Environmental

Children at Sun Valley are taught environmentally sustainable practices, to promote a sense of responsibility, respect, wonder, participation, and a sense of connection with the land. Through education, Sun Valley seeks to protect the natural environment, preserve resources, and secure the viability of our world for generations to come.

Embrace

Educators at Sun Valley embrace all children through inclusiveness, stability, and security, creating a sense of belonging for all children. Children are taught to celebrate difference and value diversity. Children actively embrace Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and respect and acknowledge them as our First Nations People daily. We honour and recognise the rich culture inheritance of the Darug People.

Nurture and Play

We recognise that children learn through experiences of touching, moving, listening, seeing and hearing. We support concrete learning through active play and promote ‘hands on’ experiments, predicting and observing. We maintain a balance between experiences which are initiated by the children, thoughtful intentional teaching, as well as spontaneous learning. Our key is flexibility and taking advantage of teachable moments. We value equally indoor and outdoor play, individual and group activities, inspiring the development of autonomous investigation and independent learning. Our learning environment supports the development of making choices by means of voting, independent thought and decision making, taking on challenges, exploring ideas and inquiry, in a play-based context. We at Sun Valley preschool integrate technology such as Smart Board and Bee-Bots into our daily program to prepare our kids for the digital life that lies ahead of them.  Technology is intentionally emersed by our educators, within the framework of developmentally appropriate practices.

Connections

We foster relationships that support children to feel a sense of belonging, see themselves as valued, unique, powerful, and constructive contributors to our community. Our open channels of communication enhance a bond between Sun Valley and our families. The home context and cultural backgrounds of our children are valued as integral parts of their learning. Therefore, we work in partnership and aim to develop a sense of trust with parents. Educators, when planning in collaboration with parents, take into consideration children’s individual developmental stages and uniqueness.

Relationships

Social interaction and emotional regulation are a focus at Sun Valley. Children are provided with a holistic approach to equip them for a positive transition to school. Not only academically, most importantly for their emotional and social readiness. We support our children to foster skills in sharing, turn taking, co-operation, negotiation and working well with others. Children’s rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled. Children have the right to equality and respect and for their voices to be heard.