Preschool
Our Preschool gates open wide each day to greet our youngest Highfielders. Every day has a flavour of its own – filled with wonder, and designed to inspire and build on children’s natural curiosities. Wired for relationship and motivated to learn, our Preschool children learn together through play, supported and celebrated by our team of dedicated early childhood educators. Literacy, numeracy and social skills are embedded into our program each day as children are encouraged to grow together as friends and members of our learning community.
Underpinning every aspect of our program is our recognition that the early childhood years are a time of great significance in a child’s life. Children’s earliest learning and social experiences powerfully shape their long-term expectations of themselves as learners and as members of a group. Our educators are committed to setting high expectations for what is possible when working with young children and work with sensitivity to support and build on children’s development across all areas of their learning – linguistic, social, emotional, spiritual, creative, physical and cognitive.
Our Preschool Program is founded on the following principles:
- Young children learn through play. This is a fundamental means to learning in early childhood.
- Learning is a social and collaborative process.
- Learning styles influence learning. Children take different pathways to learning.
- Young children use multiple forms of expression to represent what they know.
- Success is vital in learning.
- Culture is a strong factor in shaping what is learned and how it is understood.
- Rich learning occurs through authentic and integrated experiences.
- School is one of the many influences on learning. Learning takes place at home, with family and with other children.
- Self-esteem and wellbeing influences learning. A positive self-image enables children to feel confident in new situations.
- Learning takes place through exploration and experience. It is an active process of trial and error.
- Reflection and meta-cognition (awareness about ones thinking) contributes to learning: to develop the child’s ability to think, wonder and feel.
- Young children are naturally curious and intrinsically motivated to learn. When experiences meet their needs and interests, learning is optimised.
- Learning is optimised in a secure and trusting environment where relationships are valued.
- The development of initiative and autonomy is important in the learning process.
- Connectedness to space, nature and community provide the foundations for life-long learning.
Highfields School offers the following Preschool programs:
- Two Day program on Mondays and Tuesdays, for children who turn three on, or before 31 January in the year of entry
- Three Day program tailored for four year olds on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays
- Five Day program for four year olds, offering a natural and rich transition between the Preschool and K-2 environment