Kindergarten

Kindergarten started a new school year in the new building, as a consolidated Saint Andrew’s community. During the adaptation period we had to shift to virtual mode which due to the characteristics of our level, based on social interactions, exploration of materials and emotional bonds, plus the little or no autonomy and minimum use of technology of our young students, was something not easy to put into practice.

Many different models and solutions were tested, enriched by the feedback of teachers and families with the objective of developing a proposal combining synchronous Zooms and asynchronous activities through the Seesaw platform. A deep curricular review was carried out, adapting planning, sequences, units and projects for this new remote work reality. Support material and virtual proposals were generated and families were helped to deal with this new shared challenge to sustain the education of our children. The teachers were trained in the use of technology, programs and platforms. Throughout the year Music and Physical Education activities were offered, and our workshops were transformed into Innovation spaces’’ with different proposals such as yoga, cooking, theatre, art and science. SEIL spaces were incorporated: Emotions explorers’’ to promote the development of selfacknowledgement and to identify emotions, enriching our social and personal development. In spite of the remote learning situation our annual end of the year exhibition took place in a remote setting, with outstanding and innovative productions done by our students, all curated in a specially designed site, which enabled us to share our work with all the community.

A new way of evaluating our children was designed: Collegiate evaluation by means of virtual interviews with families, who with the help of a questionnaire provided their view of their children’s learning process, which, combined with the information compiled by the teachers in Zooms and from the evidence documented by digital portfolios, resulted in a holistic report enriched by all eyes.

Our team was highly challenged and under great pressure; we had to deal with uncertainty, great anguish, and many roadblocks. But it was also an opportunity to strengthen our leadership skills and become a strong community in Kindergarten, where solidarity, empathy, and collaboration were pillars to overcoming challenges.

We worked on strengthening communication and bonds with families, offering various online informative meetings, reaching out to all families individually to follow up and touch base on how they were coping. We worked hand in hand with room mothers, successfully implementing a new communication platform Handing which gave order and clarity by centralising communication in one place.

Our Staff, a community of passionate educators and lifelong learners, always seeking to improve, engaged in continuous Professional Development courses focused on Bilingualism, Biliteracy, Competency framework, curriculum planning and Technology. We went deeper into our planning to provide interdisciplinary learning units and projects to challenge our students to think, solve problems and apply what they learn to new situations.

In November, small meetings in bubbles were permitted for K5 on Campus, and we were very happy to reunite. Children and teachers took great advantage of these gatherings outside, with the objective to reconnect emotionally and socially and to be able to give closure to their learning journey in Kindergarten.

Six beautiful emotional and very heartfelt graduation ceremonies took place in our Kindergarten Building Hall, when we said goodbye to 120 students who graduated to Primary School, eager to start a new stage in their school life.

It was a challenging year when our professionalism, passion and skills were permanently put to the test. We learnt, grew and became stronger as a community, realising that hurdles can be overcome, and that creativity, collaboration and communication are fundamental when faced with difficulties. We are thankful for being part of St. Andrew’s community, and proud of everything we have accomplished despite all odds.

Vicky Ayam

Kindergarten Head