A warm welcome to Nursery, the youngest members of SSIS

The Nursery team realise that your child’s first year at school is a very important milestone. We are here to provide your child and you with support and guidance in a caring and safe learning environment. We will endeavour to make this experience a positive start to your child’s education, as we know a great start in Education paves the way for many enjoyable years of learning. With this in mind the Nursery classroom is run with one English speaking foreign teacher, a Chinese teacher, and a full time class assistant.

We have two Nursery classes this year for the 2009/2010 academic school year. Our experienced team comes from New Zealand, Singapore and China. The Nursery team has over 39 years of early childhood education experience between them, with over 17 of those years at SSIS.

 

The Nursery curriculum is planned through a play based philosophy that integrates both life skills and academic knowledge. We provide and plan for the individual child and their needs. We explore, inquire, learn, grow and have fun using different learning styles, media and activities.

The Primary Years Programme (PYP) helps to make connections with the world around us that are meaningful and have purpose for a young child. Our Units of Inquiry are:

	Me, Me, Me – This unit allows the opportunity for children to explore their new surroundings and to get to know more about themselves their family and country while making friends in a safe and fun environment.
	Chinese Culture – This unit offers children meaningful experiences of the culture and traditions of our host country, China.
	Transport – This unit explores different types of transport, where children are able to use their imagination. How does a space explorer get into space?  They also share their real life experiences.
	Animals – Children love animals and this unit gives opportunities for children to become more knowledgeable about animals and make connections with animals and the habitats they live in.

But wait! There is so much more for the Nursery child to experience. Each Nursery child has the opportunity to take part in specialist classes: Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Perceptual Motor Programme (PMP) and Library. These classes are taken outside of your child’s classroom environment.

Throughout the year the Nursery children are involved in Elementary-wide activities like; Dance Assembly, Sports Day, Book Week, Art Week, Chinese New Year Concert, Portfolio Sharing, co-curricular activities (CCA) and many other fun filled activities.

The children also have many opportunities to work together and learn alongside their peers in Nursery with events and activities like Baking, International Sharing Day, Trike-a-thon and excursions that take us out of the school grounds, exploring the community and furthering our learning with meaningful experiences.

 

The Nursery team’s doors are always open to existing parents of SSIS as well as those looking for that special educational environment for their child’s first school experience in Suzhou. We look forward to meeting you and your child. Come join the fun. All you need to bring is a SMILE!

 

A Day in Nursery

8:00 - 8:30am	Children arrive at school and settle in for the day
8:30 - 9:10am	Chinese instruction through play-based learning
9:10 - 9:50am	English instruction that encompasses all curriculum areas through play-based learning
9:50 - 10:25am	Morning snack and indoor/outdoor play (depending on the weather)
10:25 - 11:45am	A combination of curriculum activities eg. Units of Inquiry, Performing Arts, Library, English
11:45 - 12:45pm	Lunch and indoor/outdoor play (depending on the weather)
12:45 - 2:00pm	Nap time
2:00 - 2:30pm	Afternoon snack
2:30 - 3:15pm	A combination of curriculum activities eg. co-curricular activities (CCA), Perceptual Motor Programme (PMP), English instruction
3:15 - 3:30pm	Preparation for home time
3:30 - 3:45pm	Children escorted to buses or parent pick up room

Home time!