Playgroup, Nursery and Kindergarten (Age 3-5)
Children are eligible to attend the Cardiff pre-school Programme if they are 2.5 years old by December and 3 years old by July. Playgroup and Nursery programme is conducted twice in a year: January and August based on the students' age.
The goals of elementary school program are
- to build healthy and positive self concepts.
- to provide opportunities to enhance social skills.
- to encourage children to think, reason, question and experiment.
- to promote language development.
- to encourage and demonstrate sound health, safety and nutrition habits.
- to respect cultural diversity.
- to develop initiative and decision-making skills.
- to provide opportunities for physical development.
Our Pre-School is dedicated to providing a challenging learning environment which is child-centered, well-balanced and aims to develop the whole child. Our elementary staff- from our teachers, to our instructional assistants, to our principals- all share a common bond. We care deeply about each of the children that we work with, and it is that bond that drives us to do everything we can to ensure that each child obtains a life-long love for learning.
We believe that life-long learning begins with questions and wonders. We believe that authentic learning situations allow children to construct their learning while feeling secure to take chances and discover. Our Pre-School provides the tools for learning including flexible learning spaces, state of the art technology, access to information, and thinking skills.
When children are challenged on a daily basis, they learn how to solve problems, communicate their thinking, collaborate with others and develop as a whole child. Our Pre-School provides the challenging and nurturing environment that children thrive in and set sound educational foundations on which to build their futures.
Here the infants are encouraged to enjoy, achieve and develop their academic and social skills in a happy, caring, family environment. Children achieve social and communication skills through play and fun. During playtime pupils are encouraged to play together with balls, hoops and skipping ropes or to use the climbing apparatus and swings (weather permitting), in a fully supervised, secure environment. A trained first-aid officer is on duty.
Playgroup and Nursery are managed by qualified, caring and experienced staff. They ensure that young children feel safe and happy in our secure and caring environment. Playgroup and Nursery sessions are structured and timetabled with a good balance of child-initiated play and child directed play, alongside the literacy and Numeracy hours and daily outside classroom activities. For Playgroup and Nursery children, we have six early learning goals:
• Personal, social & emotional development
• Knowledge and understanding of the world
• Communication, language and literacy
• Physical development
• Mathematical development
• Creative development
Pupils are also benefitted from lessons with the school's PE and Music, Singing and ICT teachers. We strive to bring out a child's true potential and want school to be a place where children feel confident and happy and progress at their own stage of development. We foster a sense of achievement in pupils as they learn the social and academic life-skills in an environment that promotes the ideals of sharing, caring, politeness and consideration for others giving the children the confidence to communicate with adults and other children in standard play. Our basic premise is that learning is an active process shared by students and staff. This process takes many different forms with teachers serving as models. Content is important, but emphasis will also be put on the process.
In Kindergarten, skill development, critical thinking, and problem solving will be actively taught and will include a variety of approaches. Students will be viewed developmentally, and instructional expectations will be based accordingly. Staff endeavor to create an atmosphere of mutual respect where students feel comfortable developing responsibility as an active participant in the learning process. The majority of the time, students of varying abilities will be working together in a supportive, cooperative environment. Students will respect others' opinions and share ideas, and each student will be a valuable, contributing member of the group. There will be maximum inclusion in the least restrictive setting. Examples of the students' work will be displayed throughout the school, and building-wide themes and projects will be in evidence.
Children entering Kindergarten are screened for special needs. This involves evaluation of speech and language as well as academic and motor skills. The child's vision and hearing are also checked. Parents will receive a report of the screening results.
The overall goal of the Pre-School Program is to support all students in becoming successful and independent learners. The Elementary Program is student-centered and inquiry-based, in that it addresses young people's real interests over unrelated or arbitrarily selected content. It is also experiential, providing concrete and active experiences for students.
Learning is socially constructed. Students are taught to be reflective, helping them to identify learning strengths and challenges and to set some of their own learning goals. The CISD elementary program creates an environment where students feel secure, independent, responsible and valued. Our international setting fosters a unique understanding and sensitivity to the cultural and linguistic diversity of the students and the community. Our program includes partnerships with parents which support student learning. Each child comes with a wealth of knowledge, information and inspiration. We strive to instill a love of learning, through a rich variety of developmentally appropriate educational experiences. We immerse the children in learning that is active and relevant, creating an environment that is child-directed, where both the child and the teacher are active learners.
The Pre-School class schedule is set in such a manner so as to give the children ample time to play and explore, to discover and make connections with friends and peers. Centers are designed and planned by the teachers with care in a thoughtful and imaginative way. The dramatic play areas are set up and changed according to themes; block areas are supplied with intelligent constructive toys. Puzzles, math manipulatives, and computer centers enhance their analytical minds. A well-equipped indoor playground adds to developing the children's large motor skills where they also learn to play in large groups.
The Excellence and Enjoyment in teaching 'real life' topic work where learning is more meaningful. The learning in school reflects this with an emphasis on cross-curricular topic work; first hand experience i.e. visits, speaking and listening, drama and role play and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a tool for learning.
Our vision is to create a multicultural environment in which joyful learning will flourish. Children will possess the curiosity and confidence to explore, question, evaluate, create, and communicate. A partnership among parents, children and teachers will cultivate growth and provide the foundation for the children to become empathetic, and responsible global citizens.
The Early Childhood Education Program at Cardiff International School Dhaka is tailored to honor our beliefs about how young children develop cognitively, emotionally, socially, and physically. These beliefs are based upon current educational research and the vast professional experience of our teachers. Our goal is to develop in children a sense of excitement, curiosity and wonder about how our world works in the 21st century. Adaptability and a sense of empowerment are essential to impact our ever changing world.
Children thrive in a safe and nurturing environment which offers a balance of structure and freedom. Choices in learning experiences offer sufficient challenge, and a low degree of frustration. A multi-sensory environment appeals to varied learning styles and stimulates the multiple connections vital for deep understanding.
Young children learn best in a state of relaxed, yet alert mental and physical environment provided through playful exploration. This allows children the opportunity to explore and feel safe in taking risks, while connecting what is possible to the real world. Guided discovery inside the classroom and unstructured play outside the classroom provide children the freedom to creatively choose with whom they learn as well as what and how they learn.
An interdisciplinary approach to learning connects children's learning with many facets of the world through every aspect of the curriculum at CISD. The process of learning is valued as children make their thinking visible. Children learn best by constructing their own understanding through inquiry, exploration and hands-on experiences that are relevant and connected to prior knowledge. To help children know themselves as learners, we provide time for frequent reflection, choice, and feedback.
Children flourish in a supportive environment in which the child, parent, and teacher create a partnership for learning. When parents and teachers cultivate the joy and excitement of learning in children, they are preparing them to be curious, confident, and self motivated learners. Educating parents to understand our early childhood philosophy creates a strong partnership for learning between home and school.
To this end, our young children will receive the transportable gifts of joyful learning and cross cultural understanding.