WELCOME TO NOAH'S ARK PRESCHOOL
a Christian based preschool & ministry of Connect Church
We strive to love our families and continue the work of Jesus in our community through our day to day philosophy of practicing inclusion and embracing diversity. We celebrate the lives of our children and partner with their parents in their nurturing and growth. Our curriculum has an enrichment programme and offers optional extras that further the development of the children.
It is important to us that all our children feel valued and reach their full potential. Our Christ-centered school is focussed on implementing an educational programme that practically meets the spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional and social needs of the children and their families. We love to be innovative and creative across all four of our classes enabling our children to learn through play, self discovery and planned lessons.
OUR CLASSES
Click on each of the tabs below to learn more about what makes each of our classes so special. Our class sizes have a maximum between 11 and 22 children through the age groups, and there are an additional 1 – 3 teaching assistants across the classes.
SCHOOL HOURS: 08:00am – 12:30pm
LITTLE ARKIES
The Arkies class was introduced in 2021. These are our babies who are 1 year old already in the January and will be turning 2 by December of that year. Arkies is special because we aim to be home from home. In this class they are taught their first rhymes and songs and are introduced to various forms of art. We teach them the basics of social skills such as taking turns and sharing. Despite being so young, we see the benefits of the school routine emerging in our little ones through creative activities, music, play etc. forming their first friendships and love for learning.
LOWER DECK
In Lower Deck we offer a safe and loving environment. The children are two already in the January and turning three years old before the end of the year. They enter this class as babies in nappies and leave us potty trained. It is important that in this class they are taught rhymes and songs and are introduced to various forms of art. Lower Deck is special because we aim to be home from home. We teach them the basics of social skills such as taking turns and sharing. This class is the entry level of inclusion for our special needs children. Despite being so young, we see the benefits of the school routine emerging in our little ones through creative activities, music, play etc. forming their first friendships and love for learning.
MIDDLE DECK
In Middle Deck we strive to instil loving kindness, good manners, classroom routine and introduce table top activities for fine-motor development. We make sure that the Middle Deck children are exposed to indoor exercises that develop their laterality, balance and posture. A good body image helps us to understand who we are and helps us to understand where we fit in space and time. The children have emerging curiosity and we use messy play to develop their skills by experimenting with different mediums like art, pottery or gym. It is important that our children play indoors and outdoors stretching and growing muscle memory both physically and mentally. We see our Middle Deck children learn to cooperate with each other and with their teachers in a fun filled loving class setting.
UPPER DECK
In Upper Deck we develop the whole child as it is a vibrant and fun class with a spiritual emphasis. We teach each child about God and his love for them and try to teach the gospel message simply at a level they can understand. Physical goals are met through gymnastics, movement rings and outdoor play activities. Fine motor skills are honed through art classes, cutting, lego, pegboards and puzzles. We see growth and maturity as our children grow individually, respecting themselves and others, which leads to independence and confidence. In Upper Deck we make sure that children feel secure and are contained within loving boundaries. We are also a class which loves singing and music and we often sing songs to learn new concepts. We use the Kiddibeat Programme to teach musical concepts like tempo, pitch, dynamics, etc through music rings. We also stimulate creativity through art. Children express themselves freely through various media and we teach them to really enjoy the process of art. The Upper Deck children are introduced to Letter-land through songs, lively discussion and competition. Upper Deck is special because it is the class where more formal education begins to emerge.
GRADE R
Our holistic approach continues in Grade R and culminates in preparing the children for Big School. In Grade R we try to give our learners the best start to their foundation phase school career covering the three main learning areas Literacy, Numeracy and Life skills. We make sure that there is a stimulating environment inside and outside the classroom where the learners can develop to their full potential. The children are empowered and nurtured daily. It is important that each child feels loved, safe and can learn while having fun, experimenting and problem solving. Grade R is special because academic development, social skills, and arts and crafts all come together to create a great learning experience where we see growth and maturity as the last pre-primary building block is placed in their journey. This is a very important year for not only our neurotypical children but also our special needs children as this is our launching pad into the BIG world of Primary school education.
EARLY IMPACT
Inclusive Education
Early Impact is a project created with the purpose of including special needs children into a regular school environment. We strive to see the growth and development of each individual child despite their learning difficulties and challenges. We make sure that each child is treated as a unique individual with their own rights and needs and the children are offered opportunities, social interaction and acceptance. It is important that the children are loved and accepted for their individuality. To achieve this we offer an individual education plan tailor-made to meet the need of each child in a loving and safe environment where we see an awareness and growth in the social development, not only in the special needs children, but also in the neurotypical children who embrace the diversity of their classmates.
AFTER CARE: EARLY BIRD, SAFETY NET & HOLIDAY CARE
An important practicality for school going families is making sure that there is care for children who need it before or after school hours, and during the holidays. Before school starts we offer Early Bird care for children who need to arrive at school earlier than 08:00am. It is open from 07:30am and children have the opportunity to play and socialise before school starts. Safety Net is available after school, from 12:30pm to 17:00pm and ensures that our learners are cared for, supervised and engaged in a range of activities that reinforce the growth and input they receive in the classroom. During the holidays a Holiday Care programme is run during school hours. Children can expect a different day to their school routine when they join in the fun of each day’s theme. Creative art, adventures, group games, story time and a daily baking treat are some of the activities that fill the holidays with fun. Early Bird is not available during holidays, but Safety Net continues, between 12:30pm and 16:00pm. Download the Current Fees for Early Bird, Safety Net and Holiday Care prices.
ENROLLMENT
We invite prospective parents to book a weekday school tour. We know that a personal visit reveals much more than can be described by words, webpages or photos and there is no substitute for experiencing your child’s daily environment first hand. Please download our Enrolment form and Current Fees below. These are to be filled in and sent to noahsark@connectchurch.org.za.
To make a booking to visit the school, please call 021 712 5003.
ENROLLMENT FORM
CURRENT FEES (2024)
OUR DEDICATED TEACHERS
Our teachers are what makes Noah's Ark a space filled with love, compassion and care. Here are the friendly faces you will encounter when engaging with the preschool.
