Location:
We are located in Depanama, Pannipitiya (here).
Schedule:
We are open on Weekdays, except on public holidays.
Our operating hours are decided in consultation with participating families and are currently 9:30 to 4:30 (earliest drop-off at 9:15, latest pick-up by 4:45).
We have no pre-defined breaks - families can plan their holidays at their own convenience
Full Time / Part Time participation:
All the currently enrolled children participate all day on all the days we are open.
However, each family can decide on the days/hours that works best for them.Â
Age Ranges:
As we are an age-mixed community, there is no strict age for enrollment.Â
However, in our promotions we say that we are enrolling 5-12 year old’s because they are more likely to find common interests with the current cohort, who are 6 to 10 years old. However, whether in that age group or not, it is up to each family to decide if the school works for them.
Some guidelines to consider:
- We are designed as an alternative to school, not for pre-school. However, for some children we may be more suitable than the last year of pre-school, where there is a lot of focus on literacy and numeracy in preparation for conventional school. While it is not necessary to know to read, write or count (like other skills, children will learn them when they have the readiness and motivation), some self awareness and listening/speaking skills are required.
- For older children, if their education (at school or at home) has been preparing them for standardized exams, and you wish to continue on that path, full-time enrolment may not be so useful, as none of our other children are preparing for such exams. However, a part-time enrolment may be an option, depending on your motivation to join Kinder Republic.
Language:
The currently enrolled children are bilingual and we use English and Sinhala interchangeably. We would love to have Tamil speaking children enrol so that our space would become trilingual.
Fees:
We operate a sliding scale fee system where each participating family pays what they can afford.