It is with a wonderful sense of pride and gratitude that I write to welcome children, families and friends to New Horizons Preschool, and also take this opportunity to personally express my appreciation to all those who are considering enrolling their child. As founder and owner, I am honoured to lead a preschool with such an inspiring, authentic and progressive vision for early childhood education; one which continually challenges us to re-imagine the rich possibilities for early years education.

“The school we are talking about is not the school you are familiar with in the past, but it is something that you can hope for.”

Loris Malaguzzi, Founding Philosopher of the Reggio Emilia Approach

Our focus at New Horizons is to create democratic spaces for belonging, participation, collaboration and children coming together with active rights. We recognise all children as competent, capable, creative citizens who have a right to participate in a dynamic, complex and holistic educational process that respects and builds relationships with others. We are all inspired by the central concept that learning happens in relationship with others – other children, other adults, family and the community. We also believe that children have the right to teaching and learning environments full of beauty, integrity, joy, wonder and be a space for children’s rights to be enacted.

As you consider your decision to enrol your child at New Horizons, I invite families to reflect upon their perceptions of young children and their sense of agency within early learning settings. The educational processes at New Horizons are reflective encounters of active participation where educators, working alongside children as co-researchers, are listening and focusing on the processes of learning rather than ‘the product’, and give visibility to this strong image of child through their documentation.

To support this rich culture of participation at New Horizons, children’s voices are fully visible, involved and actively participating in all aspects of the preschool curriculum. Responsible, resourceful and resilient, we support the children’s right to choice regarding the daily routines and rhythms of their day, to allow the children to stay connected to their thinking and to open possibilities for tomorrow.

If you would like to visit our preschool, we would love to share with you a moment of inspiration, insight and imagination within our unique and authentic learning landscape. Please contact us to arrange a visit so that a time and date can be arranged.

In closing, I urge all parents to celebrate each day with their child – to celebrate their determination, their curiosity, their capacity to wonder, their resilience and their successes, and to treasure each moment along this shared journey.

Norma Panagakos

Founder of New Horizons Preschool