Rising Stars Preschool New Plymouth
Welcome to Rising Stars Preschool.
Rising Stars Preschool caters for the needs of 2-5 year olds and we pride ourselves on our programme that offers both an education in learning and in sport. Rising Stars Preschool will expose children to a range of sporting skills such tools to give your child a head start in sport as well as helping them develop into positive individuals with strong foundations for future learning.
Quality resources and equipment are provided enabling your child’s individual strengths to be recognised. Rising Stars Preschool also offers the world’s biggest sandpit.
Hours of Operation
Rising Stars Preschool is located on Katere Road, Waiwhakaiho. New Plymouth
Our operating hours are 7.45am-5.15pm
Philosophy
Rising Stars Preschool is a positive, inspiring and stimulating environment where the qualified staff are committed to providing an atmosphere of learning and sporting pleasure. Appropriate resources and equipment are provided enabling children’s individual strengths to be recognised both indoors and out.
Children are given the opportunity to learn through meaningful experiences, events and coaching sessions. They are provided with time to experiment and explore the learning environment where they build upon their physical, social and emotional well- being.
Exposing children to the sporting culture is evident within our daily routines. Children learn basic skills such as catching, kicking and throwing when involved in these sessions which are administered by experienced coaches. These coaches are dedicated to extending on the children’s current skills, whilst also offering them new ones. Rising Stars Preschool aims to enhance children’s awareness not only in the education sector but in the sporting culture as well.
Rising Stars Preschool works in partnership with all families/whanau of the community to ensure that parent’s aspirations and concerns are respected and listened to. Families are encouraged to be involved in all areas of the programme where they are able to observe and acknowledge the learning that takes place during their child’s time at the centre.
Sports Court Time
The educational philosophy underpinning Rising Stars Preschool is to provide a holistic educational environment which gives children a unique opportunity to develop as young athletes alongside their social and academic growth.
Research shows that ‘active movement’ not only helps children develop physically but intellectually, emotionally, socially and spiritually. Rising Stars will expose children to a range of sporting skills including fitness, team work and hand eye co-ordination - tools to give them a head start in sport as well as helping them develop into positive individuals with strong foundations for future learning.
Rising Stars Preschool will see the children split into stage specific groups in which they will then be exposed to a variety of skills. Staff will make the time in getting to know the children first through spontaneous events, activities and centre routines. This allowing the staff to gain knowledge of what each child is capable of. Children will be given the choice to participate in these groups. The number of sessions for any one skill will be determined by how the children are progressing. Each age group will also eventually be broken up into sub-groups according to the ability of each child. This will allow the more able children to operate at a higher level, whilst those with specific needs will work at a pace which allow these to be thoroughly met.
Coaches will prepare learning stories during the year for each of the children. These stories will link to the early childhood curriculum, Te Whariki. Te Whariki provides the foundation for learning in early childhood education services. It supports effective teaching and learning based on reciprocal relationships and incorporating the people and contexts of children wider lives. Parent’s involvement will be encouraged by them completing parents and child’s voices. This allows the parents to see how their child is progressing and to ensure that strong partnerships between the home and preschool and eventually school are established and maintained.
Why Is Sport Important for Children?
Children have to be active every day. Physical activity stimulates growth and leads to improved physical and emotional health. Today, research shows that the importance of physical activity in children is stronger than ever. For example, medical researchers have observed that highly active children are less likely to suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer of the colon, obesity, and coronary heart disease later in life. Exercise is also known to relieve stress. Some children experience as much stress, depression, and anxiety as adults do. And because exercise improves health, a fit child is more likely to be well-rested and mentally sharp. Even moderate physical activity has been shown to improve a child’s skill at arithmetic, reading, and memorization. But sport, not just exercise, gives a child more than just physical well-being; it contributes to a child’s development both psychologically and socially. Sport psychologist Dr. Glyn Roberts of the University of Illinois has worked primarily in children’s sport for the last two decades. He emphasizes that sport is an important learning environment for children.
“Sport can affect a child’s development of self-esteem and self-worth,†explains Roberts. “It is also within sport that peer status and peer acceptance is established and developed.â€
One way children gain acceptance by their peers is to be good at activities valued by other children, says Roberts. Research shows that children would rather play sports than do anything else. A study conducted in the United States showed that high school boys and girls would rather be better at sports than in academic subjects. The same study showed that high school boys would rather fail in class than be incompetent on the playing field.
Because sport is important to children, being good at sports is a strong social asset. Young boys in particular use sports and games to measure themselves against their friends. Children who are competent at sports are more easily accepted by children of their own age, and are more likely to be team captains and group leaders. Such children usually have better social skills. The primary goal of parents and coaches is to help children find the success in sport they need to make them feel valued and wanted. Every child can be
successful at one sport or another. Take the time to find the sports that are right for your child.
