5-6 Year Olds

Foxes & Ladybugs

Multi-age groupings for our three- to five-year-olds provide leadership opportunities for all children, make it easier to differentiate for challenges or early cognitive spikes, facilitate continuous progress at an individual’s pace, benefit from powerful peer modeling, and provide meaningful, engaged learning. Children spend one year with the same teaching team and in the same classroom.

The kindergarten students (ages 5-6 years old) are grouped into two classes of roughly equal size. In each group maximum 20 students are guided by two qualified and caring full-time teachers.

The kindergarten students are housed at our modern school campus located at Annenstr. 9 in Dresden-Altstadt. Two classrooms for kindergarten are located on the ground floor of the purpose-built primary school building which also includes a cafeteria, library, visual arts room and performing arts room.

Start is preferably at the beginning of the school year but entering the preschool is also possible throughout the year.

English is the predominant language of communication. The weekly schedule also includes five 40 minute German lessons.

Programme

In our Preschool we follow the transdisciplinary and inquiry-based Primary Years Programme (PYP) of the International Baccalaureate Organisation starting at age 3. At this level, inquiry is most often play-based, capitalizing on young children’s natural inclination to explore and make sense of their world.

Students inquire into, and learn about, globally significant issues in the context of units of inquiry, each of which addresses a central idea relevant to a particular transdisciplinary theme. The PYP uses a constructivist approach to help children make meaning of their lives and the world around them. Each unit of inquiry also includes a focus on skills and attributes from the Learner Profile, PYP Attitudes, and PYP Transdisciplinary Skills to be taught within the context of the unit whenever possible, and as stand-alone when not.

There are six units of inquiry that are studied every year in kindergarten. These units are all 6 weeks long:

We discover our likes and dislikes by using our senses. (Who we are)
A performance needs practice and preparation. (How we express ourselves)
For communities to be happy places, people need to share and cooperate. (Sharing the planet)
Materials are used for different purposes based on their properties. (How the world works)
People create systems to meet their daily needs. (How we organize ourselves)
Places within a city have stories to tell. (Where we are in place and time)

Assessment

Four tools for reporting on children’s development are parent conferences, student portfolios, yearly or semester reports, and student-led conferences. Semester report cards are issued for children K5 classes.

Initial Parent-Teacher-Conference

Meet & Greet

At the beginning of each school year the students and their parents meet their class teacher to begin establishing a positive relationship and sense of connection between school and home.

Fall Conference

The teachers share the students developmental progress through a discussion and written report.

Spring Conference

Students share their portfolios and subject specific activities with parents. Students share what and how they learn.

Transition

The 4- and 5-year-old students from the Preschool campus (Goetheallee 18) visit the School Campus on a number of occasions during the school year to take part in various joint activities with the kindergarten, such as a sports competition morning (The Leo Mini Cup).

Students who will be moving up to kindergarten in the following August also visit the kindergarten classes for a transition morning to meet their new teachers and spend time in their new classroom. New students who are joining from schools other than DIS are also invited to this morning.

A typical day

The day formally begins at 8:20 with circle time, followed by outdoor recess and snack. The students then follow a PYP schedule including German, Unit of Inquiry, Physical Education, Performing Arts, Library, Mathematics and Literacy lessons. All subject areas are taught through play based teaching and learning.

Our lunch time is from 12:00 - 12:25 in the cafeteria.

School day ends at 15:20. After School Care provided until 18:00.

When possible, the kindergarten teachers plan age-appropriate field trips or guest speakers to provide students with first-hand, personal experiences. Such trips in the past included a fire station, science lab, hospital, restaurant, Leo Mini Cup, Dresden Zoo, and the public library.

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