Our school year consists of two semesters from May to September and November to February. Our major holidays periods are similar to other Thai schools in Bangkok.
Yes and No. We wear uniforms on Friday and we also require all students to wear our school’s socks every day for safety reasons. We recommend wearing comfortable outfits like shorts and T-shirts so the children can play freely. We do not allow princess and superhero outfits since they tend to have a lot of loose parts that can fall off or get snagged. We do have a “showing” classroom where students can role-play as princesses, superheroes, and other occupations.
If your child has a food allergy, please inform the school office. We will take every precaution to ensure your child is not offered ingredients that may trigger the allergy.
This depends. We maintain a class enrollment size conducive to promoting a quality classroom environment and providing effective instruction. Sometimes, this will mean a large group doing games and activities. Other times, this will mean a small focus group with one to four students getting individual help from a teacher. Students will be organized into pods under a homeroom teacher. Each pod has around 10 to 15 students in it. All students will also be assigned a focus teacher for language learning. So, your child will always have at least two teachers tracking progress and handling assessments.
All of our teachers are qualified and they possess excellent communication skills in their language and a solid understanding of early childhood education. They are well-trained by us in classroom management, first-aid, teaching methods, and child behavior.
We believe children should sleep when they are tired and so our students have some down time during the day to grow, recharge their energy, and process what they have learn. The young ones who still need their nap will take a nap after lunch. The older students can take nap if they want to or they can have “quiet time” to relax or play quietly. Just like a muscle, the brain can be damaged by stress if it is not allowed an opportunity to rest. Studies show that children who are given some “thinking time” to rest their brains actually do better in school. They retain more and have better outcomes on assessments than students who are forced to study all day long.
Doing a 100% English-immersion program in an EFL environment (English as a Foreign Language) is not ideal. Some children will succeed, of course, but many others will become frustrated and lose their enthusiasm for learning and school. A blended approach is far better because it introduces students to difficult abstract concepts in their mother tongue and also allows them to ask questions to clarify things they don’t understand. Then when they are introduced to the topic a second time in a foreign language (like English or Chinese), they will have an idea what the teacher is talking about, and it will make it much easier for them to learn it. So even though kids in an EFL program get a little less English instruction than they would in an immersion program, their outcomes are better. They remember more, understand it better, and have far more confidence and enthusiasm for school. In our school, most of the instruction is split between English and Thai. We do have a robust Chinese language program as well, and we introduce the students to Spanish a little bit so they can keep those sounds if they choose to learn a Romance language latter in life.
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Yes! We have a parent and baby room where parents can relax in our lounge if they want to get some work done. They can also join in on some classes to help ease their child into the school environment and reduce separation anxiety (for both parent and child!). We also encourage our parents to join seminars and classes on child development and parenting techniques. In addition, we have clubs the students can join to pursue their own interests and parents are welcome to participate in club activities. Our school building has a nice activity space where families can have a picnic after school. We can watch some movies together and have a nice family time before heading home.
At Carroll Prep, we are focusing on developing foundational skills and creating a lifelong love of learning. We also prepare students to be flexible and able to adapt to their environment. This means our students will be well-prepared to continue their education at any school in Thailand or abroad. Since we do follow the Thai curriculum, they will be ready to continue in Thai schools. However, since we also use a modern international approach, they will be ready for international school too. We have seen many of our students excel in a variety of academic settings – American, British or Thai. Our methods encourage students to express their ideas. We help them to be confident and not fear failure. We also stimulate critical thinking skills and promote a strong work ethic. All of these life skills will help ensure your child reaches his/her full potential and can succeed in any environment.
No, we do not require your child to be toilet trained before joining school. We believe that each child has their own internal timetable in regards to their readiness for toilet training. Our goal is certainly not to pressure the parents or the child to hurry this process. However, when the child is ready, we support the parents through this process and work together in a partnership to ensure the child feels successful.
Young learners have many skills they have to learn when they first join school, not just academic skills but also important life skills and self-care habits. To encourage independent learning, we allow our students to self-feed and explore a variety of foods. At first, some students might not eat well at school. This usually means their appetite for breakfast or dinner at home will increase. This is not a cause for concern and parents shouldn’t worry about it. As children develop, they will get stronger and eventually adjust to our routine.
It is very common for children to get sick at school, especially in the first few weeks. They are coming into contact with a new community of bacteria and viruses and so you can expect some coughs, fevers, and sniffles in the first few weeks of school. However, this is a good thing as it strengthens their immune systems and helps them avoid serious allergy problems in the future. In essence, children need exposure to germs in order to build a healthy immune system. Remember that a balanced diet, daily exercise, good hand washing and plenty of sleep goes a long way in helping your child’s immune system and in letting them live a healthy life. If your child does get sick at school, we will bring them to the nurse’s room and then call you to give you information and the appropriate options.
We believe that early experiences matter. Research tells us that 80% of the brain is developed by the age of three and to be able to develop language skills easily, research suggests children be exposed to that language as early as possible. To support this, we have been offering Young Hawk programs for 18-month-olds for many years and our young students benefit from socialization, self-management and independence, language development, and an effortless transition to school culture, group settings and routines.
Yes! We enthusiastically welcome children from all backgrounds. We accept special needs children, because it is our belief that all students have special needs. That is why we custom-tailor our curriculum goals to each individual child. Your child will receive goals and expectations that are appropriate for his/her individual abilities. Our experience tells us that special needs children succeed at Carroll Prep when they simultaneously receive support from a specialist outside. Our program offers a suitable learning environment for special needs children who would benefit from a mainstream school for socialization.
No. We do not believe in entrance exams for young students. We operated a learning center for many years and saw students from many different schools around Thailand. And it is our belief that these types of entrance exams are harmful to young learners. Therefore, students hoping to enter Carroll Prep are not given an entrance exam. We do, however invite their parents in for an interview with the School Admission Team. We are looking for parents who are involve and care about their child education and will contribute to our community. Once the child has been accepted into the school, we will give him/her an assessment that will help us learn their strengths and weaknesses so you can design a suitable curriculum for that child.
