Dear Families,

It has occurred to me that many of you may have been told at some point that we are a Reggio inspired centre but for most of you that would not mean anything due to you not having an explanation of what that means.

Reggio Emelia is a city in Italy that was almost destroyed in the second world war. A visionary nun gathered the children in schools to combine learning with the practical task of contributing to rebuilding the city. What transpired was the realization that children were outstandingly more capable from participating in the projects than if they did their learning in a classroom.

We aspire to the Reggio Emilia educational experience where children are active protagonists of their own personal growth and learning; children are encouraged to explore their environment and express themselves through multiple pathways and ‘all their languages’ Reggio Children (2001).

Our teaching and learning comes from the words of Loris Malaguzzi who believed that each child is endowed with ‘a hundred languages’ including words, movements, drawing, painting, building, sculpture, shadow play, music and much more. Malaguzzi believed children have many ways of thinking, of expressing, of understanding and encountering others that connects rather than separates the various meaningful experiences. That children are equipped from birth to make meaning of their world, to use one hundred languages to construct their own knowledge in many ways using many materials available and presented to them.