Our Programs
In Early Childhood, all services are required to have a learning framework and most services have adopted the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) to guide their learning programs. EYLF is a guide that inspires services to develop their own unique learning for their particular service. At PHPS, it has inspired us to develop a learning tree. A learning tree that has evolved over time through the journey we had with our children, families, teachers, and the community.
Many fun journeys and learning stories have created our learning tree. Some of the highlights and ideas behind our activities are shown below:
EQ program - Emotional Intelligence/ Character Education/ Body & Mind/ Life skills
EQ (Emotional Intelligence) is a fundamental program at PHPS for children to become happy and successful learners. It is about character education, understanding the body & mind, and developing life skills. It is an important part of the setting and forms part of the atmosphere of the centre. Some of the key areas of EQ include:
Sharing, turn-taking, fairness, cooperation, teamwork, interpersonal skills, resolving conflicts
Manage emotions, develop self-regulation, resilience, self-esteem, initiative, and self-control
Character Education – responsibility, cooperation, respect, acceptance, honesty, compassion, self-discipline, perseverance. Manners, empathy, and caring for others.
Showing initiative and being motivated. Embracing challenges, persevering over setbacks, praising effort, learning from criticism, and being inspired by others. Children desire and evaluation of situations – can/cannot do. Being optimistic, assertive, tolerant, and attentive.
Morals, conscience, and ethics. Learning about good and bad actions through happy and sad choices. Spirituality, yoga, relaxation, and rest.
Independence skills: Looking after self – belongings, lunches, toileting, asking for help. Listening skills. Packing away, following routine, rules, and instructions. School readiness and transition to school or from the toddler room to the preschool room.
The performing arts - singing, dancing, acting & playing musical instruments
From a very young age, children have a natural enjoyment of moving along to the tune of music. Wanting to create sounds with instruments, as well as singing along to nursery rhymes and immersing themselves in imaginary play. At PHPS, we like to take these interests further into our 'Performing Arts program. Whereby each quarter, teachers will hold a concert for our families to witness the fun and confidence children have in the performing arts. With songs, dances, musical plays, and drama performances. They are huge events on the outdoor stage with many props and costumes created by teachers and families. The events are the most memorable moments, tiered up around Mother's Day, Father's and Grandparents Day, End of year Christmas Concert and Party, and a special ceremonial night performance from our graduates in November. Our performing arts program has taken another step further with performances out in the community for the elderly residents at Lutanda Manor Retirement Village and with plans to perform for the "Children's Voice for Reconciliation" at Hornsby Mall on Reconciliation Day. The concerts highlight the everyday activities that make the performing arts program such a success. Some of the daily activities in the performing arts curriculum involve:
Dancing – to enjoy free expression and structured movement to express thoughts & feelings. To Performances – choreograph dance groups and routines.
Singing – singing along to nursery rhymes with our pianist, having fun exploring high/low pitch, tone/texture, and scales. Learning multicultural songs and having fun singing songs in other languages.
Music & musical instruments – appreciation of various musical styles and instrument types. Simplified music theory – beat, rhythm, rhymes, notes, melody, pitch, tempo. Instruments: Percussion, xylophone & keyboard. During school holidays, previous students from the local primary school are invited to perform for our preschoolers in fostering future musicians.
Drama – Acting games: Charades, characterization, gestures, expression, and movement. Drama also involves costume designs, props, and staging. Children develop the understanding of the practice through rehearsals & experience live performances. Theatre play is an extension of children's imaginary role plays. Over the years, children have produced simplified narrative plays as well as fun musicals.
The best way to capture the essence of our performing arts program is through videos on our CONCERT Webpage
Excursions - taking learning beyond the preschool classroom
Excursions extend children's learning beyond the preschool classroom. For children, it is like going on a bear hunt. The excitement, the adventure, and the enjoyment seen in children's smiles are the reasons why excursions have become a regular part of PHPS's program. Besides that, it's also enjoyed by all our teachers and parent volunteers. With our own preschool minibus, almost every week there will be an excursion, allowing all children the opportunity to participate in the excursion adventure, for both our preschoolers and toddlers. Some of the excursion activities include:
Enjoying the abundant nature around us – from local Wollundry Park, Cumberland State Forest, to Fagan Park with its gardens of many nations and their Eco Garden.
Connecting with the surrounding community – such as visiting the library, railway & fire station, Hornsby heritage museum, art gallery display at the local primary and high school.
Extending physical activity beyond the preschool outdoor area – fun obstacles in local playgrounds, learning to bike ride with our own pushbikes, soccer, and athletic games at Penno all-weather oval.
Other highlight excursions in the year are the preschoolers visiting the Lutanda Retirement Village to perform for the elderly residents and our toddler's excursion to Taronga Zoo.
The joyful learning can be seen in the photos captured on our EXCURSION webpage. It is also important to note that excursions are not just about having fun exploring the greater world around them, but also instilling in children: responsibility, being able to follow rules/guidance and practice road safety awareness, and to be model class of preschoolers/toddlers in the public, and to develop respect and love for the outdoors.
Other special programs
PHPS joined Narragunnawali in 2018 to establish a commitment to reconciliation in our Early Learning environment. We will be developing a Reconciliation Action Plan and registering our initiatives and actions with Narragunnawali. One of our big initiatives is coupling our flourishing performing arts program with Children's Voice for Reconciliation and the performance at Hornsby Mall during Reconciliation Day.
Children's daily Acknowledgement of Country, "We want to thank the Dharug and the Kuringai People for sharing this Land for us to learn and play. We pay our respects to the Elders, Past, Present, and Future, and promise to look after the Land with love and care."
Little Scientist program - is used to promote STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and maths) in early childhood. It is about promoting inquiry-based learning and developing meta-cognitive skills in children while developing co-construction partnerships in learning experiences with peers and adults.
Munch & Move is an NSW Health initiative that supports the healthy development of children birth to 5 years by promoting physical activity, healthy eating, and reduced small screen time. It is a successful program that has found its place in most preschools and daycare centres in Sydney.
Positive Living Skills - resources for educators and families to help children learn a range of qualities including kindness, empathy, persistence, patience, growth mindset, personal best, inclusion, appreciation as well as health and nutrition.