Ep. 5 Preparing For Early Childhood Education And Upcoming Events At THRS

In this episode Head of School Mrs. Quintero speaks to Lower School Principal Mrs. Hirani (Sweetwater Campus) & Early Childhood Principal Mrs. Qazi (Riverstone Campus) about The Honor Roll School's littlest learners and the benefits they receive from being involved in the Links To Learning curriculum - from 1 minute 45 seconds. 

And, hear about whats coming up including the book fair, and picture day! 

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Mrs. Quintero: 00:03

Hello, this is Mrs. Quintero, the proud head of school of the Honor Roll School. And welcome back to the pod, the Dolphin Podcast. We can now be followed on Spotify. So search us as The Tank, THRS official dolphin podcast, and look for our school logo.

Mrs. Quintero: 00:20

Today, I'm joined here with our early childhood principal at the Riverstone campus, Ms. Qazi, and the lower school principal, Mrs. Hirani at the Sweetwater campus. They will be discussing aspects of our amazing childhood program. But before I turn it over to them, let's dive right into what's coming up.

Mrs. Quintero: 00:40

Don't forget to sign up for the Susan G. Komen Walk for a Cure on October 4. This again is our first year creating an entire THRS school community team. So please join us for this worthy event. We're so excited to say that this time we have over 60 participants ready to walk with us.

Mrs. Quintero: 00:59

So don't be left out. Make sure you sign up to join us for this walk. The book fair starts on September 29. Everyone loves the book fair, so be sure to get your children's wallets all filled up, and they'll be ready to shop on Monday, September 29. Picture day is October 1 for both Riverstone and Sweetwater campuses for early childhood through second grade.

Mrs. Quintero: 01:24

Don't worry, the older grades will have their day on Oct. Twenty. Oct. Three is professional development day. It's a no school day for kindergarten through eighth grade, regular school day for early childhood.

Mrs. Quintero: 01:36

And now let me turn it over to our specialists in early childhood program on to Ms. Hirani and Ms. Qazi. Take it away.

Mrs. Hirani: 01:46

At the Honor Roll School we make sure every young dolphin has the right environment to thrive. From those very first months with our infants we're helping children build the foundation for everything to come confidence curiosity creativity so by the time they reach preschool they're ready to leap above the waves. Ms. Kazi you now have a second grader and a TK student why don't you talk about your experience with the early child program here?

Mrs. Qazi: 02:13

Yeah absolutely so when we first joined the Honor Honor Roll School my son was 18 and we actually picked the Honor Roll School because of a perfect balance that we found in the Honor Roll School which was the strong academics and also the nurturing environment. We felt very welcomed as part of the community and even till this day we with my second one in TK my teachers my staff here know each of my students and they've grown him individually so my second grader now is strong confidence very high achieving in his academic instruction and my little one Naira is just different and so she's growing in the other components as being very individualized and you know the teachers are really focusing on building her on her strong qualities and really growing her as well as to be a citizen of this world.

Mrs. Hirani: 03:08

I love that you shared that I actually have a story of my own talking about that. So I started the Honor Roll School about eight years ago and I toured this school just like everybody else over here everybody else that's listening at all of our parents and I toured this school for my daughter back then she was two now she is in fourth grade and we picked this school for my daughter before I ever started working here. So if you ever meet her she'll tell you that I work at her school she doesn't go to mine and I love that right and I see that she has grown into such a versatile confident young girl now and I give all the credit to the Honor Roll School for that whether it's thriving academically whether it's leadership skills whether it's just being the ambassador of her school community she could give a school tour at this point and I love that the Honor Roll School played such a big role in building her confidence and her personality.

Mrs. Qazi: 04:05

That's amazing to hear we have such similar stories like I joined the Honor Roll School in July

Mrs. Hirani: 04:11

at the Riverstone campus but both of my kids were actually already a part of this community and so we actually felt very welcomed and when I joined it was just the right thing to do to join in and continue building those relationship with the teachers and staff and then provide that for all of our students now moving forward. And our curriculum plays a big role in that right. Our links to learning is truly comprehensive. It weaves together with the seven basic components of it that are intertwined in their entire school day. At the Honor Roll School, our day for our learners is not categorized by, okay, this is reading time.

Mrs. Hirani: 04:50

Okay, let's shut it down, now we have math time. Let's shut it down, now it's social studies. We teach all subjects throughout the day to all the students. Our seven components of Links to Learning are language and literacy, mathematical thinking, social emotional learning, scientific exploration, citizens of the world, creative expressions and wellness. Seriously.

Mrs. Hirani: 05:12

It intertwines like I said throughout their day. So whether it's through music and movement, it's through outdoor play, whether it's through gym time and PE sessions, whether it's having Spanish classes once a week, whether it's actually going to a music class and learning and being exposed to different instruments throughout their day. Our kids are having fun but they're also learning throughout their entire day. We really truly teach them bell to bell. They don't even realize that because they're having so much fun and they're so busy.

Mrs. Hirani: 05:43

And let's be clear, The Honor Roll School is not a daycare. We are a private preschool experience with a developmentally appropriate yet rigorous curriculum. And what separates us from other monasteries or day cares and the reason our parents do pick us over those centers is the well balanced program between your hands on learning through play as well as traditional schooling. At this crucial age, kids need the fun they need to learn through their toys and manipulatives and hands on activities, but they also need stamina building activities. They also need to learn to be independent.

Mrs. Hirani: 06:17

They also need to be able to learn to sit in a place for a few minutes and complete one focused activity. They also need to learn to sit in a small group setting and learn through the teacher. They also need to sit down and do circle times with the teachers whether it's opening circle time or a closing meeting like they do every day over here. So when I say it's a well balanced curriculum you know that's what sold it to me for my daughter and that's exactly how we promote it to our parents for our students as well. Also just a point I wanted to add is that our Riverstone our twelve month class also incorporates these components of the links to learning curriculum where it's center based hands on and we really want our children to explore and grow and build that confidence in those critical thinking skills.

Mrs. Hirani: 07:06

I absolutely agree and I think that the piece we see across campuses and that what we provide to our parents is what really sold us here too. So Ms. Qazi since you talked beginning of your early childhood program which is at 12 old and you know that classroom does so many wonderful activities and learning centers and hands on activities and all the developmentally appropriate activities that they do in that class. We end our early childhood program with transitional kindergarten class, our TK program. Our TK program is so amazing.

Mrs. Hirani: 07:38

It well prepares them for our one year advanced curriculum in the kindergarten classes. At the Honor Roll School, our one year advanced rigorous curriculum begins in the kindergarten. We do not forget that those kids are still five years old and their activities are still developmentally appropriate. However, we make sure through individualized attention and small group instructions, they are developing the skills needed to be advanced in that challenging, rigorous, one year advanced curriculum. Our kindergarten teachers all know our TK students.

Mrs. Hirani: 08:09

They know them personally, they know them academically, they know their strengths and their areas of growth. So as soon as they come in that first day with their smiling faces, they are ready. They are prepared for our kindergarten program at the Honor Roll School as well. So parents, here's the big takeaway. Early childhood learning isn't just about the ABCs and the 120 three's.

Mrs. Hirani: 08:30

It's about laying a strong foundation for a lifetime of curiosity, confidence and character and that is exactly what the honor roll school provides on a daily basis to every single student.

Mrs. Qazi: 08:44

Thank you so much for joining us today and don't forget keep swimming forward young dolphins.

Mrs. Quintero: 08:49

Thank you miss Hirani and miss Qazi for sharing your insights and expertise of our amazing early childhood program. Remember you can find the pod the dolphin podcast on the weekly dolphin Days, the THRS app, and now on Spotify. Until next time, this is Mrs. Quintero.

Mrs. Hirani: 09:08

This is Mrs. Hirani.

Mrs. Qazi: 09:09

This is Ms. Qazi. Signing off

Mrs. Quintero: 09:12

from the tank.

Disclaimer: 09:14

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. This podcast and all its content are protected by copyright laws. All rights reserved, no part of this podcast may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted without prior written permission from SEG Inc.