Letter from the Teachers

First Church Pre School
As teachers here……….

We believe that children are a gift from God and as such they are ‘taonga’ (treasure). We believe that all children have God given gifts, talents, skills and personalities.  We take delight in seeing the potential in each child and assisting them to discover and develop their abilities.

We aim to ensure that all children attending our preschool are cared for exceptionally
well in a safe and beautiful environment, where they feel a strong sense of security
and belonging.

We are totally committed to ensuring that all our children enjoy careful and thoughtful guidance that respects their dignity, as they develop lifelong social skills.

 We aim to teach in a way which respects the holistic nature of each child and a way which is very responsive to their individual needs and desires.  Our goal is to get to know each child very well and give them time to express their thoughts, feelings and ideas to teachers who are prepared to listen actively.

We aim to provoke learning by fostering imagination and curiosity while inspiring delight in children, as they discover new things.  We believe the early years are a time for fun, joy and a time to develop a thirst for learning.

We aim to provide a happy, positive, stimulating and yet peaceful environment in which children can learn.  We provide opportunities for children to learn to regulate their own behaviours and become confident and independent learners.

We strongly believe in a mix of child led and teacher directed play.  We love to focus first on the childs’ interests and use this as a beginning from which to extend and develop learning.  Added into the mix we provide teacher directed activities which will enhance a childs’ learning in literacy, numeracy, arts & craft skills as well as foster communication & social skills. We use our structured environment with mat times, morning tea & lunch times to support childrens’ learning including very important self-help skills.

We value the richness of the Māori and Pākeha contribution to Aotearoa New Zealand. We aim to create a very inclusive learning environment which respects the contribution of the first peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand and at the same time is inclusive and values the worth and exceptional value of all the cultures, which are woven into the fabric of society, in Aotearoa New Zealand, in the 21^st Century.

We see First Presbyterian Church Pre School as a valuable part of our wider community of Papakura.  We understand that we have an important role to play as a part of the educative community in Papakura and realise that our point of difference is that we are a Christian based Pre School which is strongly ‘values’ driven.

Reviewed February 2021