Preschool

Preschool  number is 6142 2620

Our team:

- Allison Barker is the early childhood teacher of the Blue Group (Mon-Wed) and the Orange Group (Wed-Fri).

- Katrina Van Der Sterren, Nicole Ratcliffe and Heather Boreham are early childhood educators that work with all classes.

All of our educators are either working towards or qualified with a Certificate III in Children’s Services, a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care or a Bachelors degree in Early Childhood and Primary Teaching.

The Educators at Weetangera Preschool believe:

Play is a young child's tool for learning and allows children to make sense of their world. Play involves diversity and choice. As educators we have the responsibility to create places which open wonder and possibilities.

Childhood is Special. We believe in allowing children to enjoy playful interactions with others and enjoy childhood as a special time in their lives.

Respectful Partnerships are vital for a child’s success across school. We initiate warm, trusting and reciprocal relationships with children and respect the views and feelings of each child and their family. We use the families’ understanding of their children to support shared decision making about each child’s learning and development. We promotes cultural awareness in all children, including greater understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

We believe in a balanced approach to children’s time at preschool. We provide opportunities for the children to investigate, inquire and follow their own ideas and interests, as well as engaging in relevant teacher/community initiated activities. We provide physical environments that support a range of opportunities for learning and physical activity, both indoors and outdoors.

We build on children’s prior learning and experiences through scaffolded inquiry.  Educator interactions support student’s questions and wonder about the world around them.

We believe in language rich, supportive learning environments in which children are exposed to high quality verbal input through stories, song, interactions etc.

We believe that explicit teaching of social and emotional skills help children and young people to respond positively to the complexity of their everyday lives.  This ability to bounce back from the ups and downs of life is strengthened when they are given time to respond at their own pace in a supportive environment.

The educators role is to support, inform, assesses and enrich. We commit to continually developing our professional knowledge and skills and engage in ongoing professional reflection that enable us to provide the best possible learning and development opportunities for all children.