Welcome to the St. George Co-Op Nursery School!

Our Program Statement

St. George Co-op Nursery School (SGCNS) is a part-time preschool situated downstairs in a beautiful church at the Eastern end of the idyllic town of St. George. The school was started as a co-operative to provide families an unmatched opportunity to participate and engage in this next chapter of their children's' lives and education. For many of our children this will be their first experience being cared for and educated outside of the family unit.  The co-operative is committed to creating a close community and an educational environment that embodies the core values and traditions of each co-op family.  Our philosophy is to encourage our children's social, emotional, and intellectual growth in a safe, secure learning environment. SGCNS is also committed to implementing current educational best practices and following all legislation that pertains to the educational guidelines.  We believe that children are competent, capable, curious and rich in potential.  This program statement will outline the goals and framework of our program, outline roles and responsibilities of students, parents, and instructor, as well as highlight the preschool's philosophy and policy, such as family participation and student behaviour management.

St. George Co-op Preschool is uniquely able to optimise the four foundational conditions that support learning; belonging, well-being, engagement, and expression.

As a co-op preschool we are able to replace one of the staff required by provincial legislation with two parent volunteers, or duty parents. This allows the preschool to not only operate with an extra adult supporting classroom, but to also provide a comfortable environment for our students where their families are not only welcome but vital to the day to day operations of the classroom. Duty parents each provide their own skills and experiences, which enrich the preschool generally and the daily learning experience specifically. Having their own parents/family members in the classroom provides the children with an immediate sense of belonging and well-being. This allows the students to begin from a place of calm and comfort, an optimal environment to facilitate learning. The additional adult in the classroom also uniquely facilitates engagement. The instructor is relieved of many housekeeping duties, allowing the instructor to focus primarily on the engagement of the students. This greater engagement has a positive effect on programming as the instructor is able to gain a deeper knowledge of each student’s strengths and interests and is able to constantly adjust programming accordingly. Having three adults in the classroom allows more adults to be actively engaged with different groups of students throughout the classroom simultaneously.  With this greater level of engagement students are provided many opportunities for self-expression verbally, developing their complex communication skills as well as providing a multitude of opportunities for expression through creativity, problem solving and mathematical behaviours.

For many of our child students, their time at St. George Co-op Preschool will provide their first exposure to formal education. From their first day in class students will be treated as curious, capable individuals with an unlimited potential for learning and developing. Each student’s strengths, abilities and interests will be considered to create the most beneficial programming possible.  We know that young children learn through play and inquiry. Our morning is outlined with a lot of free time play, both indoors and outdoors, where the children can be learners in the environment, following what interests them. Children will be provided a healthy, nutritious snack during the morning.  The snack menu is posted monthly by the supervisor so all members can see what their children are eating each day. We encourage self -regulation in the classroom at all times.  If at any time a child feels overwhelmed or needs to be alone, a safe quiet place inside the classroom will be provided where they can be supervised safely at a distance. No child will be forced to participate in any activity that they are not comfortable doing. We encourage the children to be competent learners by following their interests and planning activities based on their likes.

Parents are vital members of our co-op community. Parents enter the co-op community with a variety of backgrounds and skills that enhance and diversify the co-op. Parents are encouraged to utilize their skills and interests, and offer them to the service and betterment of the co-op through discussion with the instructor and executive board.  During classroom time, parents are encouraged to get down with the children and engage, build relationships. Parents provide special skills in child care and, as a duty parent, are able to bring some of the comforts of home into the classroom for the students. Parents will engage with students, but will also care for student and classroom physical and environmental needs, making washroom trips, washing hands, help cleaning up spills, supporting positive behaviour during activities.  By consciously meeting these needs during class, parents allow our instructor to focus on the education of the class as a whole as well as spend more constructive time with each child. Parents will maintain open communication with the instructor, checking the parent information board regularly for updates and important information. Each family will participate actively in the operations of the co-op through mandatory attendance at monthly meetings, participation in specific assigned/volunteer tasks, fundraising and marketing strategies. Families will provide this service and value to the co-op regardless of classroom duty status. Through this active and interested participation, families are granted an opportunity to participate in our children’s early education and socialization in a way that is significant and meaningful.

Our instructor, Miss Debb, is a highly skilled educator, specializing in preschool aged children and committed to the co-operative values of the preschool.  Miss Debb is interested in participating as a co-learner with the children and families and to support children's learning, development, health and well-being.  Miss Debb outlines the programming through her experience, knowledge of curriculum and specifically linked to the goals of the co-op families for their children. Miss Debb is able to tailor the programming based on the skills and interests of the children.  We recognize that all students come with different interests and different learning strategies.  We help to create a positive learning space where all our students learning and development will be supported. Our co-op preschool community is specifically interested in school readiness so Miss Debb uses her opportunities for focused lessons on these skills such as self dressing, printing child’s own name, and early literacy and numeracy skills.  It has been her experience, also, that the play based approach to early learning provides many opportunities for development of these skills in an organic way, through engaged activities such as dress-up, colouring, crafts, and story time.

Our instructor is the leader of the classroom and maintains several key responsibilities. Miss Debb is primarily responsible for class regulation, implementing curriculum, maintaining the health and safety of children under her care. Duty parents should support the instructor and look to the instructor for guidance in these areas.  Miss Debb also works to maintain an open line of communication with every family through our parent information board located in the cubby room, email, Facebook and face-to-face interactions. Each month a new “flow chart” is posted in which the parents of the children can see what the children are interested in and the actives that are happening surrounding those interests. The curriculum and program is a living document that changes each day as the children explore their surroundings.

Miss Debb is the pillar of our co-op community and will be treated with utmost respect. If you disagree with an approach or technique being used by the instructor, or have concerns about the integration or experience of your child please arrange to speak to Miss Debb privately, outside of class time, as the instructor is fully engaged with our children during class.  Alternatively members of the co-op board, introduced at the September parent meeting, may be approached to help resolve any concern, issue, or conflict.

Miss Debb is encouraged and supported by our community to take part in continuous professional learning.  Occasionally, professional development happens on one of our school days.  Typically, our membership will decide to take a field trip or make other arrangements to cover the day.  This is decided upon by a group vote at a monthly meeting.  Miss Debb will come back and share the knowledge she acquired at the professional development with the community of parents to further their knowledge as well.

Duty parents also are required to take a CPR course in September, before starting their duty days. 

Our goal at St. George Co-op Preschool is for all students to feel safe and secure in our preschool environment.  To ensure this we set limits, for the safety of the children, so that a child may not harm himself/herself or be allowed to harm another person, or their property. As our school is able to excel in providing the four foundations for learning we have found behaviours requiring regulation intervention very rare.  Our students are generally happy and healthy, engaged and able to express themselves effectively, verbally or nonverbally.  Our superior engagement means that there are adults actively participating with the students or close by.  Therefore they are able to provide effective intervention before any correction would be required. The teacher and duty parents encourage positive interactions between the children and in the classroom. Approaching our students as capable, complex thinkers we are able to support the children, as necessary, through coaching, modeling positive behaviours, providing language to resolve conflict. We discuss the children’s feelings and the children brainstorm with the teachers what a more positive interaction would look like.  Adults in our program provide space and opportunity for our students to resolve conflict and challenging situations and behaviours independently, with the knowledge that support is close-by. In the child's eye, the teacher is the consistent authority while they are at school. The instructor should be brought in immediately if a duty parents feels that the situation might escalate to require significant disciplinary action. During our first meeting in September, we will review and discuss the behaviour management in the classroom.  IF you have any questions about behaviour management in the classroom, please contact Miss Debb or a member of the executive council.  Our greatest concern is that of the safety and well being of all individuals within the program, and our focused engagement with the children allows all adults in the room to ensure that our goals and expectations in this area are met.

St. George Co-op Nursery School fundamentally believes in the adage that it takes a village to raise a child. Local community partners are welcome to take an active role in the school if the school and the partner find there is a need for service. We welcome all input into the program and we open our doors to partners wishing to help support our children, their families and our staff. The teacher will set up appointments with these partners to make sure that times and dates work well for all of those involved.

Upon joining the membership of the St. George Co-op, all staff, duty parents, volunteers and support staff will review the program statement and all school policies prior to interacting with the children and at any time when the program statement is modified. Monthly, during our meeting, we will document and discuss any changes that need to be made to the program statement. Annually, all staff, duty parents, volunteers, and support staff will be evaluated by the supervisor to make sure that these approaches to interacting with children are being followed.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child, our curriculum or activities in the school, please speak with our teacher. Any ideas or concerns relating to the administration or operation of the school can be directed to the appropriate member of the executive council, or the president. If you would like to address the general membership, please advise the president sufficiently prior to a meeting.

We hope that your time at the St. George Co-op Preschool is a positive and fulfilling experience and we are excited to have you join our membership.