Miss Constance

About Twickel

“Twickel is a warm bath — for children and colleagues alike.”

Twickel is a public primary school in the Toolenburg district of Hoofddorp with more than 300 students. In addition to regular primary education, the school offers full-time gifted education. The population is a reflection of society, with more than 30 nationalities under one roof.

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Constance calls the atmosphere at Twickel “friendly and professional”. “We know almost all children by name. There is a lot of optimism, we see opportunities and assume that every child can develop.”

What makes Twickel special for her?

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“The diversity you see here is attractive. Together, we ensure that children can grow, get to know themselves and develop. Being who you are — that's a wonderful thing.”

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Vision on education

“Our mission is to prepare children for the future.”

At Twickel, children receive a solid basis, both cognitively and socially. As a training school, Twickel also trains future education professionals. The school exudes ambition and quality.

Reading has a central role in this:

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“Reading is learning. Every hour that a child reads is an extra hour of teaching time.”‍

Children build vocabulary, text comprehension and sense of language. And just as important:‍

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“Reading is just fun — a book is a movie in your head.”

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Social-emotional development also receives structural attention. In the drama lessons, children practice with familiar situations from daily life:

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“What do you do if someone sits too close to you on the train? You learn that you always have a choice in how you react, and what that evokes in the other person.”

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“Learning by ability” means that Twickel looks at each child as a unique person.

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“Each student develops at their own pace, with their own mix of talents. We provide a broad basis and space to discover your own qualities.”

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About her motives

“School must be a safe and familiar environment. The fact that children experience that is what drives me.”

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Constance once started at the PABO, out of love for working with children. After years in education and studying Educational Sciences, she worked in educational services as a trainer, coach and consultant. Nevertheless, education continued to grow.

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“After almost twenty years, it started to itch again. Twickel spoke to me directly, also because of the full-time (highly) gifted education. For me, the challenge lies in: giving every child the basis on which they can build.”

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What affects her every day?

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“The purity and individuality of each child. Providing a safe environment where individuality flourishes — that's meaningful work.”

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Parents & cooperation

“We can't do it alone — we do it with parents.”

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Twickel values open, respectful communication. Collaboration with parents is essential for every child's development.

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“That goes beyond help with the school trip. It's about really working together in counseling children.”

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This collaboration is palpable:

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“We have an active parent council that helps with all kinds of activities. In addition, we see a lot of great cooperation between parents and teachers in daily practice.”

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What makes Twickel unique

“Twickel really has its own character. You can feel it when you come in.”

What distinguishes Twickel from other primary schools in Hoofddorp:

• Full-time gifted education — unique in the region, with expertise in the characteristics of (highly) gifted children.
  
  
• Strong focus on reading — with two libraries, daily reading time and book promotion in each classroom.
  
  
• Courses by subject specialists — music/drama and gym are taught by subject teachers.
  
  
• Vision on ownership — through “impact on learning”, children learn to control their learning process themselves: where am I now, and what is my next step?
  
  

And then there is another typical Twickel initiative:

* “Heel Twickel bakes” — an annually organized baking competition for and by children. It shows beautifully how much space children have to organize something themselves.”

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