Moama preschool enrolments open

“We can have up to 78 children enrolled,” Ms Groves said.

“We have two classes at 20 each and two at 19 each.

Ms Groves said the school’s small size allowed for the students to have more personalised care and learning opportunities.

“Our class numbers are quite low, which is fabulous because a lot of centres go up to 30 or 33,” she said.

“The children to educator ratio is great, and we’re lucky that we have such a great committee that allows that extra person to be in the room so kids can have that attention.”

Moama and District Preschool runs a 15-hour-a-week program for students, split over two-and-a-half days to mirror what a school day will look like.

“We’re very mindful that it’s similar hours to when they go to school,” Ms Wright said.

“We really want to prepare kids for school.”

Over the last two years, changes for parents taking their kids to school and preschool have been constant.

Ms Wright said parents were updated on the COVID-19 rules every two weeks, and the preschool had been doing this since the pandemic began.

Tours of the centre are available, even after the June 30 cut-off date for enrolment.

“We’re able to have tours of the centre, and if parents can’t fit a tour in by the end of June, they can still put their enrolment form in because we don’t charge for enrolments,” Ms Wright said.

“They can always come next term for a tour.”

The preschool’s growth is expected to keep going into the 2024 intake, which will see a move into a new purpose-built, state-of-the-art preschool building on Boyes St.

“The new preschool has been talked about a lot over the last couple of years, but late last year we were given the tick off for the state funding, so we now have state, federal and local government funding for our new state-of-the-art, four-room preschool,” Ms Wright said.

“We’re in the final stages of discussing with the architect about room design, colour schemes and that sort of thing over the next six to 12 months.”

Ms Wright said the preschool would be built by December next year, and ready for the 2024 intake, meaning next year’s Young Four students would be moving into the new centre.

She said one of the reasons the school doesn’t offer three-year-old preschool had been the space limitations of the current building, but the new space would allow for more students.

“In the new centre, we will be able to offer, not only Prior To School classes, but also three-year-old preschool which will replace the Young Fours,” she said.

“That was the driving reason for us getting the new preschool — we have this government funded program that we can’t offer, and the new centre will be able to offer that to members of the community.

“It’s another 18 months of limits on what we can deliver, and then in 2024 it will be an exciting time for us.”

Enrolments for 2023 are open until Thursday, June 30 and forms are available online and at the front office of Moama and District Preschool in Regent St, Moama.

For more information, phone the preschool on 5482 1224 or email moama.preschool@bigpond.com