PRESCHOOL PHILOSOPHY
Engage
At Palmerston Preschool we value positive relationships with children, families, educators and the community which supports us to care for each child’s learning and wellbeing. We encourage and respect family feedback and involvement in the school and their child’s education. At Palmerston Preschool we believe in the importance of making connections to what is around us, extending to learning about the world.
How we ENGAGE students at Palmerston Preschool:
- Personally greeting parents and children each morning
- Emails
- Interactions throughout the day
- Regular Meetings with staff
- Parent teacher interviews before preschool begins and during the year
- Respectful interactions
- Feeding chickens
- Recycling/Sustainability
- Program suggestions
- Afternoon talk
- Excursions/special events (Athletics Carnival)
- Stay and play
- Open door policy
- Learning Journey
- Gardening
- Integrated units/Intentional teaching
Empower
At Palmerston Preschool we value the importance of promoting independence and self help skills through creating a learning environment which encourages student agency. We appreciate that play is a cooperative process and students will be provided with opportunities that promote positive social understanding and problem solving skills. At Palmerton Preschool we believe that good nutrition can influence a child’s learning and development. We want to empower children so they can make informed choices.
How we EMPOWER students at Palmerston Preschool:
- Puzzle pairs
- Investigations/Choice/Freeplay
- Intentional teaching opportunities
- Feelings
- Combined play opportunities across the whole school
- Buddies with Years 3/4
- Kindy transitions
- Go, Grow and Glow
- Eating healthy choice first
- Discussing healthy lunch box ideas
- FMS
- Routines
- Name boards
- Visuals (Hand washing, daily timetable)
- Promote growth mindset "I can" and "I try" attitude
- Focus on name recognition
- Opening containers lunch/recess
- Putting on and taking off jackets
- Providing play opportunities to develop self-help skills (dress-ups)
- Vegetable patch
Achieve
At Palmerston Preschool we believe in the importance of Early Childhood education and preparing students for their learning ahead. We value the vastness of students experiences and strive to provide rich and fun learning opportunities for all students, expanding on their prior knowledge. At Palmerston Preschool we endeavour to offer students explicit literacy and numeracy education.
How students ACHIEVE at Palmerston Preschool:
- Independent reading
- Bookshelves available for children to read throughout the day (Indoors and outdoors)
- Integrated writing within other activities
- Print-rich environment
- Intentional teaching (Group time)
- Everyday experiences (Cooking/playdough)
- Counting class everyday
- Investigations
