Pre-nursery (Sternschnuppen)

Sternschnuppen/Shooting Stars under 3 1 ½ to 3 year olds
teacher/child ratio 1:6
Open Mondays to Fridays 8am to 1.15 pm
Children may be collected at 11.25 am

Kindergarten and Preschool

Pre school one group (Children turning 6 by 30th September of the coming academic year)
Teacher/child ratio 1:8
Open Mondays to Fridays 8am to 3.30 pm
The afternoon programme consists of a combination of activities and supervision by kindergarten teachers. Afternoon supervision must be booked separately at the beginning of the academic year and is subject to charges.

• The Kindergarten is bilingual (total immersion model) The group teams consist of a German and an English speaking teacher.

• If necessary German language learning is supported by a special German support programme "Lernpfad” developed by Dr. Zvi Penner with a GSL/German as a foreign language trained teacher.

• the pedagogical work with the children is laid down by the quality control board for Kindergartens of the German Overseas Schools (ZfA) and they offer regular in-service training.

• The pre school children are carefully prepared for school. The Primary school and the Kindergarten coordinate classes together in a school preparation programme, which involves children from first grade and kindergarten being taught P.E. and music together. Primary teachers also teach the pre school programme twice a week in the Kindergarten. The language of instruction is German. All this aids the child,s transition from Kindergarten to first grade/Primary school. For this programme a school curriculum is available for orientation.

Who are we?

• We are the Kindergarten of the DSND, a recognised German Overseas School in New Delhi, India.
• We are an educational institution for children aged 1.5 to primary school age.
• We are a space for encounters:
• Encounters with our own selves and with others
• Encounters with our own language and with other languages
• Encounters with our own culture and with other cultures
• Encounters with our host country
• We are bilingual (German/English)

What do we offer?

The Kindergarten is divided into different groups:

• The pre-nursery group (“Shooting Stars”) for children aged 1.5 to 3 years.
• The Kindergarten Groups (“Cloud Group” and “Rainbow Group”) for children aged 3 to 5 years.
• Pre-school (“Sunshine Group”) for children aged 5 to primary school age.
• We make optimal use of age-specific learning resources and aids in all the different levels, i.e. the pre-nursery, Kindergarten and pre-school groups.  Heterogeneity is assured through regular activities in mixed-age groups.
• Our pedagogical team is made up of academically trained teachers and professionally qualified experts drawn from a variety of fields.
• Bilingual environment (German/English) is ensured by having one German-speaking and one English-speaking teacher in the team of teachers in each of the groups.
• Acquisition of German is supported by an additional language development programme run from Kindergarten level onwards.
• The Kindergarten hours are from 8.00 am to 13.15 pm.
• The pre-nursery hours are to 11.25am.
• We have facilities for pedagogical care after 11.30 am for all 3-year olds in a separate quiet area.
• We offer opportunities for organising afternoon activities in the form of co-curricular activities (CCA).  Parent volunteers are needed for this.
• Pre-school children are prepared for entry to Class 1 of the Primary School through specially designed pre-school programmes.
• Transitions from pre-nursery to the Kindergarten group and from pre-school to the Primary School take place under pedagogical supervision and care.

How do we go about our work?

• We conform to the quality standards laid down for Kindergarten and pre-school for German Overseas Schools.
• In keeping with this commitment, the curriculum we follow in pre-school is especially developed in-house to dovetail with the curriculum of the Primary School.
• We would therefore like to introduce you to the salient features in the development of key competencies together with the related underlying pedagogical principles and practices followed in our institution:
• Individual competencies – speaking, hearing, seeing, thinking, problem solving, playing, moving, practical life skills.
• Our educators recognise and respect each and every child’s individuality.  Thus, they support, nurture and guide each child while keeping his/her individuality in mind.
• Social interaction – communicating, resolving conflicts, capacity for teamwork, taking responsibility for one’s own actions in the community, via nature and the environment; developing feelings of empathy.
• Our teachers assist and guide each child in developing social forms of engagement within a group. Special emphasis is placed on ensuring that each child learns how to represent both the community’s as well as his/her own interests.
• Learning competence by learning methodologies – realizing that one is learning, what one is learning and how one is learning; evaluating and valuing oneself, correcting oneself, exploring, reflecting on one’s own actions.
• All the learning that takes place here is based on Marie Montessori’s maxim: “Help me to help myself”.  Learning happens through play. Learning processes are supported by diverse and regular activities, suitable resources and teaching aids as well as project work. Our teachers encourage the culture of questioning in children and help them to research and find answers to their questions.
• Ability to cope with change and stress (resilience) – accepting challenges, developing a positive approach towards life, learning to seek help for oneself, practicing self-discipline, developing a sense of well-being.
• Nothing can empower a human being more than the trust that is reposed in him or her (Jean Claude). Our teachers consistently maintain an atmosphere of trust, well-being and openness that enables the children to move about freely without any fear or compulsions. So enabling each child to face the environment around him/her with its entire myriad of challenges in a positive manner. We regard challenges as natural learning opportunities.
  
  

The children’s progress is regularly reviewed and documented:

• In the childrens’ portfolios
• Through progress reports
• Through interactions with parents
• Through evaluation of the language level (“learning path”)
• The Kindergarten has a separate language development programme to promote German language learning
• Pre-school children take part in specially designed pre-school programmes, some of which are conducted jointly with Class 1 pupils of the Primary School in so-called “open-door sessions”.
• A host of co-curricular activities (CCA) covering a wide range of interests are offered after Kindergarten hours.

Our teaching staff continuously strives to hone the child’s existing skills by regularly participating in appropriate advanced training programmes conducted both internally and externally. Moreover, their own pedagogical competence is reviewed and assessed through evaluations and peer review sessions both being ongoing processes.

We encourage active parent participation in Kindergarten and school activities.  

We have many organizations to facilitate such interactions:

• Parents’ representatives in individual groups
• Parents Council of the DSND
• The Board of the DSND
• Pre-planned activity sessions involving both parents and teachers are welcome as this helps to work in hand in hand towards the common good of the child.

Please read more information about the daily routine in the Kindergarten: "Gerneral Information"