The Pre-Primary Centre headed by the Headmistress Smt.Saira Paul, functions as an independent wing, adjacent to St. Thomas Residential School. The Centre has a very congenial atmosphere for the healthy and happy development of children by means of the play way method. It serves as a common platform for admission to all three schools under the Mar Thoma Church Educational Society. There are 16 divisions with a total strength of 700 in PPI and PPII together. The students seeking admission to PPI and PPII should complete 3 years and 6 months and 4 years and 6 months respectively by June. The little ones thrive well in an atmosphere of tender care and attention provided by the teachers.
Working hours
PP I & PP II 9.20 am to 2.20 pm.
Visiting time for the parents: 2.30 pm – 3.30 pm.
Curriculum
Emphasis is laid on oral work. Children are given the opportunities to explore and experience the environment. An exclusive computer lab for the pre-primary children enables the small children to learn and understand concepts with hands on experience. Classroom learning is reinforced by means of the visual electronic media.
The curriculum comes as an attractive package in which the academic lessons are interfaced with art, craft, music, sports and even picnics so as to stimulate the interests of the tiny tots. The section have the unique privilege of learning from the text books compiled by their own teachers. The PP I and PP II children (those who stay back after class hours) can have special music and dance coaching from 1.20 pm to 2.30 pm.
Evaluation
Teachers assess the children in both scholastic and non-scholastic areas daily and reports are sent to the parents twice a year. Formal examinations are not conducted. No grades/ranks are given. Promotion is based on the overall progress of the child.
Library
In order to ensure the mental health and grow reading habits in students, there is a library exclusively for the pre-primary children. This library provides all kinds of children category books.Reading books ensures that your child is exposed to vocabulary on different topics, which means they hear words or phrases which they may not hear otherwise in their day to day lives. Reading affects their brain activity and may just give them that boost they need to support and promote their early reading skills.
Other facilities
There is an indoor playroom which is well furnished with toys meant for the development of mental abilities like the co-ordination of muscles, and learning and differentiating shapes and colors. Craft work helps to develop the locomotive skills.
Health Card System
Health cards are maintained for the PP I students on the basis of a comprehensive checkup by specialists.
Celebrations and Talent Display
The children take part in various celebrations during the course of the year. The hidden talents of the children are exposed and developed by the teachers. All the children are motivated to take part in the talent display program whereby they get rid of stage fright. This is not a competition, so it is only the participation of the children that counts.
Parent- Teacher Interaction
In order to foster a healthy parent-teacher relationship, the parents meet the class teacher at the end of each term.
Staff
The total number of teachers is 28 including the Headmistress, Music teacher and Computer teacher. During the first two weeks of the academic year, the teachers reach the school sufficiently early to receive the children.
Faculty Improvement Program
Conveyance
An efficient transportation system operates to take the students to and from the school punctually and comfortably. Buses ply 29 different routes, making St. Thomas accessible to students from every part of the city and its suburbs.
Ayahs
Apart from cleaning the classrooms and the surroundings, the ayahs remain in the park when the children are at play. Besides this, the ayahs are allotted duties in the park before and after class hours, in front of the main gate of the PP section to receive the children. They also escort the children from and to the bus bay.