WELCOME PRACTICAL MATTERS OUR PLAYSCHOOLS CHILDREN'S SCHOOL WHAT MAKES US SPECIAL? WHY DO FAMILIES CHOOSE US? CONTACT US RECRUITMENT Sasu Leskelä: “We applied for place in GCP when Anton was 1 year old. There were number of criteria that we evaluated when making decision for his playschool and pre-school e.g. track-record of the school, meaning possibilities to advance to elementary school of our choosing, staff and their experience and background, environment and location. GCP more than fulfilled our expectations not only from educational perspective, but also the kindness and empathy of teachers. Anton enjoyed his years in GCP tremendously and we were all in tears when he school started. All the issues that might have risen during the years, were handled with utmost respect towards child and parents. One of the great things was also the x-mas and spring celebrations, where children together with teachers planned and performed great shows to parents. GCP teachers were great value in raising our child in early years and helped to shape in to a wonderful boy he is today. He learned great amount of different skills and was able to read and write in English and Finnish prior to going school. Math and science was also taught in excellent level and gave a great start to his school years. I would recommend GCP without any reservations.” “Anonymous”: We chose Garden City Playschool after returning to Finland from United states. Our son, then 4 years old, was fluent in English and we wanted enable him to stay fluent. The staff and facilities of GCP met our high standards and we were happy to see that the level of care and education was at par with our previous experiences from top playschools in Washington DC. The communication and the warmth of the community was great and our son got many friends that remain close even after moving forward to bilingual school. CGP prepared our son perfectly for the English language school and we can warmly recommend them for other families. “Anonymous”: We moved from China to Helsinki in beginning of Feb and we visited several playschools in Westend area, we finally selected GCP Westend because she likes the friendly smiles from teachers and other children. My daughter adapted to this new environment in very short time even she does not understand either English nor Finnish, which surprised both me and my husband, only 3 weeks later in GCP, she is almost every day the last child who leaves play school, so my husband and me believe she must be very relax in this new environment. I saw new comer like my daughter has got special attention from the teachers, teachers will play with her for whatever she has interests in the beginning, to help her to get familiar to the new environment. There are also a lot of trips and activities in this playschool, plan has been well communicated with parents then we can easily explain to my daughter what will happen in coming days. My daughter loves especially those trips to other places by bus, she is very excited every time before the trip and after. The staff team is also very diversified with different nationalities and passionate. Father of three GCPW children during the past 10 years: “Our three children have consequently attended Garden City Playschool Westend in total for over ten years now – so we definitely know GCPW! All our children have enjoyed GCPW tremendously. GCPW has provided a safe and fun environment where the children have been taught according to clear and consistent principles and methods. They received good quality teaching as both bigger children have successfully been accepted to the Espoo International School. “ “Anonymous” : Olemme olleet todella tyytyväisiä GCP Westendin toimintaan, jossa lapsemme ovat olleet v. 2014 alkaen: opettajat kohtaavat lapset aina lämmöllä, ystävällisen hymyn ja energisen asenteen kera. Toiminta on hyvin organisoitua; monipuolista ja mielekästä tekemistä erilaisten teemojen ympärillä, paljon eri kulttuurien juhlia, teemapäiviä ja retkiä. Tärkeimpänä asiana koen kuitenkin lasta arvostavan, toista kunnioittavan toimintakulttuurin, joka on aidosti aistittavissa arjen jokaisena päivänä. ”Satu”: Poika 5 vuotta ja tyttö kohta 4 vuotta, molemmat GCP:ssä 3-vuotiaasta lähtien Meille ehdottomasti parasta GCP:ssä on ollut lämminhenkinen, ystävällinen ja kannustava ilmapiiri. Lapset otetaan vastaan jokaikinen aamu iloisen hymyn ja kauniiden sanojen kera. Siitä on mukava lähteä hyvillä mielin omaa työpäivää kohti, kun lapset jäävät innoissaan ja mielellään hoitoon. Kumpikaan lapsistamme ei osannut sanaakaan englantia aloittaessaan GCP:ssä. On ollut hienoa seurata, miten nopeasti ovat oppineet kielen ja miten hyvin solahtivat heti joukkoon. Henkilökunnan ystävällisyys ja huomaavaisuus on ollut tässäkin merkittävässä roolissa. Kiinnitimme heti alusta lähtien huomiota siihen, että henkilökunta on erittäin sitoutunut ja motivoitunut työhönsä. Vaihtuvuutta tai poissaoloja ei juurikaan ole, mikä on lasten kannalta todella hienoa ja toivottavaa. Kommunikaatio ja yhteistyö henkilökunnan sujuu erinomaisesti, sähköpostitse kuulemme tulevista ja menneistä aktiviteeteista päivittäisten kuulumistenvaihtojen lisäksi. Ilmapiiri henkilökunnan ja vanhempien välillä on loistava ja pienten ilot ja surut jaetaan yhdessä aidosti välittäen. Muutimme kauemmas, mutta jatkoimme silti GCP:ssä, sillä olemme olleet koko perhe niin tyytyväisiä GCPn toimintatapoihin ja kannustavaan ja ystävälliseen ilmapiiriin. Lämmin suositus kaikille englanninkielistä päiväkotia harkitseville. Lapsellani on lääkärin määräämä hieman haastava erikoisruokavalio. Tämän noudattaminen on sujunut hyvin ja henkilökunta on ollut motivoitinut etsimään sopivia ja vaihtelevia vaihtoehtoja myös välipaloiksi. "Anonymous": Kun jokaista lasta tervehditään aamuisin sanoilla ”Good morning darling”, ei päivä voi lämpimämmin alkaa. Suvaitsevainen, erilaisista kulttuuritaustoista iloitseva ilmapiiri, jossa lasten ideoita kuunnellaan ja toteutetaan, on Garden City Playschoolin ehdoton vahvuus. Yhdessä tekemällä oppii. Monipuoliset retket ja niiden ympärille taitavasti toteutetut innostavat projektit ovat hiili, josta hiotaan timanttisen onnellisia lapsia – yhdessä perheiden kanssa jokaisen vahvuuksia nostaen. Mekala Govindarajan: My daughter had been with GCP for 1 year and it had always been her home away from home! Every staff of GCP Westend just made this possible. We moved to Finland from India and in a week’s time we joined our daughter at GCP. Our very first meeting with the GCP manager was so welcoming! The teachers had introduced themselves to our daughter and she started exploring the place and felt comfortable right on her first day. We were completely surprised by this, as my daughter was a diffident person, and we were concerned about how she is going to adapt to the all-new environment. When she came out of GCP (as we moved abroad), she was completely a whole new person. She became very out spoken, brimming with confidence and had formed a whole bunch of friends. The environment at GCP was so nurturing and conducive for all these to take place! Being very new to the Finnish ways, be it food or weather, the teachers did their best to guide us how to dress appropriately for the weather to keep our child warm and comfortable. I am always thankful to them for that :) Garden City Playschool | TAPIOLA and WESTEND | +358 (0) 43 2113 321