A Montessori-based program for a solid foundation.
About Early Years
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The value of quality, developmentally appropriate early childhood education cannot be overstated. Children who receive high-quality education in their early years reap benefits in their cognitive and social development, and in the development of their language skills and thinking skills in both the short-term and long term.
Given the freedom and support to question, probe deeply, and make connections, Montessori students grow up to be confident, enthusiastic, and self-directed learners and citizens, accountable to both themselves and their community. They think critically, work collaboratively, and act boldly and with integrity. What better outcome could you wish for your children?
(Source: https://amshq.org/About-Montessori/What-Is-Montessori) -
Play is at the heart of programs that produce such exceptional results for children in their earliest years.
In learning, there is no divide between work and play. In the early years, play is the work of the child. It is through play that the child learns. For the child, play is so much more than entertainment. Play is complex; it is experimentation; it is scientific. It is how the child learns about the world around him or her and develops cognitively and socially. Through play, the child constructs hypotheses about the physical world, about the social world, tests these hypotheses, and develops theories, always testing, always revising based on what happens during play.At Eastwood, we value play as the child's work and believe it is the most developmentally appropriate, joyful, and natural way to learn.
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You need only watch a child in the process of learning and discovery to see that learning is an inherently joyous endeavor. Imagine the laughter and smiles of an infant learning that your face, when it disappears behind your hands in a game of peek-a-boo, will reappear, that it hasn’t really gone! Imagine the child who crouches transfixed over an insect in the garden, or who peers through the window of an oven as cookies rise, or who creates a structure with blocks, standing proudly with their hands on their hips to admire their work.
Learning experiences in the early years begin with the interests of the child; we trust that children are interested in things that truly matter as they work to discover and learn about the world around them.
We offer children learning contexts that are many, varied, and above all, inspire joy and a love of learning and challenge. Welcome to the Early Years at Eastwood International School.
Learning experiences in the early years begin with the interests of the child; we trust that children are interested in things that truly matter as they work to discover and learn about the world around them.
What are the courses our
Early Years students take?
FRENCH AND ARABIC
FOR ENGLISH SECTION
Students are exposed to the language through songs, conversations, and varied fine and gross motor skills activities.
PERFORMING
ARTS
An introduction to music, public speaking and dramatic arts designed to reinforce self-esteem, foster communication as well as imagination through music, pretend play, and theatrics.
ENGLISH AND ARABIC
FOR FRENCH SECTION
Students are exposed to the language through songs, conversations, and varied fine and gross motor skills activities.
DAILY STORY TIME, NAP TIME
AND 2 RECESS BREAKS
Stories are read on a daily basis as part of the theme of the unit of inquiry. Circle time is used to foster student's inquiry and promote discussion and dialogue. Students have two recesses, and rest/nap in the early afternoon after lunch.
PHYSICAL
EDUCATION
Our PE classes focus on building core physical skills and emphasize the importance of group work and establishing communal rules to promote safe play.
MONTHLY
FIELD TRIPS
Our units of inquiry incorporate age-appropriate field trips to explore a topic in depth and its relation the world around us.
MINDFULNESS + YOGA
Students practice mindfulness to learn emotional self-regulation, breathwork, and relaxing, age-appropriate
playful exercises.
MUSIC + MOVEMENT
A daily occurrence in the Early Years Department where flexibility and spatial skills are practiced and learned.
Our Policies
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Food policy and meal program
Children eat their snack and lunch in their classrooms. We try to foster a familial atmosphere during meal times and expect the children to be independent. We have facilities for refrigerating and heating meals sent from home if you prefer for your child to eat a hot lunch. Water is available at all times, however please refrain from sending disposable plastic and glass water bottles to be refilled at school.
It is important that your child has breakfast or a morning snack early in the morning in order to start his or her day full of energy. Please send a healthy mid-morning snack and a healthy lunch with your child. Your child is permitted one treat per day. Please ensure that this treat is an appropriate serving size for a child. If you send “junk food” or treats of inappropriate serving size with your child, they will be taken away and returned home with a note reminding you of our healthy food policy. To avoid your child’s distress, please adhere to the policy.
Meal Program
Eastwood has partnered with Eaternity’s Kitchen Network Catering to offer professionally catered, quality meal plans for students. Kitchen Network Catering prepares meals wi th fresh, high-quality ingredients in its central kitchen, certified for food safety by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 22000).
Meals are delivered fresh to our campus each day. Eastwood offers affordably priced, flexible meal plan packages to suit your family’s needs throughout the academic year. Half or full package meal plans can be purchased monthly, yearly, or for any duration in between.
Half package meal plans are comprised of either breakfast or lunch each day. Reach out to us to learn more about costs for Breakfast or Lunch packages.
Full package meal plans include both breakfast and lunch each day.
Reach out to us to learn more about costs for Breakfast or Lunch packages.
To ensure that you always know what your child will be served, Eastwood emails a meal calendar each month to parents who have purchased meal packages.
Please inform us of any food allergies or dietary restrictions your child may have, and we will be happy to accommodate them. -
EIS’s fleet of minibuses provides transportation services for students to and from campus for students within approximately 15 kilometers of the school.
We operate minibuses in order to help ensure that your child does not spend extended periods in traffic. The typical travel time for our buses between the EIS campus and Beirut is 30 to 45 minutes. Minibuses seat 10 to 12 students, so your child will not be crowded or uncomfortable at the beginning or end of their school day
We take your child’s safety on the roads seriously. All of our buses are inspected and maintained in accordance with our stringent safety criteria to ensure that your children travel safely to and from school. Whenever possible, we place a bus monitor on buses to supervise students. We further ensure safety by using an internal system to track a variety of data about our buses and drivers, such as overall driving habits, speed, braking, location, and arrival and departure times. Our internal system also notifies us if there are safety concerns with any of the buses in our fleet so that we can act swiftly to address them.We understand that as parents, you have busy schedules and waiting for your child’s bus to arrive in the morning and afternoon can be an added task to an already demanding schedule. To relieve some of that stress, preserve precious time, and provide greater peace of mind, EIS provides parents with access to bus data in real time through the NavLeb app, available for free in the App Store and Google Play store. Upon your child’s registration for bus services, EIS will provide you with a username and password for the NavLeb portal. Upon logging in, you will be able to access a variety of information about your child’s bus, including the time of its departure from or arrival to campus and its current location on the roads. The NavLeb app will also send push notifications to your mobile device to inform you of when your child’s bus has left campus or arrived at your home.
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Health, safety and security
Nurse and Nurse’s Office
The campus has a nurse’s office staffed by a full-time registered nurse every day. The nurse’s office is equipped with a medical stretcher trolley and private bathroom to ensure student privacy and comfort concerning medical issues. The nurse’s office maintains meticulous records of student medical needs and visits to the nurse’s office on a private, internal computer system, ensuring that your child’s medical information remains secure.
Cleaning and Pest Control
Eastwood maintains a full-time custodial staff. The custodial staff cleans the classrooms and outdoor areas of the campus each morning prior to the arrival of students and faculty and at the end of each school day after students and faculty depart. The custodial staff is also present throughout the day to maintain the cleanliness of the bathrooms and hallways and attend to custodial needs as they arise.
Safety and Security
A campus-wide alarm system is installed for use in the event of a fire or other situation requiring the emergency evacuation of the building and grounds. Eastwood conducts regular maintenance of the system and tests the system twice annually during emergency evacuation drills. Fire extinguishers are located in easily accessible areas and are regularly replaced. The Eastwood campus is gated and secure, with our entrance overseen by a security caretaker and a closed circuit security camera system. Classrooms and common areas are also equipped with cameras for student safety and security.
Visit Us
Eastwood affords visitors a variety of ways to explore all that the school has to offer. The admission office will help you design your day to fit your specific interests.