St Thomas Aquinas School
St Gabriels
Grade “000” – Grade “R”
Pre-School
It helps to expand the range of children’s learning experiences.
Pre-school education is a vital aspect of a child’s learning and development.
The importance of pre-school education lies in the fact that the students become more confident, enthusiastic and eager learners who later on become successful persons in life. Pre-schoolers enter this chapter of their life with education and knowledge from friends and family. Hence teachers often work in partnership with the parents so that they can ensure an all-round development of the children. One should remember that pre-school education is the foundation of children’s education.
The attitude and aptitude is developed in these years so that the child can achieve success during the later period of his life. By promoting the child’s pre-school education you will help to boost his self-esteem.
At St Gabriel’s we focus on developing the whole child by teaching basic social skills, structured activities, unstructured play and awareness of self and others.
Brain development is highest during the first years of you child’s life and thus is it vital to expose them to as much information and experiences in a structured, stimulating and safe environment.
Social skills are also of vital importance and it teaches young children the value of speaking, helping themselves and others, to listen, to learn compassion and empathy as well as acceptance of multi-cultural differences.
A quality pre-school education can be one of the greatest gifts that you could give to your child.
St Gabriel’s incorporates many tools and techniques to better assist the teachers in helping early learners to reach their full potential.
WE OFFER THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMMES IN ADDITION TO THE REGULAR CURRICULUM:
Thrass
“THRASS is a revolutionary approach to teaching English that provides learners of all ages and abilities not just with handwriting, reading and spelling skills but also with valuable life skills training.” – Dr Jean Place, Principal Tutor, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
- THRASS stands for Teaching Handwriting, Reading And Spelling Skills.
- It’s is a whole-school synthetic phonics programme for teaching learners of all ages and abilities using pictures and keywords. The programme has ten Features, four Phases and ten Stages.
- THRASS helps learners to understand the building blocks of the English language. It teaches them about the 44 phonemes (speech sounds) of spoken English and the 120 graphemes (spelling choices) of written English.
- It teaches learners that, basically, when spelling, we change phonemes to graphemes and when reading we change graphemes to phonemes.
- THRASS uses a multi-sensory (visual, auditory and kin-aesthetic) approach to teach meta-cognitive strategies (thinking skills) that empower learners with lifelong word-solving skills.
Playball
Playball© offers six different sport and movement programs for boys and girls between the ages of two and eight. All of the programs are taught in a fun-filled, energetic and positive environment and for the last 25 years children from all over the world have enjoyed the postive impact that our programs have had on their lives.
At face value Playball© programs seem to have only two main objectives – improving basic movement skills and refining sport skills and techniques. However the success of this seemingly “sport program” is in actual fact that through competent sports participation, achieved through sound coaching principles, children secure a solid base from which to develop many other and more important aspects of their lives.
Our goal is clear. To teach sport properly so that any child who attends any one of our six programs will achieve a measure of competence!
All the programs been developed, improved and re-designed over the past 25 years resulting in a coaching system that is educational and appropriate in every aspect. The programs are age specific, with each of our programs taking into account the difference in the cognitive, emotional and social development of the children taught in each age group.
More than just sport: Playball© sport coaches recognise that when coaching young children sport, it is not appropriate to teach physical skills in isolation. The emotional, social and cognitive development of the student has an equally important role to play when considering how the student is taught. A very important component of our teaching methodology, is to make the children aware about social skills, values and norms whilst developing their physical skills. This approach is educational and holistic, ensuring that the focus is on the development of the “whole child”. Our approach is a positive one – we believe that positive encouragement and giving the child an opportunity to experience success (however small) results in improved self-concept and confidence which in turn will improve competence.
Playball© is taught in an organised and structured manner. Class numbers are small, children are taught to listen to instructions, to observe demonstrations attentively and to concentrate while attempting the skills. No pressure is placed on the child to achieve. Healthy values are instilled such as treating other students with respect, co-operating well, taking turns, being flexible and being a good sport.
Playball is taught all over the world. The concept has been successful all over the world and is currently being taught to children in the USA, Canada, England, Ireland, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, UAE, Switzerland, Cyprus, Mexico and Southern Africa.
AGE-SPECIFIC PROGRAMS
All of our Coaching Systems© are outcome-based meaning that they are defined by what children require at a specific stage in their developmental level – all of our programs are thus age specific and align themselves with the sound educational principle of teaching children well within the boundaries of their age profile.
Our programs for younger children are more focused on movement development – with a smaller ratio of sport skills, whereas programs for older children have a bigger ratio of sport skills and a smaller percentage of movement skills.
Outcome-Based Coaching Systems
Kinderkinetics
Why is Kinderkinetics a MUST for your child?
- Kinderkinetics plays a vital role in identifying and minimising learning difficulties within children and therefore helping to prepare them for their scholastic endeavours.
- Effective sensory and motor control is the foundation for school readiness and long term participation in various activities.
- Kinderkinetics is a fun-orientated programme that helps to develop a child’s motor skills and increasing their self-confidence at the same time.
Why do you need to focus on your child’s development now?
- Scientific research has shown that there is a critical time period in the development of a child’s brain where neurological development is very sensitive to stimulation. Dr. Carl Gabbard is of opinion that these critical periods can be seen as “Windows of Opportunity” that open at certain times.
- This concept implies that inadequate stimulation during these “Windows of Opportunity” will lower your child’s ability for stimulation and learning as he grows older.
- It is thus very important that your child receives the necessary stimulation during the right time/age, to optimise his/her total development.
What are the qualifications of a kinderkineticist?
- An honours degree in Human Movement Science (Kinderkinetics).
- Various coaching courses in sport.
- All Kinderkineticists are registered with the South African Professional Institute for Kinderkinetics (SAPIK).
Audioblox
Audiblox is a system of cognitive exercises, aimed at the inculcation of foundational learning skills, which are necessary for school entry, for sustained achievement at school, and to overcome learning disabilities.
Probably the most conspicuous feature of the program is its almost unlimited adaptability. It offers astounding possibilities of development to both the gifted and less gifted child.
To the high school student it can be of very great value, as it develops memory (both visual and auditory) and concentration to a very high degree, while it can also be used for the preschool child from as early as three years of age. Audiblox is an excellent program for the purpose of preparing the pre-school child and the school beginner for reading and learning.
Audiblox is indispensable in the remedial education program. In cases of reading, spelling or writing problems, astounding results can be obtained through regular and continued use of Audiblox. Even children who are seriously dyslexic or dysgraphic can be helped to overcome their problems completely.
Improvements of as high as 40% in school achievement have already been obtained through the use of Audiblox. Audiblox can be used individually as well as in a group.
What are foundational skills?
- Audiblox aims at developing and automating foundational learning skills. A foundational skill is not the same as a process, strategy or technique. The difference between these can be explained by using the game of basketball as example. In order to be a basketball player, a person first has to master the foundational skills, e.g. passing, dribbling, defense, and shooting. Only after that can he be taught strategies or techniques.
- Audiblox aims at developing and automating the foundational skills of reading, spelling, writing, mathematics and the skills required in the learning of subject matter.
The most important foundational skills addressed by Audiblox are:
- Concentration
- Accurate perception
- Visual discrimination of foreground-background, form, size, position in space, dimensionality and colour
- Visual analysis and synthesis of position in space
- Auditory discrimination of foreground-background, position in time and space, and dimensionality
- Auditory analysis and synthesis of position in time and space
- Visual discrimination of dimensionality
- Decoding and integration of information
- Visual closure
- Imagination
- Visual memory, especially of forms and sequence
- Auditory memory
- Short-term and working memory
- Long-term memory
- Concept of numbers
- Reasoning
- Logical thinking
- Fine motor coordination
- Gross motor coordination
- Sensory-motor integration
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