Early Learning Centre

Our welcoming, nurturing and loving environment values all children and families and the contribution they make to teaching and learning. Carefully planned, quality play experiences provide opportunities for our children to practise and develop skills and make sense of their world. Diversity and uniqueness is celebrated, regardless of age, gender, race, cultural background or additional needs.

We are informed by the Early Years Learning Framework that is supportive of a range of different theories and approaches to Early Childhood and extends and enriches children’s learning from birth to five years.

The ELC’s curriculum and pedagogy is based on the belief that:

Play-based experiences are meaningful, and through active exploration, a child gains confidence, learns strategies for thinking and reasoning and develops working theories for making sense of the natural, social, physical and material worlds.

Our ELC provides a unique Orthodox and Hellenic experience with a particular focus on Greek language and culture where children and educators interact in both Greek and English in fun and purposeful ways.

Our Early Intervention Program, identifies students in the early years who need additional help with their learning and are supported by special education staff and other professionals.

Routines are established to provide opportunities to learn about order, sequencing, and concepts of time. Established routines make for smoother transitions and help children to prepare mentally for the day ahead while providing frameworks in which creative learning can occur. This provides opportunities for making decisions and acting responsibly, and having a daily schedule that helps ease a child’s transition to the structure of the school setting.


View our Early Learning Centre Programs below:

 

Playgroup (0-2Years Old)

Welcome back to Playgroup, 2023

All families with children under three years of age are able to attend. Our first session will commence next Friday February 17 at 9.00 am. Our weekly Playgroup sessions are FREE in 2023! (during school term)

Book now!

Playgroup provides an opportunity for young children to engage in new experiences and develop their social skills. We follow a Montessori approach where “play is the child’s work”.

Parents, grandparents and/or carers stay for all sessions to play with and supervise the children. A child “learns through play” and through consistent role modelling and guidance from parents and other adults in their lives. We’ll work together to teach the children how to become active participants in their learning and what it means to be part of a group.

Many of the children who attend Playgroup continue their learning at the College therefore, Playgroup gives them the opportunity to become familiar with the environment, with the security of their parents/carers close by before they are required to start preschool on their own. This can make the transition a lot less overwhelming for children and set them off to a positive start.

To keep in line with the guidelines and to minimise the risk of spread, we ask that you practice good hygiene, keep a safe distance where possible, cover your coughs and sneezes and stay home if you or your child is unwell.

Please wait outside by the gate near the ELC to be let in for our sessions.  If you are running late, please call Junior Campus reception on  08 8159 8117 and we will come to collect you. Our sessions will now wrap up around 10.30 am for you to be off the grounds by 10.45 am. This is to limit the contact with the children in the school yard during recess.

We will no longer be sharing food however, we still encourage you to pack healthy snacks for your child’s morning tea break. We ask that nappies are not left on school premises. Please bag and take used nappies home with you for disposal. We also do not have a change table/mat available and keep in mind that our toilet and wash basin are adult size so your child will need to be supervised in the bathroom.

Playgroup runs most smoothly when everyone lends a hand to do the small jobs each session like packing up toys, wiping of tables, or leading story/song time or an art and craft activity.

We want playgroup to be an enjoyable and worthwhile experience for both you and your child so please let us know of your child’s interests or abilities so that I can set up activities and experiences to match these. Lastly, if you have any ideas or suggestions to contribute with regards to the running of playgroup then please also feel free to let me know.

Kind regards,

Contact for Playgroup 

Pauline Rugari

prugari@sgc.sa.edu.au

08 8159 8106

Pre-entry Program (3 Years Old)

The Pre-entry program is an educational platform specifically structured to guide and teach children about social behaviours such as turn taking, sharing and getting along. The program places emphasis on encouraging children to engage in shared play opportunities which enable the development of language skills. Teacher directed group activities allow for children to be involved in learning and develop confidence and the desire to explore learning. Structured and unstructured play opportunities support friendship making opportunities for children to express their individual abilities, interests and personalities. Families can enrol fulltime or part-time as per our ELC Terms & Conditions.

Pre-Entry/Preschool Program Outline: 

8:30am – 9:00am
Arrival Time and “Open Door” for Parents

9:00am
Bell Rings and parents depart from ELC

Group time

Intentional Teaching

9:20am
Indoor/Outdoor Play

10:30am
Morning Tea – Healthy Fruit Snack

10:50am
Group Time

Story/Music

Intentional Teaching

11:20am
Indoor/Outdoor Play

12:30pm
Lunch

1:00pm
Quiet Activity/Rest Time

1:30pm
Departure for Half Day Attendees

Indoor/Outdoor Play

2:30pm
Afternoon Tea – Healthy Fruit Snack

Group Time Story/ Group discussions
recap of the day

3:00pm
Dismissal


OPERATING HOURS
Monday to Friday

8:30am – 3:00pm
Or
8:30am – 1:30pm

Preschool Program (4 Years Old)

Our Preschool program is specially designed to facilitate children’s language and communication, problem solving, critical thinking skills and desire to discover, explore and investigate learning.

The program places a crucial emphasis on school readiness, preparing children with the skills, routine, social behaviours and classroom engagement which everyday schooling requires.

The Preschool children enjoy and learn from a structured daily routine involving intentional teaching, child-directed learning, structured and unstructured play opportunities. Families can enrol fulltime or part-time as per our ELC Terms & Conditions.

Pre-Entry/Preschool Program Outline:

8:30am – 9:00am
Arrival Time and “Open Door” for Parents

9:00am
Bell Rings and parents depart from ELC

Group time

Intentional Teaching

9:20am
Indoor/Outdoor Play

10:30am
Morning Tea – Healthy Fruit Snack

10:50am
Group Time

Story/Music

Intentional Teaching

11:20am
Indoor/Outdoor Play

12:30pm
Lunch

1:00pm
Quiet Activity/Rest Time

1:30pm
Departure for Half Day Attendees

Indoor/Outdoor Play

2:30pm
Afternoon Tea – Healthy Fruit Snack

Group Time Story/ Group discussions
recap of the day

3:00pm
Dismissal


OPERATING HOURS
Monday to Friday

8:30am – 3:00pm
Or
8:30am – 1:30pm

ELC Philosophy

The ELC Philosophy is linked to the College Mission Statement “To inspire and empower our students to achieve their academic, personal and spiritual best”.

St George College is a Christian school, based on the Greek Orthodox faith. We serve a community that includes and welcomes those from a diverse range of faiths and cultural settings.

As educators within the St George College Early Learning Centre, we believe in the importance of creating a welcoming, nurturing and loving environment which values all children and families and the contribution they make to teaching and learning in our Centre.  We believe in the primacy of early learning as the foundation for children’s future development. We strive for excellence in our practice and pride ourselves on the communication and relationships we foster within our vibrant school community. We recognise the importance of establishing strong relationships and working in partnership with families to support children’s development, as well as facilitating a life-long interest and enjoyment of learning.

Our aim is to provide a high quality, educational, language and play-based program that responds to the needs and interests of individual children within a happy, safe, nurturing and stimulating environment. Our children flourish by forming secure attachments and reach their full potential by becoming confident, independent learners with a positive self-esteem.

Our carefully planned, quality play experiences will provide opportunities for our children to practise and develop skills and make sense of their world through investigation, exploration, manipulation, questioning and discovery.

We also respect and acknowledge each child as an individual learner with their own strengths and needs. We value and celebrate diversity and uniqueness regardless of age, gender, race, cultural background or additional needs.

As educators, the love and respect for our children will help them develop the ‘whole’ self. Spiritual, physical, emotional and intellectual growth will allow children to thrive and have well rounded experiences described as the “Belonging, Being, Becoming” in the Early Years Learning Framework.  Because we believe that each child is capable and competent, within our service children have agency and autonomy and are supported to make wise choices.

By working collaboratively as a team to generate effective observations of each child and by encompassing the culture and beliefs of each family, we will create a rich program to cater to each child’s interests and individual learning styles. Our goal is to foster and encourage the potential of children as citizens of today and to support them in becoming proficient and active participants in society.

We acknowledge and respect the values and customs of the traditional custodians of this land.  We would also like to pay our respects to the elders both past and present. The Kaurna people lived here for thousands of years, raising and teaching their children. We extend our hands in friendship as we walk together on this land.

We are informed by the Early Years Learning Framework that is supportive of a range of different theories and approaches to Early Childhood. The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) extends and enriches children’s learning from birth to five years (Australian Government, 2009:5).

The ELC’s curriculum and pedagogy is based on the belief that:

Play-based experiences are meaningful, and through active exploration, a child gains confidence, learns strategies for thinking and reasoning and develops working theories for making sense of the natural, social, physical and material worlds.

 

Our ELC provides a unique Orthodox and Hellenic experience with a particular focus on Greek language and culture where children and educators interact in both Greek and English in fun and purposeful ways.

 

We also have an Early Intervention Program, which identifies students in the early years who need additional help with their learning and are supported by special education staff and other professionals.


For more information about our Early Learning Centre programs, 

please contact:

Pauline Rugari
Registrar
E: registrar@sgc.sa.edu.au
P: 08 8159 8100

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