Transition to school meeting

September 2nd 2009

We are holding a meeting on this evening with local New Entrant teachers from Rhode Street School and Koromatua to discuss children's learnng and development and the expectations held for children entering school as a new entrant.


It will be an informative evening for parents and interested friends/family.

Please note this meeting is not suitable for children to attend.

My name

It is a big help if children can write their name before they go to school because that can be a useful link for teachers to use when teaching them other words or letters. Young children go through stages of writing before they become competent so as teachers we support these stages bridging the children s accuracy and knowledge sensitively so that their confidence remains intact.

Children get a sense of pride from saying, "I can write my name". It is an important part of forming their identity.

We encourage the children to be able to recognize their name on sight before they start school also. Obviously naming clothing, lunchboxes and so on helps reinforce the recognition of their name.

If your child is struggling to recognize their name concentrate on the beginning letter as a starting point of recognition. As they make connections they will become more familiar with the other letters in their name.

What will my child need to start school?

Preparing for school will largely depend on where your child is going to go to school. You may need to get a school uniform. Many schools have a second hand uniform store available if you do not wish to buy brand new clothing. The school will probably give you a list of books/stationery that you will need to purchase before or on the day your child starts school. A PVC book bag will probably be part of the starter pack but if not I recommend one to protect school books.

Your child will need: (Don't forget to name everything!)

• A school bag (big enough to put book bag, lunch box, sweat shirt or jacket in)
• A lunch box
• Waterproof coat
• sunhat for summer months

Make sure your child's bag is not too small or too big for your little person! Be sure to adjust the straps if your child has a back pack so that the pack fits your child comfortably. Children can get back injuries from poorly adjusted and overloaded bags.

Friends

Knowing other children at school or in your child's new class can really help settle your child. When we know what school a child is going to we often talk about who will be in their class that they know and whether they have other siblings, relatives and friends at the school. This helps reassure the child that they have others to seek out to comfort and support them if they need reassurance or help.

Breakfast is vital to learning

Research shows breakfast is the most important meal of the day for children and adults alike. A decent breakfast provides the body with energy to kick start the brain and body for learning. Little bodies need lots of sustaining throughout the day so lots of healthy snacks in their lunch boxes is important to see them through the day and fueling their brains. It is better to have too much food in their lunch box rather than not enough. Hungry children can't concentrate properly.

Often when children start school they eat all their lunch at playtime so it pays to put a special playtime snack in a small container and train your child to eat from that at playtime and their lunchbox only at lunchtime. Always put more in especially in the early weeks of school. Encourage your child to bring uneaten food home that way you can get an idea of what they are or are not eating plus you can reuse unopened or uneaten food.

Don't forget to ask your child what they do or do not like as it can save hungry children and waste.

Extra clothes

Just like at kindergarten it pays to put an extra change of clothing in your child's bag. Children can often:

• forget to go to the toilet
• forget where the toilet is
  
• be too scare to ask to go to the toilet
• be too scare to go to the toilet alone
• get too involved in activities
• think they can only go to the toilet during interval and lunch breaks

so accidents sometimes happen in the early days even for children who have been toilet trained for years or are familiar with school and staff.

New Entrants from Rhode Street visit

Miss Ryan and our friends from Room 9 at Rhode Street come to visit us most weeks. This helps with the smooth transition of our children moving on to Rhode Street School from kindergarten. The children begin to build relationships with their new teacher and classmates while still having the support of their kindergarten teachers and peers. The kindergarten and Room 9 children look forward to this regular contact as do the teachers!