Welcome to where the littlest of Cornerstone students hang out!  You are in Pebbles.

The Pebbles program at Cornerstone has been in operation since 2006, and was established as a transition to Kindy. It holds many similarities to a Kindergarten Class and as such, children are introduced to the structure they will encounter in the following year.  The program has been highly successful and incredibly popular.  Since mid 2009, the teacher responsible for the class is Mrs Mandy Wallace.

Mandy has 6 years of teaching experience and comes to Cornerstone with a Bachelor of Arts in Education, specialising in Early Childhood Education.  She completed her tertiary studies at Churchlands Edith Cowan University.  Before taking up the position at Cornerstone, Mandy taught at Strathalbyn Christian College in Geraldton and Midland Christian School in Perth.

Mandy delights in the children she has the pleasure of teaching.  She loves working with these youngsters and believes that every one of her students is precious.  Communicating this and helping them understand that they are all infinitely precious to God as well,  is one of the delights of working at Cornerstone.

Mandy is a very relational teacher.  Finding out about each child, their strengths and weaknesses and how she can encourage them is central to her teaching style.  With these very young children, her objective is to focus on respect, rather than skills or abilities.  She believes that it is necessary for children to learn to respect others, follow directions and get along with each other. 

Pebbles operates for a half day per week and helps children prepare for the big leap from play-group to Kindy.  Structured activities are planned and children are encouraged to participate.  Because the class only runs for a morning, a child’s acceptance of watching their parents leave them in the care of others is slowly progressed, so that by the time a child commences Kindy in the following year a lot of these issues are already resolved.

Since Pebbles is so popular and has been running at capacity, the class has a permanent teacher’s assistant, as well as a roster of parent help.  The parental participation is a key part of the success of the program and is a necessary part of a child’s position within the class.  The students enjoy having a parent or grandparent share the activities on these occasions and it provides an opportunity for parents to gain an appreciation for the way the class operates.

Under Mandy’s care, her students will learn to be a member of a team or group and work together.  She believes that having fun within the class, both through activities and simple play is an integral part of how children will learn.  

A child who has had the benefit of being a ”Pebble” at Cornerstone has a definite advantage when they commence Kindy – with a whole year of experience already under their belt!