FAQ
After-School programs
How long does the After-School program run each day?
Each After-School program runs from 3.30pm to 5.00pm. Our coaches usually pick up the kids at the school canteen before class. Pick up time is at 5.00pm.
What should I pack in my child’s bag?
Parents are required to pack afternoon tea and drinks for their child/ren. Please ensure that it is nuts free. Our coaches will be there to supervise the children at each meal.
Holiday Programs
How long does the holiday program run each day?
Each Holiday program runs from 9.00am to 5.00pm. Drop off time is from 8.45am and pick up time is between 4.00pm to 5.00pm.
What should I pack in my child’s bag?
Parents are required to pack morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and drinks for their child/ren. Please ensure that it is nuts free. Our coaches will be there to supervise the children at each meal. Every child should have a hat for outdoor. Please make sure that they have sunscreen on before arriving.
Are the kids working on the laptops all day?
Our goal is to use technology as a median to spark interest, creativity and learning. Therefore, we use of laptops during coding and robotics sessions. However, the central focus of our program is to cultivate learning through play! Hence, a large portion of our programs involves team building challenges, science experiments, presentations and group discussions where laptops merely act as a facilitation tool.
Do the kids go out during the day?
Kids will be playing at the park or playground during morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea breaks.
All Programs
Does my child need to bring their own laptop and robots?
We will supply the devices and equipment required throughout the whole program.
How many kids are there in each classroom?
Class sizes vary depending upon location. Regardless of the class size we maintain incredibly strong coaches to students ratio so all kids get the attention and support they need. Class sizes typically range from 20 to 30 children with usually one lead coach and 2-3 assistant coaches (depending on number of students).
Are the coaches trained in first aid?
Yes, we always ensure that at least 2 coaches are first aid qualified for each program.
Do the coaches have Working With Children Check?
It is mandatory that all our coaches have Working With Children Check before starting work at PIEX.
Do parents need to be present at the program?
Parents do not have to be present at the program. At the end of each program, parents will be invited to watch their kid’s presentation.
Why put kids with different ages together?
Our program is designed to simulate real life experiences where kids from all ages, genders and cultural/social backgrounds are require to work together. We encourage kids to work with each other and be mindful and considerate.
We as a company are striving to develop a program that does not discriminate gender or age and make the effort to encourage all students, especially ‘weaker kids’, to engage in our activities and to not be afraid to fight stereotypes and show that anything is possible despite their gender and age. We encourage the children to be confident in themselves and to overcome obstacles that they face.
What is the benefit of attending the PIEX program?
We designed our program activities to stimulate self-directed learning, creative thinking, team work, project design and management, and presentation skills. All our materials and instruction guides are developed by Experts based on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) themes which promotes deep learning, inter-disciplinary knowledge and day to day practical application. Similarly, the activities also illustrate to the children the importance of persistence, collaboration, communication and problem solving skills. Children discuss, brain-storm, share and communicate their ideas with one another while working on their projects. The children also cultivate and foster friendship with each other.
What is PIEX philosophy and teaching method?
We believe children need to develop self-directed learning and social skills early to become independent thinkers and problem solvers and future leaders.
The PIEX Program is a unique program and we are purposefully stay away from the traditional education system where kids are asked to sit in rows and listen to the teachers all day and this is why our coaches are called coaches rather than teachers. Our program is about experiential learning where they learn through play, collaborate with others through hands on experience.
How long does the holiday and after school program run each day?
- Each Holiday program runs from 9.00am to 5.00pm. Drop off time is from 8.45am and pick up between 4.00pm to 5.00pm.
- Each after school program runs from 3.30pm to 5.00pm. Our coaches usually pick the kids up at the school canteen before class. Pick up time is at 5.00pm.
What should I pack in my child’s bag?
- Parents are required to pack morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and drinks for their child/ren. Please ensure that it is nuts free. Our coaches will be there to supervise the children at each meal.
- Every child should have a hat for outdoor. Please also make sure they have sunscreen on before arriving.
Are the kids working on the laptops all day?
- Our goal is to use technology as a median to spark interest, creativity and learning, therefore the use of laptops during coding and robotics sessions. However, the central focus is on cultivate learning through play! Therefore, a large portion of our programs involves team building challenges, science experiments, presentation and group discussions where laptops merely act as a facilitation tool.
Does my child need to bring their own laptop and robots?
- we’ll supply the devices and equipment required throughout the whole program.
Do the kids go out during the day?
- Kids will be playing at the park or playground during morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea breaks.
How many kids are there in each classroom?
- Class sizes vary depending upon location. Regardless of the class size we maintain incredibly strong coaches to students ratio so all kids get the attention and support they need.
- Class sizes typically range from 20 to 30 children with usually one lead coach and 2-3 assistant coaches (depending on number of students).
Are the coaches have first aid training?
- Yes, we always ensure that at least 2 coaches are first aid qualified for each program.
Do the coaches have Working With Children Check?
- It is mandatory that all our coaches have Working With Children Check before they work with PIEX.
Do parents need to be present at the program?
- Parents do not have to be present at the program. At the end of each program, parents will be invited to watch their kids presentations.
Why put kids with different ages together?
Thirdly, our program is designed to simulate real life experiences where kids from all ages, genders and cultural backgrounds are asked to work together. In real life you will not be working with just people your own age or exclusively your own gender and this is evident in industries such as the finance, science and engineering fields that are male dominated. It is important to expose our children, especially our girls at an early age, to work effectively within communities and industries that are predominately male and precisely when they want to build on their experience and move up the social and working ladder.
We as a company are striving to develop a program that does not discriminate gender or age and make the effort to encourage all students, especially girls, to engage in our activities and to not be afraid to fight stereotypes and show that anything is possible despite their gender and age. We need to encourage our girls to be confident in themselves and to overcome obstacles that they face.
What is the benefit of attending the PIEX program?
We purposefully designed our activity, the engineering challenge, to be structured on creative thinking and student based. We provide instructions and materials for the occasion but we do not spoon feed the students. We do not show them specifically how to build a perfect tower, or what specific shape that they should use, or whether they should use all of the materials, it is important that they learn this through discovery so that they can understand that it is fine to make mistakes and face challenges that knock them down. “You will only fail to learn if you do not learn from failing”-Stella Adler. This challenge was designed to illustrate the importance of collaboration, communication and problem solving. We want to promote teamwork, which many students lack and struggle with, where students discuss and share ideas and communicate their concerns and the possibilities that they believe may work for the task. Problem solving comes in to play as students work on problems that may arise.
In the 21st century, it is not sufficient for kids to excel in their studies only. According to World Economic Forum, the top 4 skills required in the 21st century to prepare for their future jobs include critical thinking and problem solving, creativity, communication and collaboration. There are other skills which such as leadership, persistence and curiosity which our program will help our children to develop
What is PIEX philosophy and teaching method?
The PIEX Program is an unique program and we are purposefully straying away from the traditional education system where kids are asked to sit in rows and listen to the teachers all day and this is why our coaches are called coaches rather than teachers. Our program is about experiential learning where they learn through play, collaborating with others and having hands on experience. Our program is designed to develop individuals to be future innovators, influencers and leaders but not followers. The world has moved forward significantly since the industrial revolution but our education system is struggling to change for more than 150 years. Kids are required to be independent thinkers and problem solvers.
What will my kids be doing throughout the holiday?
- Below is a sample schedule of the 3 days holiday program. It varies slightly depends on the location.
Time | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 |
9:00 – 9:15 | Welcome Parents / children arrive | ||
9:15 – 9:30 | Introduction game | ||
9:30 – 10:30 | Scratch (Intro) | Scratch Lab time | Observe & Ideate |
10:30 -11:00 | Morning tea & play | ||
11:00 – 12:00 | Engineering Challenge | STEAM Investigator | Design |
12:00 – 1:00 | Lunch | ||
1:00 – 1:15 | Mindful game | ||
1:15 – 2:15 | Robotics | Create & Test Reflection | |
2:15 – 3:00 | Science Experiment | ||
3:00 – 3:30 | Afternoon tea & play | ||
3:30 – 4:30 | Choice time | Watch documentary | Presentation preparation |
4:30 – 5:00 | Reflection and free play | Kids presentation |
What is the Creative Kids voucher and how to redeem it with PIEX?
With the goal to help kids get creative, the NSW Government has started the new Creative Kids program. In 2019 parents, guardians and carers can claim a $100 voucher per year for students from 4.5 to 18 years old to put towards the cost of creative lessons and activities. As an approved provider for the program, you can redeem your voucher with us for our coding and robotics holiday program by following these steps:
- Step 1: Apply for a Creative Kids voucher at https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-creative-kids-voucher
- Step 2: Register for our holiday program at https://www.piexeducation.com/enrolment/
- Step 3: Email your voucher to liling@piexeducation.com. The refund will be paid to you once the voucher is processed. (This might take up to 5 working days)
