Thabile Nursery School has been of service to the community of Blairgowrie for 47 years.
Jacki Graham, who has been the school principal for the last 28 years, started as a parent at the school and now three of her grandchildren attent Thabile.
The school first opened its doors in 1973 and was officially named Blairgowrie Nursery School but quickly came to be known as Thabile which means happiness – and this is environment filled with energetic smiles, a big garden and dedicated teachers. The first principal was Val Herbert, followed by Barbara Garcez, Pia Lera, Isla Walters and now Graham who also teaches the children from time to time.
“We are very lucky that we don’t have a high staff turnover, we have a lot of parent involvement and our children are very well prepared because we work in groups of about 12 children per class. There is a sense of family here, the staff get on very well and work together nicely as a team. Our teachers are very approachable – if one is absent for the day, I can move in easily into the classroom making it easier for the children,” said Graham.
The school has seven classes ranging from three years old to Grade R. Thabile is a community school and is looked after by a board. The school has about 128 children who are taught the Caps Curriculum by primary school-trained teachers. School ends at 12.30pm and aftercare is from 12.45pm to 16.45pm.
Graham shared, “We at Thabile focus on the child as a whole. We focus on play because we understand that play is a child’s language and they learn through play. Daily from 9.30am to 10.30am, the children are encouraged to go outdoors in the school garden helping the children with a sense of freedom and movement.”
Graham said they believe children should have positive self-esteem and they understand the importance of developing children’s full potential.
Extramural activities offered at the school include karate, music, ‘tumbling tiger’, pottery, balls skills, and ballet.
