https://www.stdavidschildcare.com/home daily 1.0 2024-01-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/bca79a2e-66cf-47a4-b833-80e6bf967fcc/sds-4465.jpg Home - Who We Are At St. David’s School, we are passionate about providing your child with the best experience to learn and grow as one of their first school experiences. As educators, it is important for us to not only teach our future generations, but also to provide the most optimal learning environment with patience and care. By creating an inclusive environment, we allow children to be children through self expression and exploration of the whole child. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/1614098466796-STF1SPPNSLZKXJDPNQ96/sds-4704.jpg Home - Nurturing imagination and self-expression while learning through play All of our activities are child-directed and strategically picked with their imagination in mind. Each day, our children engage in circle time activities tailored to his/her age group, spend time exploring the dramatic play center, block center, science exploration center, engage in sensory play, singing, and dancing, as well as getting outside! Children discover their creativity through open-ended art experiences as well as practice step-by-step art activities. https://www.stdavidschildcare.com/about-us daily 0.75 2021-02-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/1614100883514-HA4VYCMMUGGQA9APIMXZ/sds-4519.jpg About Us - We believe that during these stages of life, the most important work that your child can do is play! Creating a structured atmosphere of play and learning where your child can thrive socially, cognitively, emotionally and physically is of the utmost importance. https://www.stdavidschildcare.com/our-team daily 0.75 2025-09-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/627b56da-2e87-4979-ae2a-e9edf94791f2/IMG_9314.jpg Our Team Miss Karen Karen retired from the Riverhead Central School District and was ‘tired’ of being fully retired! Karen loves spending time with her grown children and taking daily walks with her dog, Bella. Karen is energetic, kind and brings a warm and welcoming smile to the children each morning. Karen’s favorite place in the world is any where that there is water and sand! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/82ca3c3e-6edc-441c-b750-90100e665d0e/sds-staff-4777.jpg Our Team Miss Louise St. David’s School began as a part time job for a full-time mommy of five who wanted a little spending money back in 2000. Little did Louise know that many years later how St. David’s would become embedded in her heart. Louise has worked in many capacities and is currently assisting the director in the daily operation of the school. Louise is proud to hold a CDA credential in early childhood education. Louise resides in Riverhead with her husband and children, and also enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and traveling to warm places. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/1612887683467-BFS85EAI3VS9579U13RV/sds-staff-4498.jpg Our Team - Rose Horton, Director Rose Horton, Director Rose holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood and Childhood Education from Manhattanville College and is finishing a Master’s Program at Stony Brook University. Rose has become an asset to our school after coming on board in 2017. Rose is passionate, energetic, and fully dedicated to creating a program that educates the whole-child. As a native of the Riverhead community, a coach in the district, and a lover of the East End, Rose has a real connection with the students who fill her classrooms. Rose is a firm believer in giving back and helping others. Over the past few years, St. David’s has connected with our local nursing homes, raised money for our troops, donated to PBMC, and served lunches to local veterans. Rose and her team are committed to providing a warm environment that fosters a stimulating and inspiring place to learn. In her rare time away from St. David’s, Rose loves spending time with her dog Baylee and relaxing at the beach! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/10f02eae-69d6-46db-9db4-3c443a3dda86/Grandma+Horton.jpg Our Team Grandma Horton As part of intergenerational awareness, Grandma Horton has been with us since 2019. Grandma comes weekly and visits with all our UPK classes delivering a wide variety of art projects that encompasses many skills. She loves working with children to create memories and bonds that will last a lifetime! In her free time, she loves spending time with her animals, volunteering with her church and spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/1612889028278-92DTAWG9AETVH828GDWA/sds-staff-4458.jpg Our Team Ms. Jane Starting her career in 1998, Jane has many years of experience working at St. David’s. She is extremely passionate about working with all ages of children but has found a pure love for the Pre-K students. Jane is always up for the challenge of preparing the children for their jump to Kindergarten at the ‘big school.’ Jane enjoys taking an active role in teaching to ensure a long-lasting love for learning. In Jane’s spare time, she enjoys reading, exercising and traveling with her husband. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/b3063d31-794f-4227-a29f-1bd12dd06bff/sds-staff-4452.jpg Our Team Ms. Jutta Mariotti Forever in our hearts https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/1612890204516-FXJZI5VV0B5IMK4UOYM7/sds-staff-4634.jpg Our Team Ms. Michele Michele has two children, a daughter Courtney and a son Daniel. She has a cute dog named Bentley who she loves playing with during her free time. Michele likes to create art with her students, read books, go on bike rides, cook, and bake. Michele holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Childhood Education and has been teaching children for many years. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/c2dccd0c-4c38-4456-828a-02a176320b18/IMG_7965.jpg Our Team Ms. Olivia Olivia is currently a college student who is studying secondary education. She and her family have lived in Riverhead for over 60 years. Olivia loves working with children because they fill her with joy and amazement with their little personalities. She also enjoys spending time outside with her friends and family. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/254db96f-3ca0-4d9a-afd6-657a53a44063/IMG_7931.jpg Our Team Ms. Chrissie Chrissie a past employee who has made her way back ‘home’ now that her children are a bit older… Chrissie, a mother of 4 and a wife of 30 years loves spending time reading and being outside during the summer and spring months! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/1612889752603-1N204ZQPSXH9J8JXV8L3/sds-staff-4626.jpg Our Team Ms. Kathryn Kathryn, another alumnus of our school and has worked at St. David’s since 2011. She proudly has her CDA credential in early childhood education. Kathryn has found pure joy in working with children of all ages as she has spent time in all of our classrooms. Kathryn enjoys reading to the students, creating art projects, as well as facilitating science experiments. In Kathryn’s free time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her niece. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/1612889512499-A0YXTW9PZW5QGY3MFJNW/sds-staff-4545.jpg Our Team Ms. Fran Fran is a long-time employee to St. David’s School. Since 1999, Fran has worked with all age groups and has now found her forever home with the infants. Fran has a gentle touch and the most special way of loving our youngest learners. Fran is a caring and loyal employee who always has a smile on her face. In Fran’s spare time, she loves spending time with her family and traveling to see her grandchildren! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/81738e8c-24c1-4e02-8258-05b7d5c9b13d/sds-staff-4566.jpg Our Team Ms. Christine Christine holds a NYS Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education and Special Education. She has been teaching preschool since 2007. After joining the St. David’s team in 2018, Christine has become a vital part of the schools UPK program. Christine enjoys hands-on constructive teaching where each student is engaged in his/her learning. She believes that incorporating mindfulness into her daily lessons will help the children to create healthy lifelong habits. In her free time, Christine loves spending time with her son Ethan, exercising, and traveling! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/0889928a-94af-44e3-b0aa-2afc625b78e1/sds-staff-4594.jpg Our Team Ms. Jessica Jessica has always wanted to work with children for as long as she can remember. Jessica has worked with children of all ages over her time at St. David’s and is currently a staple in our toddler program. She is kind, loving and ever so patient! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/c17f58b9-62a9-4837-9ede-c5b55ae3a45c/IMG_9309.jpg Our Team Ms. Orysia From the charming city of Lviv, Ukraine, Ms. Orysia has brought lots of love to our school. As a small child, she always dreamed of working with children and is so happy that her dream has became a reality. Her favorite pastime is spending time with her family, organizing family movie nights, and cooking delicious food! She also enjoys curling up and reading a good book with a hot cup of coffee! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/337f3a08-6771-4dcc-b16a-1a6c4ef1c7bf/IMG_9312.jpg Our Team Ms. Katherine Katherine holds a CDA credential and is currently working with the toddlers here at St. David’s. Katherine is very soft spoken, caring and is a fan favorite amongst the kiddos. In her spare time she loves to paint, listen to music, travel and spend time with her family. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/37f62fe5-ded7-4ac2-8a98-b7c9da3d5c1a/sds-staff-4655.jpg Our Team Ms. Patty Patty has been working with children since 2009. Patty has been an assistant for all age groups and can fit right in to any classroom. She has a great work ethic, is determined, and hardworking. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/1612889851883-SWNAIGEGMLSOL4JLOSFL/sds-staff-4487.jpg Our Team Ms. Allison Allison holds a NYS Teaching Certification and could not imagine a career doing anything else. Allison was born and raised in Riverhead and now lives here with her husband and son Jackson. She has a pet dog and a guinea pig. In her time off, she loves doing fun things with Jackson and spending time with her family. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/ff7c064f-840b-42ea-b756-271847e685dd/sds-staff-4642.jpg Our Team Ms. Emily Emily has been working at St. David’s since 2005. Throughout Emily’s time here she has worked in many different classrooms and is currently the head teacher in our three-year-old room. Emily is a mother of two amazing girls, who she loves spending time with. Emily has been a huge part of laying a strong foundation for her classes as they move up to our UPK program. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/93302988-e720-490c-af59-26ff7698c9d0/IMG_3805.jpeg Our Team Ms. Norma Ms. Norma is a mom of 4 who thrives on working with children. Norma has a tremendous amount of patience and never comes to work without a smile. She enjoys working with all age groups, bigs and littles and all ages of children light up when she enters the room. In her free time, she loves visiting with her adult children, traveling, cooking and dancing! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/a5aca2ab-3fbd-401e-a97c-0b5ff7f4d860/sds-staff-4541.jpg Our Team Ms. Cassie Cassie has St. David’s inside her bones! Being an alumnus of St. David’s School makes working here that much more meaningful for Cassie. Over her past work with children of all ages, it has inspired her to obtain an Adolescent Education degree in Mathematics. Cassie lives in Riverhead with her parents and siblings, and she enjoys the summer, spending time with friends, and shopping. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/804ff5c4-9781-4e91-84b3-d53ef70b62f3/IMG_9307.jpg Our Team Ms. Olena Ms. Olena has brought much love and kindness to our team since she joined us in 2023. She lives in Riverhead with her husband, daughter, and cat. She enjoys reading mystery books, singing, drawing, and traveling with her family. Ms. Olena enjoys working with the our littlest angels and finds much joy seeing the world through their eyes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/18d4b225-b7d0-4280-bf16-0b0ded1e6331/IMG_3333.jpeg Our Team Ms. Ewelina Ms. Ewelina (Ms. Evelyn) has been working with us for over 3 years. As a mom of 3, Evelyn had all of her children attend St. David’s throughout their preschool years. As a teacher, enjoys spending her time with our littlest loves in our infant room. She is always cheerful, smiling, and jumps to help whenever needed. In her time away from work, she loves spending time with her family as well as reading a good book. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/69dc7727-bd3e-4695-bb8b-a3d26460f1d6/sds-4675.jpg Our Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/ed21a992-75e5-4f44-936e-0a513e1dbd1b/sds-4461.jpg Our Team https://www.stdavidschildcare.com/parent-stories daily 0.75 2025-01-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/1605895679558-SOL463NJJV899A3AORXK/sds-school-17.jpg Parent Stories - “I have had my son at St. David’s since he was 4 months old. I remember dropping him off that first day and crying my eyes out (for the majority of the day – ha ha). I was then sent a video of him laughing so hard with Miss Fran and immediately was given a sense of relief. I knew from the minute I met the ladies in the infant room that my son would be loved and taken care of. Since then he moved to the Toddler Room and then now into the 3-Year-Old Room. He has been shown a crazy amount of love in each room and I couldn’t be happier and in awe of all the great teachers he has had. I’ve also called the daycare daily since day one (I’ve gotten a little better with this…) and Miss Rose and Miss Louise have always taken the time and checked in with the class teachers and notified me of Carter’s day and that he was happy. Being a working mom is so incredibly hard, it’s so hard to be away from my son but this has been the best thing for him. He has gained friends and learned so much. He has become more independent and has such confidence in himself and I owe that to all the staff at St. David’s.” —Stefanie Kettenbeil “Both of my children have been lucky enough to attend St. David's School. As an educator myself, I can say with the utmost sincerity and confidence that St. David's is truly a wonderful place for kids to learn and grow. While there's a lot to love about this place, there are two things in particular that I love about St. David's. First, the faculty and staff are kind, loving, and always have the kids' social and emotional best interests in mind in everything they do. Secondly, they have an incredible amount of experience working with kids of all ages. Whether it was me leaving my 3 month old baby, or watching my son start UPK, the staff has always treated us as family, and cared for my children like their own. They are honest, reliable, friendly, and kind. To that end, they strive to instill those same attributes in all the kids who enter their doors, and the world is a better place for it!” —The Salmaggis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/1614101101154-0I92I662Q27AN1JVKHGW/sds-4439.jpg Parent Stories - “Our oldest daughter, Kinsley has been attending St. David’s School since she was 18 months old. She’s now 4 years old and a part of the Preschool Program. Our youngest daughter entered St. David’s School at just 4 months old. Therefore, we have been part in all the classrooms at St. David’s; the infant room, toddler room, 3-4 year old room and the Preschool. It is a relief to drop our children off to a place where we feel they are comforted and loved. We couldn’t have asked for a better well rounded background of love, support and education for our girls. We immediately fell in love with the staff and teachers. They welcomed our family with open arms and celebrated our accomplishments right alongside of us. The staff treats every child with affection and respect, they have an amazing curriculum for the kids - little and big! They challenge them with art projects to help enhance their motor skills. The learning is fun and hands on - our daughter comes home singing songs they learned in school about the seasons or days of the week. Both of our daughters have excelled socially and academically, thanks to St. David’s School. We are proud to be part of the St. David’s Family.” — The Jacobsens https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/8aff660f-985c-4935-85bd-d468a8b9f583/IMG_3859.jpeg Parent Stories - “I highly recommended St. David’s School. All 3 of my children have gone through their UPK program and have loved it. They all ran right in the door and didn’t want to leave at pick up time. I felt that they were always safe and the staff always had their best intentions in mind. Although Covid changed the world, the one constant was how warm and welcoming the school was. They were able to answer all my questions (and I had a lot), kept our children safe, and cleaned the classroom very well. My children were all ready for Kindergarten and it was largely due to the amazing UPK teachers and staff.” — Jasmine Corwin “St. David’s has been nothing short of extraordinary. Being a first-time mom, sending my 5 month old to day care and going back to work as a health care worker during a pandemic was very stressful to say the least. St. David’s always put my mind at ease knowing my son was in the best care possible. They would send me pictures and updates of my son throughout the day using a secure app. They followed all the changing protocols such as face masks, temperature checks, hand washing, etc. Ms. Rose was very accommodating to my forever changing schedule. The love and compassion that comes from the staff at this school is amazing. My son’s face lights up every time we pull up to school. St. David’s will be our forever school.” — The Kacperskis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb57b39f19adc0f4a3fbaf0/1608069774834-5JYAZWHKY9K3RKU27MT2/sds-artwork-13.jpg Parent Stories - “We have been blessed to send my children to St. David’s for the past three years. As every parent is, I was a little nervous leaving my babies. However, when I picked them up after that first day, the smiles said it all, and I have never looked back. Every morning, at 7:00 am, we are greeted with smiles. The staff is amazing and always treat the children as their own. I go to work in the morning knowing my children are safe, cared for, and, most of all, loved. Both of my children have learned invaluable skills at St. David’s. From the fun hands-on experiences, to the adorable craft projects, to learning their letters and numbers, but most importantly, learning how to be a good friend. We absolutely love St. David’s and it was the best decision made by my family. Thank you St. David’s for always being there!” — The Cooney Family I absolutely love St. David’s and am so thankful that they were recommended to me by a friend. When I drop my son off, I have no worries as I know he is in the best care possible. Everyone is so loving and nurturing. My son is all smiles at St. David’s. They truly are a second family for my baby, and I couldn’t be more grateful. —Jillian Cairo https://www.stdavidschildcare.com/contact daily 0.75 2021-02-19 https://www.stdavidschildcare.com/paperwork daily 0.75 2025-09-16 https://www.stdavidschildcare.com/events daily 0.75 2025-09-16 https://www.stdavidschildcare.com/kangarootime daily 0.75 2025-09-16 https://www.stdavidschildcare.com/parent-info daily 0.75 2025-09-16 https://www.stdavidschildcare.com/gallery daily 0.75 2020-12-31 https://www.stdavidschildcare.com/faqs daily 0.75 2021-11-03