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Principal of Prep School - Shirley Hadwen
Deputy Principal of Prep - Peter Dallas and Justine Meech
The Preparatory School recognises the diversity and complexity of children's lives. We provide a safe, supportive environment while laying strong foundations for learning. Early childhood education supports the unique learning and development characteristics of young children, engaging them in opportunities that provide success and the foundation for lifelong learning.
The Preparatory School at Varsity College includes Preparatory classes and Years 1, 2 and 3. To enrol in the Prep year students must turn 5 by 30th June of the year in which they begin. It is a non compulsory year but highly recommended. An early education program is designed to help young children explore and interpret the world around them in a way that makes sense to them. Preparatory learning components include:
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Thinking - encompasses a range of creative and critical thinking processes and strategies.
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Communication - ideas can be expressed and represented in a variety of ways.
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Sense of self and others - the development of a child’s self-concept, self-esteem and the interrelationships between the individual and others.
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Social living and learning - focuses on the child as a social being in the context of the family, school and wider community.
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Health and physical - developing fine and gross motor skills as well as the understanding of the need for personal health and safety.
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Cultural understanding - growing awareness of one’s own cultural identity and the diversity of cultures of others.
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Understanding environments - exploring the influence of technology in meeting everyday needs.
Students
At Varsity College Preparatory School, the organisation of learning for students includes:
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Preparatory Year
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Years 1, 2 and 3
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A variety of ‘hands on’ learning experiences
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Specialist classes in Technology, Physical Education, Music and Library
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Early intervention programs, including Reading Recovery, Support-A-Talker and Support-A-Reader.
Teachers
At Varsity College Preparatory School, teachers will facilitate learning by:
- Following our Early Childhood philosophy
- Providing flexible learning environments
- Being supported by ongoing professional development
- Providing a safe and supportive learning environment
- Adapting learning so that it caters for individual needs, interests and learning styles
- Exposing students to learning opportunities that are purposeful and related to real life experience
- Encouraging parent involvement
- Planning and working in teams to provide a consistent and unified approach
Curriculum
At Varsity College, the curriculum will cater to the needs of Preparatory students by:
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Understanding children by considering the social and cultural contexts in which they live
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Building partnerships between parents and teachers and children
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Establishing flexible learning environments
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Exploring content - literacy, numeracy, creativity, collaborative skills, lifeskills, skills for planning, gathering and organising ideas
Curriculum Components
At Varsity College, the curriculum will cater to the needs of students in early childhood by:
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Developing a broad base of knowledge and understanding of the world through interest related themes, that provide students with the necessary foundation for the various aspects of the Rich Tasks. Students from Prep to Year 3 are provided with many challenging opportunities to use and develop their thinking skills and to identify and solve problems that interest them.
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Ensuring the development of skills such as working as an effective group member, being able to think laterally and critically, and developing the ability to manage time and self.
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Developing relationships with peers and teachers alike. Establishing productive social and working relationships with other students both in the classroom and the playground.
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As with the other campuses of Varsity College, the Preparatory School is committed to the New Basics curriculum where, in late Year 2 and during Year 3, students engage in the first suite of Rich Tasks. These tasks are closely related to real world experiences and problems as well as developing skills in higher order thinking, working as an effective group member and productive time management and management of self.
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Underpinning these tasks are the core skills in oral language, literacy (reading and writing) and numeracy. Varsity College prides itself on it high standard of literacy and numeracy teaching in the early years
Come to learn and have fun with us here at Varsity Preparatory School.
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Preparatory School 
