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Little Shepherd Nursery School students during a recent ceremony for Kloth
KHTS file photo: Little Shepherd Nursery School students during a recent ceremony for Esther Kloth

Little Shepherd’s Nursery School Plans 50th Anniversary Celebration September 10

Little Shepherd’s Nursery School, one of the oldest preschool programs in Santa Clarita, is celebrating its 50th anniversary September 10.


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The preschool’s birthday event is free and open to the community, according to event organizers, who hope alumni will come back and visit for family-oriented fun and games.

“It’s open to the public, you don’t need to be an alumni,” said Susan Wachter, “one of the event’s organizers. “If you want to come celebrate with us, we’d love to have you.”

A Facebook page for the event was created here.

The school is co-located with First Presbyterian Church of Newhall, which is also hosting a service as part of the celebration starting at 10 a.m.

There will also be several special guests slated, according to organizers. Former School Director Esther Kloth, who recently retired, is planning to attend and meet with some of her many former students.

From a previous story: Little Shepherd’s Nursery School Honors Longtime Director

Kloth had been with the school for more than 35 years before her retirement in 2015.

Looking back on the school’s 50-year history recently, Kloth was able to share a unique perspective, as she witnessed generations of students come through the school’s doors. Many went on to then send their kids to the school.

“It’s mainly the parents who recognize me, so that’s nice, and then we make a connection and talk,” she said. “It’s interesting now because when I go out and run into people and I have to look at them — and most of them I do remember, and I have to say, ‘You grew up when I wasn’t looking.’”

The religiously affiliated nursery school on Newhall Avenue has a little over 30 students and caters to 2- to 5-year-olds.

Kloth began there as an aide, she said, then she was a teacher and retired as the director.

Kloth moved to the SCV 40 years ago with her husband, Bill, a retired minister, at a time when there wasn’t nearly the need for such services, she said.

The school offers instruction two or three mornings a week for parents, she said, and while the need for such services has grown, the school has maintained its small familial feel, according to one of its more famous local alumnus.

Mayor Cameron Smyth, who has both attended and sent children to the nursery school, plans to attend and say a few words.

We’re very excited to welcome past staff, board members and alumni from their 50s down to kindergartners,” Wachter added.


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Little Shepherd’s Nursery School Plans 50th Anniversary Celebration September 10

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About Perry Smith

Perry Smith is a print and broadcast journalist who has won several awards for his focused, hyperlocal community coverage in several different regions of the country. In addition to five years of experience covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Smith, a San Fernando Valley native, has worked in newspapers and news websites in Los Angeles, the Northwest, the Central Valley and the South, before coming to KHTS in 2012. To contact Smith, email him at Perry@hometownstation.com.