Parklands School

Parklands is a small independent primary school operating since 1998 in Albany, Western Australia. We now have about 144 students enrolled, from pre-kindergarten to year 6.

We pride ourselves on providing a nurturing environment in children's crucial developmental stages, equipping them for learning in high school and beyond. Our kindergarten and toddler programs follow Montessori principles and practices, as well as the Early Years Learning Framework. Our pre-primary and primary programs are based on the Australian curriculum and influenced by best practices in education. Our vision is to:

• Create a safe, cooperative learning community
• Celebrate individual achievement
• Foster a lifelong love of learning and a sense of wonder and joy
• Build respect for self and others
• Live in harmony with the environment - natural, cultural and social

Parklands Toddler Group has been designed to enable children from infants to three years, together with their parents or carers, to enjoy a nurturing environment as their first experience of structured contact with other children. It will assist with a smooth transition into three-year-old kindergarten at Parklands.

Places are available for anyone in the community, with preference given to those families enrolling into the school or with siblings already enrolled. The program embraces the Montessori philosophy which encourages toddlers to play, learn, explore and discover using Montessori  materials. One of the features of Montessori early learning is "help me do it myself". The morning will include opportunity for indoor and outdoor play, a shared snack time and stories and songs at the end of the session.

Kindergarten at Parklands encourages children to be responsible for their own learning and to seek help from one another as well as from adults. Montessori practical life activities channel each child's natural enthusiasm and curiosity into real life skills to encourage independence and responsibility.

Through a balance of freedom and discipline, children develop respect for themselves, others and the community. Over time a cheerful, cohesive social community emerges in the classroom. Each child follows his interest and works at his own pace free from competition, compulsion and grading. Self-discipline, respect, patience, persistence and concentration - vital lifelong learning dispositions - develop as a result and prepare children well for the new school environments they encounter when they move into pre-primary.

We believe that contact with nature is crucial for students' development, and we strive to create outdoor spaces which challenge and support their learning, both academic and social/relational. Recent additions include landscaping of the pre-primary and kindergarten areas, and a tree-house in the main playground.

We have also recently built a brand new purpose-built pre-primary classroom which has much natural light and large double doors to facilitate children moving inside and outside throughout their day. All the primary classes have easy access to the outdoors, as well as kitchen facilities and a range of other facilities indoors.

One of the things you will notice when you first enter the playground is the quality of the play of all the students. There is a vitality, joy and freedom for students as they enjoy playing with friends across the age ranges. Our school culture is based on cultivating the development of respectful relationships. We encourage students to learn to identify and express their needs, and take responsibility to get them met. The one guiding principle is for students to learn to make choices that meet their needs without getting in the way of anyone else. Staff support this process by listening to students and encouraging them to listen to one another.

At Parklands we value academic excellence and dedicate the whole morning of every school day to literacy and numeracy focus.

In 2017 we are offering two academic scholarships to students to encourage and foster scholastic excellence. These are available both to students currently enrolled and to new enrolments, and will be based on the criteria of previous academic results and aptitude for studies. Please contact the school for applications and further information.

Students are encouraged to work to fulfil their own potential, and are given assistance in the form of expert and gentle teaching, quality resources, and individual programmes and attention where appropriate.

Students have weekly sessions of specialist learning, including Italian, Art, Music and sport. The senior class has weekly off-campus sport sessions,including surfing, hockey and tennis.