Welcome
We would like to extend a very warm welcome to all the children and families commencing in the St Dominic’s Three-Year-Old Pre-Kindy. We look forward to working together with your family as a team to provide the best learning environment for your child.
We offer a structured play-based learning program with rich open-ended experiences that are carefully planned and structured to ensure that each session follows the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF).
Our new Early Childhood building provides a spacious, warm and welcoming environment where children feel comfortable to take risks in their learning and play. We utilise both our indoor and outdoor spaces and pride ourselves on engaging children with many play materials and experiences.
Our Three-Year-Old Pre-Kindy program provides an introduction to schooling for children and their families and sets the foundation for future school learning.
We are looking forward to having lots of fun together!
Early Childhood Philosophy
Secure, respectful & reciprocal relationships
At St Dominic’s, we value the importance of nurturing secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships. We believe that in order for children to learn effectively, they need to feel safe, valued and respected. Children should be provided with an environment and experiences that provide challenges to build their resilience and confidence
Partnerships between early childhood educators and families
At our school, we value the importance of partnering with families. We respect the role of parents as the primary educators and work to build positive relationships with them. We value the importance of two-way communication between parents and educators in order to establish common understandings and to ensure clarity and transparency. We believe in providing opportunities for families to take part in our learning experiences.
Literacy & numeracy: essential skills for all children to develop
At St Dominic’s, we believe that children learn literacy and numeracy most effectively through planned and intentional play-based experiences that are engaging and stimulating. We believe in providing a balanced approach to teaching and learning that also includes explicit teaching. We support the development of early oral language skills to lay the foundations for future social and academic success.
Our faith community
St Dominic’s School is founded on the Dominican tradition of truth, knowledge and love. Our school strives to create in all community members a firm foundation of the Catholic ethos so that all may develop a loving and meaningful relationship with God.
Children are successful, competent and capable learners who are active participants in their own learning
We believe in the competence and capability of children. Knowing children’s capabilities and using these as a starting point for new learning helps us to recognise children as competent learners. We consider learning to be developmental and a life-long process. In the Early Years we promote active learning through the implementation of hands-on, play-based and inquiry experiences
Inclusion & belonging
At St Dominic’s, we aim to build a strong sense of identity, belonging and connectedness. During curriculum decision-making processes, we take into account all children’s social, cultural and linguistic diversity. This ensures that all children’s experiences are recognised and valued.
St Dominic’s Early Years Philosophy Document
Aims of a Three-Year-Old Program
The aims of the three-year-old program are to:
- Encourage self-help and independence in young children.
- Enhance the development of the whole child across the physical, social and emotional, language, cognitive and spiritual domains.
- Assist children to develop a positive self-image and self-efficacy.
- Encourage parent participation in the school environment.
- Provide an aesthetically pleasing environment that encourages learning in the young child.
- Create a safe, secure and nurturing physical and human environment.
- To acknowledge, value and celebrate each child’s individuality.
- Make available support to parents in relation to the child’s development.
- Include flexibility in the program that allows for individuals needs of each child.
- Provide a developmentally appropriate program for three-year-old children based on the current national requirements for early years.
- Through each of these we promote school readiness in our children, families and school.
Taken from: Three-year-old Education Program Information and Procedures November 2015 Catholic Education Western Australia
Class Information
Term Dates
Term 3 – Friday 22nd July 2022 to Friday 23rd September 2022
Term 4 – Friday 14th October 2022 to Friday 9th December 2022
Attendance Information
Pre-Kindy sessions are held on Fridays during term time in the Kindergarten room. Doors open at 8:30am and the day commences at 8:45am. The Pre-Kindy day concludes at 2:45pm.
Arrivals and Departures
All children must be taken to and from the Pre-Kindy classroom by their parent or guardian, unless utilising the Kiss and Ride option.
Please enter the classroom from the courtyard door.
When the classroom doors open at the beginning of the session, please help your child to:
- Place their hat, lunchbox and cushion in their pigeon hole.
- Put on their name badge.
- Place their drink bottle on the drink trolley.
- Proceed with indoor activities until the pack-away music is played.
- After this, please settle your child on the mat and say a big goodbye.
- If possible, at the start of each session we ask that a parent or accompanying adult shares an activity.
Please notify us if your child is going to be collected by anyone other than yourself and record this in the logbook at the class entry. This may be another parent, family, or friend. If there is a regular arrangement for this person to collect your child, a note written in the logbook once for the year will be adequate.
We realise that unforeseen circumstances may arise; therefore, if there is a change of person collecting your child, you are running late or there is an emergency, please telephone the school on 9449 6900, to let us know.
If arriving late (after 9:00am) or collecting your child prior to the end of the school day (2:45pm), families must present at the main school office and sign in or sign out their child using the iPad located on the main desk. Administration staff will then either walk your child to the classroom or collect them and bring them to the main office.
Administration Information
St Dominic’s School Code of Conduct
The purpose of the Code of Conduct is to describe the minimum standard of conduct in all behaviour and decision making to ensure the safety and well-being of students. Below are several practical examples for families and a link to the schools full Code of Conduct document.
- Be involved in the life of the school. Attend and participate in school events such as Masses, assemblies and sports carnivals. Volunteer for P & F and classroom rosters. Give witness that you value education by being involved in the life of the school.
- It is easy for an opinion to be mistaken for fact. Approaching the relevant personnel within the school to verify the factual basis of a story can assist in allaying your fears as to the events in question.
- Parents/ Friends are expected to interact appropriately with staff, students and other parents at all times. Raising your voice, posting online comments or forwarding emails to others, insulting behaviour to anyone on school grounds – is not appropriate.
- Parents are expected to maintain privacy and confidentiality. You treat personal information about members of the school community as private and confidential.
- Follow any reasonable instructions given by a staff member when on site and observe the signed parking areas of the school.
St Dominics School Code of Conduct Document
Absentee Procedure
- Families should notify the school via the absentee button located on the home page of our school website – www.stdominics.wa.edu.au. Once submitted both the appropriate classroom teacher and administration will be notified.
- Notifications should be done prior to the start of the school day on which the child is absent.
- Telephone messages are not considered sufficient notification for our record keeping.
- Teachers are required to follow up all absences which are not accompanied by a notification.
- Families away for extended periods of time (e.g. holiday within the term), must contact the Principal to discuss these plans.
School Attendance Guidelines and Procedures
Teacher Parent Communication
Communication between Pre-Kindy and home is very important. You will be kept informed through the use of electronic newsletters, Seesaw and emails. Click here to read more about our schools communication channels.
One of our main forms of communication is an App called Seesaw. Each family will be invited by the teacher via email or letter to join the Seesaw group as your child begins the program. The teacher will send notes/ work/ photos and other information regarding the program through this medium, so please ensure you check the App regularly.
If there is anything to discuss with regards to your child’s progress or any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the class teacher. Please always ensure you arrange a meeting via email, note or through the office prior to the day so that a convenient time may be arranged.
General Information
What to Bring
- A bag big enough to carry paintings, drawings and constructions.
- A hat.
- A drink bottle.
- Morning tea and Lunch. Please pack your child’s morning tea and lunch in a labelled lunch box. They may be packed separately or together eg. in a bento box. Please be aware that there may be children that are allergic to nut products. As we are an Allergy Aware School, please avoid sending any foods that contain nuts or traces of nuts. Lunch can be ordered through a company called Locavora and the following link can always be found via the icon on the front page of our school website – https://schools.locavora.com.au
- Small cushion for rest time.
- Spare Clothes – 2x full changes of clothes, including underwear.
- Waterproof bag (for wet clothes).
- Nappies (if required for toileting or sleep).
Please make sure everything is labelled with your child’s name.
What to Wear
We ask that you dress your child for Pre-Kindy in comfortable clothing and appropriate footwear. This allows them to easily participate in all indoor and outdoor activities. Please do not send your child in clothes that will cause difficulty for the child when toileting. For this reason please avoid belts, overalls and pants with buttons and zips. Please be mindful that we have a lot of fun at school, which may involve our clothes getting dirty.
Please make sure you apply sunscreen to your child before every session.
Toilet Training
It is encouraged that your child is toilet trained or in the process of training when beginning Pre-Kindy. However, we understand that accidents happen and we will deal with these discreetly. For this reason, please ensure your child has two spare changes of clothes in his/ her bag at ALL times.
Children will be reminded to go to the toilet regularly throughout the day to help minimise accidents. If there are difficulties in regards to toilet training, please let us know.
Health and Well- Being
Please inform us of any condition that may affect your child’s well-being, and equally of any circumstances that might affect his/ her behaviour on a particular day. This helps us to cater for the needs of your child.
Please do not send your child to school if he/ she is unwell. Please inform the school if your child develops a contagious illness, so that we can alert other parents to be aware of symptoms.
If your child has special medical needs, for example asthma or allergies, please be sure to inform the school. It is important that the school has a record of your child’s medical needs in case of emergency.
It is a school guideline, that we are not able to accept the responsibility of administering medications without the completion of appropriate forms. If required, these forms can be requested via the main office.
Should your child be unwell or involved in an accident while at school, you will be notified. For this reason, it is important that telephone numbers and emergency contacts are kept up to date at all times.
Settling In
One of the first things your child needs to learn is how to be away from his/ her parents/ caregivers. Children love coming to Pre-Kindy, however, there may be an initial period of adjustment at the start and this will be different for every child. It is important that each child feels happy and comfortable in the environment. Staff will work closely with parents/ caregivers to ensure that each child is given the best chance to settle in at their own pace.
As difficult as it may be, avoid prolonged goodbyes. Direct him/ her to an activity or a staff member, say goodbye and then promptly leave. Should you have any concerns about an uneasy separation, please feel free to phone us to confirm that your child has settled and is happy.
We will call you if your child does not settle and together we will work on a plan for the next session.
Birthdays
We would love to celebrate your child’s special day. If you would like to bring in something to share with the children please send in something that can be easily distributed and that DOES NOT CONTAIN NUTS. For health and hygiene reasons, individually wrapped items are preferable. Please check with the teacher if other food items need to be avoided.
Canteen
Here at St Dominic’s School, we provide a five day a week lunchtime canteen option via an offsite provider called Locavora. Locavora cooks and prepares food daily at their West Perth commercial kitchen and transports ordered items to St Dominic’s in commercial food grade transport boxes. Orders arrive at 12:30pm and are distributed to students before they head out to lunch. Orders are entered and paid for online via the companies purpose built website https://schools.locavora.com.au.
What We Require Before Your Child Starts
- A photo of your child (to label their pigeon hole).
- A photo of the people who will be picking up your child on a regular basis (for our relief file).
- A Pre-Kindy ‘All About Me’ Form (so we can become familiar with your child and family). A copy of this form can be downloaded via the link provided below.
All items can be emailed to Hannah.Mearns@cewa.edu.au.
Pre-Kindy All About Me Form
We look forward to welcoming your family to our Pre-Kindy classroom and to enjoying lots of fun and exciting times ahead.
Mrs Hannah Mearns
Pre-Kindy Teacher
Mrs Amanda Muniandy
Pre-Kindy Teacher Assistant