ST. THOMAS' CATHOLIC KINDERGARTEN

Vision: To uphold the education spirit and philosophy of Hong Kong Catholic Diocese, propagating the spirit of Christian love and service through following the example of our patron St. Thomas in seeking the truth, respecting God and loving one another, and guide children to establish a correct attitude to life. Mission: Our Christ is the foundation of our entire education structure, learn to love Jesus the same way our Patron St. Thomas did, nurture kindness and the courage to explore, fostering children who are understanding, creative so they can grow up happily and healthily.

We view education as our mission. To accomplish this mission our school encourages students to pursue and embrace truth and justice, cherish life, consolidate the values of “family”, nurture them to be wholesome in body, mind and soul and, at the same time, teaching them something they can use in “real life” so they can develop their potential. Therefore, our curriculum places great emphasis on nurturing students in such a way that they will model themselves on Christ, love others and themselves and care for the needy and vulnerable; Recognize, appreciate, respect and explore life in its full meaning; Honour their parents, respect and regard teachers and peers, love and respect their spouse and foster filial harmony in the family; Be objective, pursue the truth and the rules to recognize that “God is eternal”; Set a good example for students, uphold justice. We foster children’s balanced development in the domains of ethics, intellectual, physical, social skills, aesthetics and religion. We have a“corner time” which makes learning interesting and fun, letting them use different senses to explore. In our “learning corner” students can learn by themselves through the games. We integrate English and Phonics in our curriculum. Children can benefit from our English environment and learn the language through our series of story books, rhymes, songs, and teaching aids. Children learn useful vocabulary, sentence structures and improve their abilities for listening, speaking, reading and writing. Through planting and visiting activities, children can learn about nature and the relationship between humans and nature through observation, exploration and discovery. We will follow the “Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide” (2017) to plan curriculum. Children of nursery classes will not be asked to write, and there will not be mechanical copying exercises and drills on calculation.

Self-Learning: Students can choose different activities during corner time by themselves which helps them develop moral values, language skills, emotion control, sensory exploration, physical strength, creativity, social skills, intelligence and also religious values. Drama: We put the element of drama in our curriculum, through the drama helps them become creative and imaginative. Drama also enhances their mental needs, nurtures emotions, language expression, problem-solving and builds up confidence. Teachers will include drama in different activities like music, free-play corner, physical education, story sharing or role-play.