Facilities & Campus

Our Christian world view is at the centre of everything we do and is integral to our daily lives, how we care, and the way in which our parents, children and team feel value.

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At Waterfall Pre-Primary it is our ultimate aim to nurture and encourage every child in our care to realise his/her full potential. Our teachers and staff are equipped to develop each little person’s confidence, concentration, and age-appropriate life skills; this practical, hands-on approach ensures that children have the freedom to play and to learn in a secure loving environment.

Our independent, co-educational facility educates children from the age of 12 months to Grade 00 and is located in Hillcrest, on a 41-acre campus that is surrounded by breathtaking views and South African indigenous landscape.

Our school is an innovative, bright, joyful, creative modern space where we hear giggles, feel joy and see smiles. We are grateful for our integral connection with Waterfall Preparatory and College as their feeder school and we celebrate our unique eco-campus where our children can thrive and be outdoor and active. Our parents love our ‘Tadpoles’ communication tool, cooked meals, aftercare facility, holiday care programme and our party venue.

The iThemba Campus is home to Waterfall Schools, encompassing Waterfall Pre-Primary, Preparatory and College. This trio of Christian, independent schools offers a quality, dynamic education from 12 months to Grade 12 on one campus, with the teams collaborating to ensure a seamless transition from one phase to another.

Our Learning Philosophy

At Waterfall Pre-Primary we aim to provide an inspired yet balanced pre-primary curriculum delivered by qualified, passionate teachers who understand the developmental norms of young children.

Our teachers guide and ignite a love for learning and discovery in our little ones through meaningful play activities, which aim to develop all the senses to magnify future learning. We believe that love, time and play are the three key ingredients to successful child development.

The first five years of a child’s life are critical to the child’s lifelong development. Early experiences influence brain development as the neural pathways are established providing the foundations for language, reasoning, problem solving, social skills, behaviour and emotional health. Our play-based approach involves both child-initiated and teacher-supported learning. Children are naturally divergent thinkers and we celebrate their creativity and blossoming minds through fun, child-centric activities.

The Morning Ring

Our day begins with a morning ring, as our children learn about the weather, days of the week, numbers, etc. through songs and music; emphasising memory skills.

Focus Groups

Our children work in small, focus groups within the class, where skills are developed through playing with playdough, sorting colours, and threading beads and buttons. This allows our children to develop organisation of thought, as well as auditory and visual perception.

Free Play Time – Gross Motor Skills & Tactile Perception

Our little ones love our school’s large outdoor play areas where they strengthen their gross-motor skills. A great deal of time is also spent at the sensopathic-trays, a tactile delight! Our children then develop tactile perception, and learn about measuring and volume by pouring water from one container to the next.

Fantasy Play – Imagination

Always a big hit, our fun fantasy area allows children’s imaginations to run wild by dressing up and pretending to be something other than themselves.

Tadpoles – Internal digital communication app

Waterfall Pre-Primary makes use of Tadpoles, which is our internal digital communication app. Its easy to use design allows parents to keep up to date with both current news at the school, as well as receive a daily report on their child’s progress for the day. We believe that this app offers better quality development for your child, as the relationship between parents and our teachers improves. The app is fully downloadable for both your smartphone and tablet and offers the following features:

  • Daily photos, videos, and notes by email.
  • Download or share photos and videos of your children from the app.
  • Receive emergency alerts by text message.
  • View your children’s portfolio using the Tadpoles app.
  • Mark your child as sick or on vacation using the Tadpoles app.
  • Receive all school notices and general info via the Tadpoles app.

Nourishment

At Waterfall Pre-Primary, we believe in investing in our team. A happy team filters down to content and thriving boys and girls. One of the main aims of our Director, Sharron Lane, and Principal, Paula Mason, is ensuring our teaching, aftercare and admin team are nourished through training, workshops, team-building events and positive feedback. Recent workshops our team have enjoyed include first aid and staff survey development. We believe that one is never too old to learn and as we are in the business of teaching, we should always be open to learning and evolving as a team too. We are inspired by researching international teaching developments online as well as books on the topic. We are fuelled by the recent debates in education and believe that young minds need the space to be creative and develop through play. Have you watched this TED talk with powerful words from Ken Robinson? It’s great food for thought.