suncatchers staff is attentive, very kid friendly, and flexible. I don’t think of Suncatchers as a daycare, but more of a year round camp for kids to explore, learn, and have fun with their friends after school. I highly recommend this program to everyone!
Pinar H. Kodaman, MD, PhD
Parent, Assistant Professor Yale University School of Medicine
Suncatchers is a wonderful program that enriches children’s lives as they have fun! It offers a warm and supportive environment that encourages students to think, to make decisions, to act responsibly, and to be a good friend. Suncatchers provides experiences that we parents dream of giving to our children: learning to cook, to sew, to work with tools, to build things, to garden. At Suncatchers kids play in mixed age groups where younger children are coached by older students who take pride in being a positive influence. I love that Suncatchers offers students time and space to do homework, to put on a skit, to play ball, to create works of art, to make friends, and to teach and learn from others. And everyone has such a good time!! At Melissa Jones School we used to say, “We wish there was a Suncatchers for grown-ups!!
Charlotte Nelson
(Former) Principal Melissa Jones School (1985-2006)
Quinn is so sad that this is the last week. He loves coming every day. Thank you for running such a great program!
Jenn Myers
Parent
LOVE Suncatchers—as much as my kids do! Great staff, fantastic activities and a beautiful option when looking for care for my kids.”
Nadine Jerbi
Parent
I have to tell you Sofia is loving summer Suncatchers! What an amazing program. She begs me to leave her longer and doesn’t stop talking about all the fun she had during the day.
Lauren Apicella
Parent
My son loves to go to Suncatchers every day! The program offers so many different activities and projects for the kids. And the staff is great, too. I can highly recommend it to anyone looking for summer programs or before and after school care.
Christina Kriegel
Parent
I am a mother of three, two of my older children have attended Suncatchers since they were in kindergarten. I found that sending them a half day to kindergarten and the other half to Suncatchers help them get use to attending a full day, which is a big adjustment for them. Many mothers I know did the same thing. The beauty of Suncatchers for me is that it is extremely reasonably priced, and the children are always extremely happy when I pick them up. If I have an extracurricular activity for one, I send the other to Suncatchers so that child does not need to be dragged around all afternoon. The quality of activities is wonderful, my daughter enjoys all the wonderful art opportunities and my son loves to play sports. There is something to make everyone happy.
Christine Kagan
Parent
This school is fantastic! There is a world language program, as there is in all Guilford’s elementary schools. The tone of the school is warm and friendly and there is a positive relationship between school and home. The wonderful before and after school program offers great enrichment and play!
Posted on Trulia Real Estate Search
(excerpt regarding Melissa Jones School)

Contact

Suncatchers LLC  
Located at: 
Melissa Jones School
181 Ledge Hill Rd.
Guilford, CT 06437

Tel: (203) 457-1833
Email: info@suncatchersllc.com

Instead of Calling Us…
We prefer that you email for these reasons. We’re not here between our morning & afternoon sessions, plus cell service is poor in the gym & other areas. Most importantly, emailing gives us a written record of our communications with you.
Thank You!

Program Director: Kate Pazera

Hours of Operation:
Weekdays during the school year from 7 – 9 am & 3:30 – 6 pm.
Summer sessions also available—inquire below.

If you prefer, inquire as follows: * Required

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