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The kindergarten welcomes children who are 3 years old on December 31 and includes three levels: petite section (PS), moyenne section (MS) and grande section (GS).
It constitutes a unique cycle (the first learning cycle), fundamental for the success of all students and is defined in three main areas:
- A school that adapts to young children;
- A school where children will learn and live together;
- A school that organizes specific learning methods by setting up various situations: problem solving, training, memorization. Games have a special place in the school: they encourage a wealth of experience and feed all areas of learning.
Class projects are numerous and varied: visits, cultural outings and shows organized by the teaching team according to the educational projects.
School programs are set by the French Ministry of Education. In addition, the French International School of Berne offers English and German language instruction starting in the early grades (see language section).
Enrollment in the kindergarten implies a commitment on the part of the family to regular attendance, which is desirable for the development of the child’s personality and prepares him or her for the education provided by the elementary school.
The role of the nursery school:
The kindergarten is an essential step in the students’ journey to guarantee their academic success. Its main mission is to make children want to go to school to learn, to affirm and develop their personality. Students learn to develop their motor, emotional, intellectual and social skills. Numerous manual and artistic activities lead the child to satisfy his or her desire to learn.
Children develop their oral language and begin to discover writing, numbers and other areas of learning. They learn by playing, thinking and solving problems, practicing, reinvesting and memorizing.
Learning in kindergarten:
Instruction is organized into five areas of learning:
- Mobilizing language in all its dimensions
- Acting, expressing oneself, understanding through physical activity
- Acting, expressing oneself, understanding through artistic activities
- Building the first tools to structure one’s thoughts
- Exploring the world
Each of these five areas is essential to the child’s development and finds its place in the organization of daily time.
Bilingual section Petite section (PS) / Moyenne section (MS) / Grande section (GS) :
French-speaking teachers : Marie LABROUSSAA and Gaëlle GUELZEC
German speaking teacher : Adriane SCHUMACHER
Nursery assistant : Odie GUEYE / Anaïs MIFSUD / Yasmine REGRAGUI
SPECIALIZED TEACHERS :
French as a foreign language (FLE/FLS) : Marie LABROUSSAA
Learning in the Preschool
Instruction is organized into five learning areas:
- Mobilizing language in all its dimensions
- Acting, expressing oneself, understanding through physical activity
- Acting, expressing oneself, understanding through artistic activities
- Building the first tools for structuring one’s thoughts
- Exploring the world
Each of these five areas is essential to the development of the child and finds its place in the organization of daily time.
You can find the kindergarten programs on the official website EDUSCOL
EFIB has an ambitious language policy that sets it apart from other schools: a student who has completed his or her schooling from kindergarten to 9th grade benefits from 701 more hours of German and 605 more hours of English than a student who has completed his or her education in the Swiss system.
German and English begin at EFIB in the kindergarten classes with games, songs and stories.
Students in PS and MS have two 30-minute sessions of German and English per week.
Students in the GS class have three times 45 minutes of German and two times 45 minutes of English per week.
| EFIB | SWISS SYSTEM | |||||||
| GERMAN | ENGLISH | GERMAN | ENGLISH | |||||
| Level | Language | EMILE* | Language | EMILE* | Language | EMILE* | Language | EMILE* |
| PS | 2 x 30’ | / | 2 x 30’ | / | ||||
| MS | 2 x 30’ | / | 2 x 30’ | / | / | / | / | / |
| GS | 3 x 45’ | / | 2 x 45’ | / | / | / | / | / |
| CP | 3 x 45’ | / | 2 x 45’ | / | / | / | / | / |
| CE1 | 3 x 60’ | / | 2 x 45’ | / | / | / | / | / |
| CE2 | 3 x 60’ | 1 x 60′ | 2 x 60’ | / | 1 X 45′ | / | / | / |
| CM1 | 3 x 60’ | 1 x 60’ | 2 x 60’ | / | 2 x 45’ | / | / | / |
| CM2 | 3 x 60’ | 1 x 60’ | 2 x 60’ | / | 3 x 45’ | / | 2 x 45’ | / |
| 6ème | 3 x 60’ | / | 3 x 60’ | / | 3 x 45’ | / | 2 x 45’ | / |
| 5ème | 3 x 60’ | / | 3 x 60’ | / | 3 x 45’ | / | 2 x 45’ | / |
| 4ème | 3 x 60’ | / | 3 x 60’ | / | 3 x 45’ | / | 2 x 45’ | / |
| 3ème | 3 x 60’ | / | 3 x 60’ | / | 3 x 45’ | / | 3 x 45’ | / |
| TOTAL | 1242 H | 918 H | 541 H | 313 H | ||||
* EMILE : Teaching of a subject (Physical and Sports Education) integrated with a foreign language
| Classes | Main objectives |
Examples of themes / way of working / material |
| PS/MS | – Familiarization with the language
– Getting the child used to the melody and pronunciation of the language – Know how to greet, answer simple questions, understand instructions, sing songs – Enjoy rituals and games in a foreign language |
Examples of themes:
The body, numbers, colors, clothes, animals, etc.. The children have their racks in which they can put the sheets. |
| GS/CP
(level group) |
– Discover and learn to use some familiar words and classroom instructions
– Discover and learn some common expressions (e.g., greeting, congratulations, name, age, politeness) – Follow simple, short instructions – Follow the flow of a very short story, with teacher’s help (signs, mimicry, gestures) – Repeat basic dialogues from class rituals. |
Examples of themes:
Family, alphabet, seasons, songs, stories, etc. The children work with index cards and file them in a folder. If necessary, the learning of German-speaking or advanced children will be supported with additional material. In the CP/GS classes, the written word is essentially used for comprehension. It is only used to support the spoken word, as a trigger for speech or as an aid to memorization. Language learning takes place essentially in the language class and the children will not have any homework! |
| Classes | Main objectives | Example of theme, material |
|
PS/MS |
-Familiarization with the language
-Accustom the child to the melody and pronunciation of the language -Know how to greet, answer simple questions, understand instructions, sing songs -To take pleasure in rituals and games in the foreign language
|
Numbers, colors, bodies, animals, food…
The children have their locker in which they can deposit their sheets. |
| GS
|
-Understand class instructions.
-Know some familiar words. -Know some very common expressions. -Follow a very short story line. -Follow short and simple instructions Oral expression is worked on using songs or rhymes and skits based on excerpts from children’s books or films, and games. |
The clothes, the activities of the day, the weather… |
Children who have reached the age of 3 by December 31 of the current year and whose general development and physiological maturity have been medically verified as being compatible with school life may be admitted to the kindergarten section.
Parents are reminded that children entering the kindergarten class must be fully toilet trained before being admitted to the school. Diapers or pull-ups are not allowed in the classroom.