What Learning Happens at St Mark’s Preschool?
Workshops
Children at St Mark’s take part in a range of planned and spontaneous learning experiences thoughtfully designed each day by our teaching team. We offer a variety of learning areas including dramatic play, visual arts, music and movement, play dough, clay, loose parts play, physical activity, literacy, numeracy, and STEM. A favourite spot for many is our climbing fort in the playground!
Self-Help Skills
Throughout the day, children are supported to develop important self-help skills and independence. They’re encouraged to “listen to their body” and take responsibility for tasks like toileting, personal hygiene, dressing and undressing, and caring for their belongings.
PreLit Program (by MultiLit)
Each day, our educators deliver a PreLit lesson to children in their year before formal schooling. This evidence-based program builds early literacy foundations through engaging activities that support phonological awareness and oral language development.
Assessment and Planning
Our weekly program is created with each child’s strengths, interests, cultural background, and learning goals in mind. At the end of each term, educators compile documentation and complete a summative assessment, which is shared with families through the Storypark app. We also hold two formal meetings each year to connect with families, gain deeper insights, and work in partnership to support each child’s development. Weekly “Curriculum in Action” posts highlight key learning experiences and keep families informed and involved.
Family Engagement
Families are always welcome at St Mark’s! We love when parents and carers join us for excursions, share special skills or stories, or take part in celebrations and events.
Munch & Move
We incorporate the Munch & Move program into our daily routine, promoting healthy habits and physical wellbeing. Children enjoy experiences that support fundamental movement skills and learn about healthy eating in fun, age-appropriate ways. A quiet, private space is also available for breastfeeding mothers.
Community Engagement
We’re proud of the sense of community at St Mark’s. Each year we host several much-loved events, including our Term 1 Family BBQ—complete with dinner, entertainment, and a jumping castle—and our annual Open Day, where families and community members are invited to visit and learn more about our preschool.
Sleep and Rest
All children are given time during the day to rest, sleep, or enjoy quiet activities, in line with our Sleep and Rest Policy. We provide all linen and kindly ask families to take it home for washing at the end of their child’s week with us, as we don’t have on-site laundry facilities.
Transitions
Transitions—whether into St Mark's Preschool Kindergarten, through daily routines, or eventually to primary school—are thoughtfully planned to support each child's social and emotional wellbeing. Our program is carefully designed with this in mind.
Some of the ways we support children and families include:
- Personalised tours
- One-on-one orientation interviews with families
- Orientation visits scheduled at different times of the day
- Visits to our local school, Connells Point Public School
- Predictable daily routines
- The use of visual supports such as photographic routine charts
What to Bring to Preschool
To help your child feel comfortable and confident at preschool, please pack the following each day:
- A wide-brimmed sunhat
- Spare clothes that are comfortable and appropriate for the weather
- Extra underwear and socks
- A refillable water bottle
- A healthy, “nude food” morning tea and lunch (no wrappers, please)
- A large backpack that fits all of the above and allows your child to practise packing and unpacking independently
Please label all items with your child’s name.