Portokalokipos is a daycare and kindergarten located in western Thessaloniki. Since 2009, we've been providing a safe and welcoming space for children to learn and grow. Our facility includes an outdoor playground and specially designed areas where kids can play, learn, and express themselves.
Our mission at Portokalokipos is to support the emotional, social, moral, and physical development of each child in our care. We aim to promote critical thinking and creativity through small class sizes with experienced educators. Our learning environment is friendly, flexible, and stimulating, designed to encourage exploration and discovery. We approach every unique need with the most effective and caring way possible.
At Portokalokipos, we take an individualized approach to each child - addressing their unique needs in the most effective way possible, with tenderness and care.
That's why our kindergarten classes are small, with up to 10 children, and led by experienced teachers.
All our classes operate daily from 7:00am to 5:30pm, for a total of 11 1/2 months each year.
The school year begins on August 20th and ends on July 31st.
The educational program is grounded in the Ministry of Education's Detailed Program, university curricula, and contemporary understandings of early childhood education. When designing the program and selecting topics, we take into serious consideration the children's interests, prior learning and social experiences, personality, and cultural context.
Furthermore, our programs:
Earlybird's daycare offers nurturing care to infants between 6 and 30 months of age, with experienced nurses providing attentive support. We are there for their first steps, first words, and first difficulties, encouraging them to continue evolving through creative activities and tailored music and movement games. Our aim is to create a comfortable and warm environment where children feel safe and cared for, allowing them to integrate into society and learn basic rules of behavior while providing them with stimuli to "spread their own wings".
Our kindergarten has been catering to the needs of infants and toddlers for many years, providing stimuli to support their psychomotor, cognitive, emotional, and social development. Through experiential activities, innovative approaches, technological support, and years of expertise, we lay the foundation for their education and make learning a fun experience. Every year, we enthusiastically prioritize the children's interests and seek new approaches to various topics, always based on the Ministry of Education's detailed program. The experiences and skills they acquire at our school strengthen their subsequent educational development, their self-image, and the smooth progression of their personality, as we aim to foster their overall and comprehensive growth.
In our Junior class (for children aged 3-4), we focus on helping the children make a seamless transition from infancy to early childhood by creating an environment that fosters safety, love, and trust. At our school, children are introduced to an educational program that is full of stimulating games and experiential activities, with the goal of promoting the comprehensive and balanced development of each child as an individual. We work together to nurture their social, emotional, and cognitive growth, helping them lay the foundation for their future school years and their entire lives.
Breakfast and lunch are provided for the children based on a fully nutritious monthly meal plan. The ingredients are collected carefully and the meals are prepared in the well designed school kitchen while following the hygiene rules.
Our school provides a school bus for the safe and time-accurate transportation of the children.
Our school provides insurance for the children while they are in the school facilities.
We have a continuous partnership with a pediatrician for the aid and care of the children’s health. The doctor’s frequent visits to school aim to diagnose any possible symptom and to inform the parents faster of any potential health issue.
A visit to a pediatric dentist helps the prolepsis of potential dental and oral hygiene issues. The children learn to feel safe and familiar with the idea of a dental examination. In that way, a visit to the dentist does not seem… terrifying anymore!
Our child psychologist gets in touch with the children during the school activities and observes their emotional and social development. Furthermore, the psychologist provides advice to the parents concerning the normal growth of their children and informs them of any potential problem they are facing. Our aim is to boost the strong points and to enhance the weak points of the children.
In Portokalokipos we have a partnership with a logopaedic of high scientific education, who observes the speech progress of the children. Through the school activities and the interaction of the children, we can perceive any potential issue in their speech, such as stuttering, fast speaking and articulation disorders. Our goal is for speech therapy to be as fast as possible when it is necessary.
The advisory role of the Parents Club helps to confront with every-day difficulties and problems in children’s education. Our aim is to inform the parents, who, of course, want for their children to grow up in the best environment! We want that, too. For that reason, the meetings with the parents consist of short speeches and an experiential approach to each matter.
The activities of the Art Club help children to imagine and create.
Painting, arts and crafts and creative activities in general, contribute to the development of children’s aptitude and skills.
The children are able to expand their minds through creative expression and have fun at the same time!
The English Club is part of the school curriculum.
With the variety of educational material (audiovisual and speaking content), the children have the opportunity to learn English in a natural way.
The main goal of English classes is for children to be able to communicate in English by learning the language in an entertaining and educational environment.
The prep Music Club aims to develop the comprehension and enjoyment of music.
Furthermore, our musical activities help the children to grow their musical awareness and unleash their creativity.
The Physical Education Club helps the children to become fond of the active game and develop their moving skills and physical capabilities.
The Physical Education classes are based on the idea that our bodies are the fundamental knowledge tools. Through them one can not only obtain moving skills but also valuable skills for their mental, emotional and social development.
Our new program, Portokalokipos Early-Bird comprises classes for infants from 6-30 months old. With our tested music educational systems, the infants explore the variety of the world and they develop their skills. Experienced educators teach in small groups.
English 
Greek