Junior School

Our youngest learners at Blue Mountains Grammar School are in Pre-Kindergarten. At Wentworth Falls they are the ‘Pearls’ and at Springwood they are the ‘Rainbow Fish’. Our Pre-Kindergarten students have had an exceptional start to the year. Already, they feel confident and at home, with many friends across the Junior School campuses. Beginning at Blue Mountains Grammar in Pre-Kindergarten is a definite advantage!

The Pre-Kindergarten Pearls have begun an inquiry into bees. They are so curious about these creatures and how they work together as a community. The Pearls confidently teach adult visitors all about bees, and show us the learning they have done. Of course, this learning looks and feels a lot like play – because it is! Nevertheless, new knowledge has been gathered and connected to old knowledge and the students are busy bees themselves, as they apply this knowledge to their own lives.

Spurred on from their class name as well as their sense of wonder following all the rain we have had, the Pre-Kindergarten Rainbow Fish have been learning about rainbows. They have read about a rainbow as God’s promise in the story of Noah in The Bible, they have explored primary and secondary colours and colour mixing in their art and they have learnt about how rainbows are formed and conducted experiments to see if they could create their own! 

Pre-Kindergarten children learn best when they have the opportunity to learn through play. The teachers carefully observe the students and plan learning opportunities to build on their natural interests. Building on knowledge gained at home and in the community, teachers weave in activities to stretch understanding in all areas – Literacy, Numeracy, Science, History, Fine and Gross Motor development… and the list goes on. All of this learning can be undertaken through play, especially at the beginning of the year. By the time the children transition to Kindergarten they have strong skills and dispositions, ready to learn to read and write, and continue with their understanding of Mathematics. 

The Pre-Kindergarten students at Springwood will be taking part in the state-wide ‘STEPS’ programme next week. This programme tests students’ vision and aims to detect and intervene early in this area. The Pre-Kindergarten students at Wentworth Falls have this programme booked in for later in the year. 

Our Early Years staff understand how essential early intervention is. They work with parents and are often the first professionals to pick up on an issue that may benefit from an intervention like Speech Therapy or Occupational Therapy. We are also blessed to have Angela Heathwood our School Counsellor, as part of our team. She is an incredibly caring and experienced professional who supports our teachers and families. Raising children really does “take a village” and we count it a privilege to partner with families to help the children at Blue Mountains Grammar School learn and grow.

Mrs Rachael J Newton

Head of Junior School