What Parents Say

Dear Natacha;

It is with great pride and earnest thanks that I write this letter today. It is Bradley’s 4^th birthday today and he was just accepted to Kindergarten at Mulgrave Independent School a whole year early.

When we first enrolled Bradley at cefa it was for two reasons: to provide him with some social interaction skills and to give him a good start at an education. Our expectations were exceeded in every way.

The most telling trait of your school is his love of learning. Even on his days off he asks to be there. He’s excited about his class lessons, his friends, his teachers and about himself. He is confident, thoughtful, happy, and inquisitive. The program that you have put together fosters not just an understanding of the basic concepts such as the alphabet and numbers but problem solving, interest development, confidence building, and creativity.

The foundation that cefa has given Bradley will benefit more than simply his academic career. It is the building blocks of exceptional character development. The preparation he has received is for more than just school, it is for life.

With confidence we recommend your school to all parents who want to develop their child’s complete potential.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Chu.

Dear Natacha,

As her parents, we listened with much pride, joy and gratitude as our daughter Noelie recited the poem “An Epitome of the Triad” by Cleo Victoria Stewart at cefa’s Holiday Event. Her ability to read the poem off the sheet that her Stage 3 teacher, Miss Forsythe was holding, was definitely a culmination of everyone’s hard work, working in tandem, just like the poem Noelie read “Day after day the teacher toiled/ With a touch that was deft and sure./ While the parent labored in support/ And polished and smoothed it o’er.”

We feel blessed to have been able to give Noelie the opportunity to learn at cefa since she was 21 months old, from Stage 1 and through to Stage 2 and 3, and thankful to the teachers for their dedication and hard work. Her acceptance into York House for kindergarten is proof once again of the high educational standards cefa has as a preparatory preschool.

We look forward to her graduation from cefa with bittersweet joy and appreciative of the joy for learning now instilled in our daughter.

Alisa and Darren Darcy

Dear Natacha,

My husband and I would like to thank you warmly for giving our family the opportunity to attend your school, Core Education & Fine Arts.

Cefa has provided a fundamental environment for my two sons, which was especially necessary since they came from a non-Canadian environment and needed to settle in, having moved 3 countries in less than two years. This was crucial for them.

The bright and lively atmosphere for learning has seen the boys develop independence, and confidence in themselves, in a new place and a new country.

Having had one of my sons graduate from the cefa program already, I have seen him achieve above average grasp of the elementary curriculum. The transition to elementary school was very smooth.

Before cefa, the boys had attended a year of pure Montessori, and it was found that for the self-starter student, the method had a bit more of an impact than for the child who needs more guidance and encouragement. I have two children, one of them who is quite the self-starter and did well in the Montessori environment, and the other, of a more cautious personality did not seem to progress as well.

In cefa, they both progressed at admirable rates with both guidance and encouragement in the cefa approach.

Having had both my sons go through the cefa program, I definitely recommend it both for the avid student as well as for the average student. I find your method greatly benefits all children and develops them to their full potential.

Sincerely,

Susan and Richard Gilbert

Dear Ms Beim

In the two months he’s been at Cefa, Matthew’s progress has surprised us. We are especially surprised by our toddler suddenly developing into an independent, interactive little two-year-old who talks cheerfully and cogently about his day at school, bursts into little songs and stories he’s learnt in the classroom and who has learnt to reason for himself. Some days ago he told mummy that he went to big boy school where no mummies were allowed because big boys did not need their mummies to help them do many things.

On the personal front, he has (it seems) almost overnight acquired a steady potty-going habit and a marked improvement in his self-feeding (no doubt encouraged by the cleverly child-friendly, enticing food prepared by the chef).

Although we were apprehensive at first about leaving our little boy in the hands of strangers for the better part of the day, and although it was really hard in the first few weeks to separate from an anxious toddler who had never been away from mummy before, we now take him to Cefa these days quite comfortable in the knowledge that his physical needs are taken care of, his emotions considered and his intellect encouraged.

We are also encouraged by the strong parent involvement in the school with parents contacting each other regularly to participate in field trips and other miscellaneous activities which really help to form a sense of community and involvement.

We thank you and all the teachers at Cefa for making Matthew’s first foray into schooling a fun, stimulating and nurturing one.

Yours sincerely

Rachelle and David Lau

Dear Ms. Beim:

We are writing this letter to tell you how pleased we are that Eliscia is attending CEFA and to thank you for managing such a well organized and stimulating school. We have been very impressed with the quality of your teaching staff and couldn’t be happier with the choice we made to place Eliscia at your school.

Over the last nine months at CEFA, we have observed teachers excited about teaching and Eliscia having fun learning. You and your teachers have created a warm and supportive educational environment for our daughter and for that we are truly grateful.

A great big thank you to the teachers of Junior Kindergarten One – Mrs. Morris, Ms. Senang, Ms. Garania and Ms. Do – for teaching and respecting our daughter. You have all made and are continuing to make a positive mark on Eliscia’s personality and intellectual growth.

Yours truly,

Shaun and Karen Sinclair

Dear Natacha

It is unbelievable that it is the end of the school year already. Nicole has completed Stage 3 and our time at CEFA has sadly come to an end. At this time, I feel I must write to you to express my thoughts.

Firstly, I must congratulate you on creating a first-class pre-school establishment. I know (from too much previous experience) that there is nothing else out there like it. I wish we had come to CEFA much sooner. It is a wonderful professional environment, and at the same time, one which has a very friendly, easy atmosphere, in which you feel immediately comfortable.

The Stage 3 teaching staff have been fabulous. With great gentleness and kindness, they fostered an environment of learning that was fun, stimulating and safe. At the same time, they helped guide the children towards an appreciation of higher social values – I find support in this area critical. I admired how the teacher’s, guided by the students’ interests, undauntedly tackled more advanced topics (e.g. the solar system) and achieved incredible success. Nicole’s retention of the facts was amazing, and she loved to recount at home what she had learned! We also very much appreciated the genuine interest the teachers displayed in Nicole’s progress.

We enjoyed the many “extras” CEFA provides, especially in the area of parental support. In particular, we appreciated the extended hours to accommodate working parents’ schedules, and providing meals for the children. Chef Tobin is to be commended on the child-friendly, yet nutritious food he prepares.

Last, but not least, let’s examine the product: Simply stated, Nicole has had a wonderful year. She was eager to get to school each day, and never failed to say “I had a great day” whenever I picked her up. She has made great strides intellectually and emotionally in the past year. Nicole will be a young, yet confident Kindergartener. We know she is well prepared.

Thank you for a very happy association with CEFA. We wish you and all your staff a wonderful summer, and much further success in the future.

Sincerely,

Sabine Ritson