Welcome to
Greenwood Forest
Children's Center
An inclusive community
Transitional Kindergarten Teachers
Goals for Transitional Kindergarten (TK) include:
-COMMUNITY/TEAMWORK MINDSET
-INDEPENDENCE
-BUILDING UPON HANDWRITING SKILLS
-MATH & SCIENCE CONCEPTS THROUGH HANDS-ON LEARNING
-SOCIAL STUDIES
Transitional Kindergarten, or "TK" as it is commonly called, gives children an opportunity to build upon the developmental skills established in the 4s class.
As educators, we know that every child's development is an individual journey that sometimes requires the gift of time. We believe TK is that gift. Whether it is needing time to build confidence with their peers; time to adjust to classroom rules and structure; time to build their cognitive skills, our TK classrooms allow time for it all. Led by an amazing team of teachers, GFCC TK students take on the mantle of being the leaders of the school with pride. Our TK kids leave us knowing that Kindergarten will be a wonderful adventure instead of a scary prospect because, TK ROCKS!
TK Teachers
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Ellen Smith
Blue Rockets Lead Teacher
Ellen grew up in Winston-Salem, NC and graduated from Salem College with a BA in American Studies.
For 27 years, Ellen has been a preschool teacher. Most recently and for the past 17 years, she has taught Transitional Kindergarten at the Methodist Children's Center (MCC) at First United Methodist Church (FUMC) in Cary.
Ellen and her husband, Mike, live in Holly Springs. They have two grown sons -- Michael (a chef) and Alex (a college professor).
In their free time, Ellen and Mike spend time at their future retirement home in Oak Island. While there, they enjoy fishing, reading, looking for shells, and enjoying long walks on the beach with their sweet dog, Belle! They are members at Ocean View United Methodist Church in Oak Island, NC.
Megan Johnson
Blue Rockets Assistant Teacher
Megan grew up in Roxboro, NC. She attended Meredith College and North Carolina State University, receiving a Bachelor's in Business Administration (Marketing) from Meredith and a Master's in Teaching (Elementary) from NC State.
After graduating from college, Megan worked in public relations for several years but then decided on a different career path. She went back to school to become a teacher and taught until her oldest daughter was born. When her children were in preschool, Megan was heavily involved in a local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group and held a variety of volunteer positions. Currently, she is a co-leader of her daughter's Girl Scout troop and volunteers at their church from time to time.
Megan says that she and her amazing husband, Pete, were married in 2009 and they have two wonderful daughters -- an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old. In 2020, Megan and her family adopted their first family pet, a puppy named Waylon. Megan, Pete, their daughters, and family pet Waylon all live in Cary.
In her spare time, Megan loves tennis, traveling, being near the water, catching up with friends, playing games, and reading. She also enjoys tapping into her creative side with fiction writing and watercolors and is proud to say that she has recently learned to embroider! And oh... by the way, she loves to have a good laugh!
Anne Hailey
Yellow Rockets Assistant Teacher
Anne is a Cary native and grew up on Kildaire Farm Road.
Anne finished Louisburg College in 1971 and began working under John Ingram, the NC Insurance Commissioner the same year. Her tenure there was almost a decade.
After the birth of her second child in 1980, Anne told us that she began her most "Noble Profession" as a stay-at-home mom. In 1993 when Anne's youngest child entered first grade, Anne joined the staff at Cary Elementary. In 2005 she decided to take an early retirement from Wake County Public School System (WCPSS). During that same year, Anne started teaching at the Methodist Children's Center (MCC) in Cary and taught there until March 2020 when the preschool closed due to the pandemic.
A one-and-a-half year hiatus from teaching was definitely too long for Anne. She is elated to join the staff at GFCC and return to her passion of teaching young children.
Anne has four adult children and three FABULOUS grandchildren. Fortunately, they all live in Wake County!
In Anne's free time, she enjoys entertaining, cooking, yard-work, large family meals, and spending time just hanging out with her grandchildren, family and friends! And just so you know... Anne is a huge fan of HGTV!