Starting school is usually an exciting event and an important milestone in your child’s life. It is also a time of great change and a shift in environment as they become a valued member of our Prep grades. By working together we hope the transition into school will be a positive and enjoyable experience for all concerned. We recognise the important role of parents in their child’s life and education and look forward to working with you. At Ruskin Park Primary School we encourage parents to assist with classroom activities, to participate in excursions and to volunteer to work on school committees. Parents are also encouraged to discuss their concerns with teachers who are willing to offer you assistance.
Before beginning school your child has had a variety of experiences and has learnt a great deal from you, your extended family and friends and is therefore on their way to a successful education. Together, working in partnership, we can ensure that your child’s joy of learning continues in a more formal setting. The importance of the first few years of schooling is well documented and our aim is to lay the foundation in literacy and numeracy to allow for future development.
Research has shown that students who leave the first three years of school unable to read or write make slower or little gain in later years. Literacy and Numeracy are of high priority throughout the school. Our school has adopted the “Early Years” Literacy and Numeracy Programs, to ensure a comprehensive approach to literacy and numeracy development. A key strategy in these programs is a close liaison between home and school.
Orientation Morning
This is held early in December (see dates booklet).
You will be contacted prior to this time to inform you of our child’s teacher, grade name and room number.
On Orientation Day your child will meet their class teacher and classmates between 9.30 – 10.30 am. Parents
are invited to meet each other in the General Purpose Room, where light refreshments will be supplied and an information
session will be conducted.
First
Day at School
We stagger the entry of Prep students at intervals of 15 minutes commencing
at 9.00 am, so their class teacher has an opportunity to greet each child individually. You will receive
a letter in January indicating your child’s arrival time on their important first day.
Please take your child directly to their classroom, where you will be greeted, given a name tag and shown their peg and locker. Please leave your child’s art smock and library bag in their locker. You will also need to give your child’s teacher their box of school supplies. Please ensure your child has morning play lunch on their first day.
Days Attending in February Only & “Get To Know
You Session”
In February Prep students will attend school from 9.00 –
3.30 pm. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday has been designated as a rest day at home.
However, our Prep teachers will conduct a “Get to Know You Session” with each child. Your child will be invited
to attend a one hour session during February, where they will work in a one on one situation with their class teacher.
The date and time of your child’s session will be organised early in February and you will receive written notification
advising you of the details.
Please escort your child to the classroom and help them put on their name tags for the subsequent weeks.
Prep Dismissal
During the first week only, the children will be dismissed at 12.30 pm. There is no need to provide lunch at school for
the first three days, however they will require play lunch and a drink.
During February your child’s teacher will ensure they have all their belongings at the conclusion of the day. They will walk them out to the concrete area between the buildings. Parents are asked to identify themselves as they collect their child, which ensures the children’s safety until teachers get to know you.
From the beginning of March the children will be dismissed from the classroom and parents will need to arrange a meeting place which is familiar to their child, eg. front gate, outside the library or the Prep area.
Parent Information Evening
You will be invited to attend a Parent Information evening
early in Term 1 and will have an opportunity to learn more about the curriculum.
Safety Zone for Prep Students
A Safety Zone directly outside the Prep entrance has been
established. During the first few weeks only Prep children are permitted to play in this area, although senior
students are permitted to walk through this area. Prep students will be supervised by their class teachers
during recess and lunchtime until they become secure and confident in the school playground.
The Buddy System
Every Prep student has been allocated a Year 6 student as
a “Buddy,” so that they have a senior student in the yard they can relate to. The Buddies also meet
regularly for cooperative learning activities during the year.
Parents as Tutors Program
Parents as Tutors is a program that helps parents understand
how children learn reading and writing, so that they can support their children’s learning at home.
The program is taken each year by the Years Prep & 1 teachers and is open to all interested parents free of
charge.
Perceptual Motor Program (PMP)
This program aims to teach children perceptions and understandings
of themselves through movement and motor experiences. Some of the many skills the program covers are locomotion,
balance, fitness, eye-hand and eye-foot coordination, body awareness, laterality, memory problem solving and the
development of language concepts.
For the program to run successfully, parental assistance is essential. The program runs once a week for an hour and five parents are required for each session. This program will run twice a week in Terms 2, 3 and 4 for Prep students if we have sufficient assistance.
Prep Information Night 2008
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Here
are some suggestions to support your child’s learning and help make your child’s transition to school easier.
You
may be surprised at how many you are doing already, and will probably be able to add to this list the activities
you already share with your child.
1. Provide opportunities for shared language experiences - So many places to go...
the city, the zoo, the seashore, art galleries, concerts... So many things to do... paint, make, cook, share and
discuss. Getting ready to go or do will mean making plans, and of course there will be many
recollections to be discussed afterwards.
2. Encourage questions - Five and six-year-olds are full of questions about why and how.
They
may annoy from time to time, but such questions are at the heart of investigating, and therefore learning. Listening
to and answering these questions seriously will help your child remain an active and curious learner.
Don’t
be afraid to ask questions of your child. (Questioning isn’t easy, and parents, like teachers, need practice!)
Parents
need to be continually asking questions which require more than just a yes/no/don’t know answer.
Don’t
be put off when your child’s answer to “What did you do at school today?” is “Nothing.” Be more specific – ask about friends, craft, reading time, singing, games
played, stories heard, etc.
3. Encourage children to discover for themselves - We all have to learn to take responsibility for our own learning.
Young
children are natural investigators. Don‘t always tell them all the answers, but do provide the means for them
to find their own answer. Much problem solving is learnt through play. Child psychologist Jean Piaget said, “... play is the child’s work.”
Encourage
active imaginative play, through dressing up, playing shop or mothers-and-fathers or school.
A
special messy place, such as a verandah or rumpus room, will help here.
4. Share reading experiences - At five and six the bedtime story is as important as ever.
After
the bedtime story, allow some quiet moments for reading in bed. Share new stories and poems, perhaps borrowed from the local library, and
rediscover the fun of old favourites. If in doubt about which books to choose, ask your librarian or your child’s
teacher to recommend some.
5. Encourage drawing and writing at home – When is a child ready to begin to draw and write? As soon as he or she is able to hold a crayon. Out of the scribble will eventually emerge pictures and words.
Keep
on hand a store of pencils, paper, paint, crayons, cardboard, safety scissors, etc. Encourage your child to use the correct grip when writing and drawing.
6. Sometimes “scribe” for your child – Write down a “story” as your child tells it, then read it back several
times. Display the “story” for the whole family to share, on the wall, noticeboard or refrigerator.
7. Put television viewing in its proper place – Most children enjoy watching television, but they also need time for playing,
reading, being out of doors - time for doing lots of things. Choose carefully what and how much your child watches on television.
8. Get to know your child’s teacher as a friend whom you and your child both
share -
The benefits of a good relationship between teacher and parent are obvious. Don’t hesitate to communicate with the teacher as you see the need - before
confusion arises or problems develop.
9. Support children in what they do at school - Display at home art and craft done at school, as well as stories written.
Help
children find things to take for school activities or themes - make-and-do boxes, objects for the science table,
clothes and objects for dress-up and imaginative play.
10. Share activities that develop mathematical skills - Before children move into formal mathematics they need to understand the ideas
and language. Talk to children using terms such as bigger, more, less, the same, etc.
11. Allow time to play in the sand and/or water with different size containers
- Talk
and question the child about this activity to develop concepts.
12. Talk about “Time” - Build up concepts about time passing by, using terms such as afternoon, tomorrow,
day of the week. Talk about how many sleeps until a special event etc.
13. Share simple cooking activities - Weighing, measuring, reading and planning are all involved in cooking.
14. Let children help with shopping - The children can make a list and perhaps have some money to spend.
15. Count with children when doing simple activities - Counting out plates,
setting the table and counting the places can help develop the concept of numbers.
16. Encourage independence - Help your child to learn to dress himself/herself, to be responsible for simple
chores and to put things away.
