Our Daycare Panel

Spaces Available 

Now accepting applications for January 2027 & September 2027

Prep-Kindergarten  &   Pre-Kindergarten

At La Citadelle, communication comes before everything else we do. When the youngest children are given the tools to communicate their thoughts and feelings, they gain confidence, and their world opens up. Our Daycare Panel, the LCA Daycare, is built on this principle. It brings together Prep-Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten in a school year program that forms the foundation of each child’s journey at La Citadelle.

Key Features

• Small classes, so every child is seen: capped at 3 children in Prep-Kindergarten and 5 in Pre-Kindergarten.
• Communication at the centre: language, expression and confidence are built into every activity.
• English instruction with daily French: the program is taught in English, with French learning every day. Many children join us speaking neither English nor French, and the program gives every child the words to be understood and to understand others.
• Learning through discovery: early reading and writing, mathematics, the sciences, music, art and play.
• Individual attention: our Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE) and team support the progress of each child.
• All workbooks provided by the school.
• A full day, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., included in the fees.
• After school care until 5:30 p.m., available for $1,500 annually.
• Meals and snacks included.
• No admission fee.
• Four report cards a year, Parent-Teacher interviews, and daily interactions between parents and teachers.
• Part of the school community: children take part in daily school life and school wide events.

Science Fair

Social Time

A Foundation in Communication

Early childhood is when children begin to put their ideas, needs and emotions into words. The program develops this ability deliberately, through conversation, songs, and stories and shared activities, so that each child gains the confidence to take part, to ask questions and to connect with others. Early reading and writing grow out of this foundation, as children learn to recognize letters, sounds and words, and to make their first marks with meaning. Daily French learning starts each child’s bilingual journey and prepares them for the Kindergarten Panel.

Every Child Is Seen

We cap our classes so that our educators can support each child and each child can be truly seen, with 3 children in Prep-Kindergarten (age 2) and 5 in Pre-Kindergarten (age 3). At these ages, a few months can make a significant difference in a child’s development. For this reason, our Registered Early Childhood Educator and team work with each child individually, using workbooks provided by the school,  giving the attention every child needs to progress in a nurturing way. This attention to each child shapes the pace of the program, so that every child moves forward with confidence and joy.

Learning Through Themes and Play

Learning is organized around themes that bring the world around the children into the classroom. Within each theme, children develop early reading and writing, count, sort and measure as an introduction to mathematics, observe and explore through the sciences, create through art, and express themselves through music and movement. Focused activities and purposeful play work together, so children build early skills while developing curiosity, focus and a love of discovery. Daily movement and attention to nutrition encourage healthy habits from the earliest years.

More Than Care

Our Daycare Panel is more than care; it is part of the foundational fabric of the school. Children take part in the life of La Citadelle alongside students of all ages, joining school wide events such as the science fair and the art exhibition. At the end of each day, social time brings reading and play with senior student volunteers, under the supervision of our Registered Early Childhood Educator. Together with the attention given to each child, this helps our youngest students feel part of the wider community and feel safe and loved by everyone in it. They begin their schooling journey with excitement and pride, and the move into the Kindergarten Panel becomes a natural continuation.

Fun with Friends

Discovering

Home and School, United Around the Child

We understand that many families work and need to know their children are safe, happy, learning and properly supervised. Daycare fees cover the full day from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., meals and snacks are included, and after-school care until 5:30 p.m. is available for families who need a longer day. Families receive four report cards a year and meet with teachers at Parent-Teacher interviews, and parents and teachers communicate daily. Home and school stay united around each child, their learning and their well-being.

Financial Information

No Admission Fee
Families joining the Daycare Panel pay no admission fee.

Included in Daycare Fees

• The full day, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Meals & snacks
• All workbooks
• All notebooks
• School issued knapsack bag & cot sheet

Additional Costs

• Uniform
• Annual school fees (Parent Committee, Student Council, Building Fund & Student Personal Account)
• After school care: 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., $1,500 annually

Admission

The Daycare Panel welcomes children aged 2 (Prep-Kindergarten) and 3 (Pre-Kindergarten).

Children must be toilet trained at the time of entry.

Places are limited, and priority is given to siblings of current students and to referred families.