SSIS

Welcome to the magical world of Pre-Kindergarten

Pre-Kindergarten is the year between Nursery and Kindergarten. Students are generally four years old when they enter the class and turn five during the academic year. Our Pre-Kindergarten programme fosters independence and encourages children to explore their curiosity and creativity. We open the doors of academic opportunity and achievement to our multi-national group of students. Naps are no longer needed and the world opens up as the Pre-Kindergarten children enjoy morning snack and lunch in the canteen.

We have two Pre-Kindergarten classes for the 2009/2010 school year. Our experienced team comes from the Philippines, United States and China. Our teachers have extensive Early Childhood. Both our English teachers also have a background in teaching Primary Arts.

Thaimma Lariosa - English Teacher, Susan You – Chinese Teacher, Zhang Ayi – Class Assistant, Xue Hong – Chinese Language Support, Grace Qin – Chinese Teacher, Qin Ayi – Class Assistant and Holly Williams -English Teacher.

The Pre-Kindergarten curriculum

At SSIS our Pre-Kindergarten classes are conducted in large, airy double classrooms. The team teachers (one expatriate English instructor and one Chinese instructor) work together delivering the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (PYP). Children spend some time in whole class instruction but the majority of teaching is accomplished using small group investigation. Teachers set up a variety of exciting, project based learning centers ready for student exploration. Careful teacher observation provides follow-up lessons geared toward student interest and individual needs.

The Primary Years Programme (PYP) helps to make connections with the world around us that are meaningful and have purpose for a young child. Pre-Kindergarten has 5 Units of Inquiry that will foster and stimulate the children's curiosity about the world around them.

Our units of inquiry are:

	Family and Friends – This unit talks about the importance of being a part of a community. Talking about different kinds of families and groups that we belong to e.g. our family and friends. This allows the children to be more open-minded in accepting other people’s ideas and culture, as well as taking on responsibilities.
	Community Helpers – This unit allows the children to get to know the different community helpers around the school and in the wider community. We talk about the ways in which the different community helpers help us in our daily lives. By getting to know different kinds of people; the children will have a better understanding of how important it is to be a part of a community and that all of us can help each other in many ways.
	Expression – This unit is about the different ways of expressing one’s feelings. The children will have a chance to experience a variety of Art activities that they can use to express their ideas, emotions and experiences.
	Matter – This unit allows the children to experiment and observe what happens when liquid and solid substances are cooled or heated. This will foster their curiosity about how matter changes from one state to another.
	Insect world – This unit involves a lot of investigation and exploration. The children will enjoy hunting for different kinds of insects and small creatures in the garden. They will learn about life cycles and simple animal food chains. This will allow the children to investigate the importance of small creatures and insects to our world.

Apart from our Units of Inquiry, Literacy and Math lessons, the Pre-Kindergarten students also have special classes that enable them to learn new skills. Specialist classes attended at various times throughout the year are:

PMP (Perceptual Motor Program), Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Library, CCA (Co-curricular activities eg. cooking, painting, games etc.) and swimming lessons.

Throughout the year the Pre-Kindergarten children are involved in many school wide activities like: Sports Day, Book Week, Art Week, Chinese New Year Concert, Portfolio Sharing, co-curricular activities (CCA), Family Day and other school events. These activities allow both students and parents to bond and socialize with the other members of the school.

Our Pre-Kindergarten children have the opportunity to learn and use both Chinese and English each day. Below you will find a typical schedule for a Pre-Kindergarten classroom.

8:00 - 8:30am	Morning greeting and centre choice investigation
8:30 - 9:40am	Literacy block (including writer's workshop)
9:50-10:30am	Morning tea and outdoor play (weather permitting)
10:30-11:10am	Specialist classes (music, art,library and specialized physical education)
11:10-11:50am	PYP Unit of Inquiry (Family , Friends and Community, Insect World etc)
11:50 - 12:50	Lunch in canteen and outdoor play (weather permitting)
12:50 - 1:30pm	Chinese (or German) language study
1:30 - 2:10pm	Language immersion through story, song and dramatic play
2:10 - 2:30pm	Afternoon snack in the classroom
2:30 - 3:15pm	Maths block
3:15 - 3:30pm	School day wrap up and escort to buses

And last but not the least, in Pre-Kindergarten we are very keen to involve parents in our learning. Parents are welcome to come and help us with a variety of activities during different parts of the year, such as Sharing Days and Fieldtrips. We believe that parents play a big role in re-inforcing the child’s learning at home, and we would like to say thank you for being so cooperative and supportive of our Pre-Kindergarten program.