GRǍDINIȚA PROGRAM PRELUNGIT PERLUȚELE MǍRII is one of the best public early childhood insitutions in Constanta, Romania (with 230 children and 8 groups: Albatrosses, Golden Fish, Happy Seagulls, Seahorses, Singing Fish, Little Sailors, Starfish, Wise Little Dolphins). It is a 10 hour, 5 day program that provides a creative, supportive, nurturing learning environment for children (three meals and sleep session available). The kindergarten provides extensive opening hours that take account of the needs of working parents. The all-day kindergarten is the most wanted by working parents who have their offices and work places in the center of the city.
The kindergarten staff is interested in offering a high quality early childhood education and care to all children from age three to age five. The programmes aim to develop the social and emotional competence and promote the cognitive, language, literacy and numeracy skills of pre-primary children to provide them with a fair start in primary school. The school council, the head teacher’s team, the staff and the school community are involved in the school life and they work together. The families support the staff and collaborate in the projects. The School Parents’ Association supports the carrying on of different projects initiated by school and our local community to develop at our students creative and free personalities.
Constanta is the third largest city in Romania and an important cultural and economic centre. In our pre-primary school most of the parents are highly educated ones (about 90% have graduated various universities). Parents with higher education levels have stronger confidence in their child's academic abilities, and they also have higher expectations of their child. Family participation is twice as predictive of academic learning as is the family’s socio-economic status. At school meetings, group of parents share with each other their vision and dreams for their children. Parents want their children to get a good education, to have access to excellent bilingual, multicultural preschool programs, to have many choices of professions and to not lose their language, culture, values and faith of the family. But more important, all of these parents want their children to be fully bilingual as adults.
Established in 1963 as Kindergarten with extended hours No 11, it has been moved from its original location to some other different places. One knowing its story can call it The Travelling Kindergarten. In 2007 it was again moved to its actual 56 Mihai Viteazu Street down town. In 2009 the kindergarten is named Perluţele mării which means Sea Pearls. The new name of the kindergarten was chosen by preschoolers after a brainstorming activity. Pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable and valuable. Children are the most precious and valuable treasure of mankind.
The kindergarten has been involved in many local and national projects and partnerships. It is also partner and founder in eTwinning projects (“Fight against obesity from early childhood”, “To be children playing again”, “Flags of Europe”, “Our parents professions”) and a few International ones. The kindergarten has initiated and setted up a several regional and county cultural contests, sports competitions, educational projects and partnerships and school events. The children have participated in many national and county dancing and singing competitions, children's drama festival and art contests and competitions.
We are currently involved in an Erasmus+ Project‚ Bilingual education: a step ahead’ (transsectorial partnership, 4 countries, 14 organisations, 5 themes of interest, 2014 – 2016). Learning English as an additional language in the early years has a major importance and a great impact on future child’s school start.
The whole kindergarten staff nurtures close relationships with parents and have a strong partnership with the families. We envision an inclusive education system in the kindergarten in which equity and inclusive education meets individual needs, and identifies and eliminates barriers. Teachers and parents all together collaborate to accomplish the goals regarding children’s education, behavior and growth and promote their welfare. A good preschool program values and involves families in meaningful and respectful ways in the activities of the school. At Perluțele mǎrii/Pearls of the Sea Kindergarten parents are really involved in the early childhood programs. Families are welcomed and invited to participate in school activities in a variety of ways. Teachers respect the parent role as first teacher of the child and prime expert on the child. Parents who feel welcome in schools are a powerful resource that can better their children’s education. When schools and families work together, preschoolers succeed and communities are stronger.
The management of Perluțele mǎrii/Pearls of the Sea Kindergarten aims at:
- improving managerial skills for qualitative development of the school and teachers;
- knowledge of different approaches European on Early Education Curriculum and examples of good practice in terms of school management elsewhere in Europe;
- increase the quality of the educational environment ;
- eliminating formalism in teaching English at early ages through optional activities (School-based curriculum) ;
- changing the attitude of the teachers towards psychological and pedagogical approaches to early childhood education
Pre-primary teachers plan, organise and conduct activities designed to facilitate children’s development of language, physical, cooperative and social skills and other activities such as sporting activities, concerts, trips; evaluate children’s progress and prepare reports. They aim to build preschoolers‘ confidence and understanding, to promote language development through story telling, role play, songs, nursery rhymes, to develop their creativity and independence.
The kindergarten turns spotlight on early childhood education and aims at the continuous and systematic training of teaching staff. Moreover, it aims towards the improvement of the educational process. The annual educational offer of the kindergarten offers English as a second language (ESL) at early ages (optional activities included in School-based curriculum), which are highly requested by the parents for their children. Most of the teachers involved are specialized in teaching to both pre-primary and primary students and a few of them have worked in both orders of school. They are graduated from Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures (English, French), Department of Special Education and Masters in Educational Management and Therapies and compensation in speech disorders. It is a a team of enthusiastic teachers with foreign language and technological experience.
At GRǍDINIȚA P. P. PERLUȚELE MǍRII children are happy!