Handy Tips For Starting School

Starting school is an exciting time for students and families. It can be a big step – particularly for those starting Foundation. Here are some tips on how you can help your child have a positive start to school at St Raphael’s Primary School, Preston West.

What You Can Do Before Your Child Starts School:

Ask your child what they think about starting school.
Encourage your child to ask questions about going to school.
Help your child stay healthy. Make sure they have regular health and dental checks and keep immunisations up to date.
Encourage your child to do things on their own. This could be dressing, going to the toilet, washing their hands, eating their food, opening and closing their drink bottle and lunchbox and packing and unpacking their school bag.
Play games with your child and make sure they have their turn last, or lose every now and then. This will help your child accept that things won't always go their way and it’s important to regulate their emotions.
Ensure your child recognises their own name.
Talk to friends and other families about what school is like.
Talk to your child’s early childhood educator about things you can do at home to help your child.
During your upcoming parent/teacher meeting, talk to the teachers about how your child learns best.
Become familiar with commencement dates and times that have been included in this pack.
Show your child where the school is and talk about how you will get there.
Arrange play times with other families whose children will be going to the same school. It helps if your child knows another child at their school at the start of Foundation.
Practise the things your child will need to do to get ready for school (e.g. putting things in their bag, remembering to take a hat).
Confirm your before or after school care arrangements and explain these to your child.
Be positive about starting school and enjoy your child’s excitement.
Visit your local library and read books with your child on a daily basis.
Encourage your child to pack up after themselves.
Give your child informal opportunities to play and get messy.
Encourage your child to practice using their fine motor skills by practising skills such as drawing and cutting.

The First Day of School

Make sure every item your child brings to school is labelled with their name. This includes all pieces of school uniform and small containers in their lunch boxes.
Make sure your child knows who will take them to school and pick them up on the first day.
Help your child to organise their uniform including their hat, shoes and socks jumper the night before.
Help your child to pack their school bag with a snack, drink, lunch and a hat.
Pack the amount and type of food you know your child will eat. It is best to avoid sugary treats.
Place a spare pair of underpants and a change of clothes in a plastic bag. Let your child know these clothes are in their bag in case of any accidents at school.
Put sunscreen on your child in the morning if it's needed.
Show your child where you will meet them at the end of the school day.
At the end of the day talk to your child about what happened at school. Use open-ended questions tags such as “What was fun today?”

The First Year of School

Find out about what your child is learning at school. Read the newsletter which will include fortnightly learning Intentions, weekly timetables and learning highlights. By keeping abreast of what is happening, you can support your child’s learning and find out how your child is adjusting to school.
If your child is having difficulty at school, talk to their teacher. Your child can also say what they think might help them.
Keep talking to your child about school. Ask them about their new experiences, what they like and what they find hard.
If your child goes to care before or after school, find a way of sharing your child’s needs with the staff.
Share feedback about your child’s experience of starting school with the school.
Organise time for your child and their new friends to play together outside of school.

Buddy Program

At St Raphael’s, we have a buddy program for Foundation children. All 2022 Foundation students have been partnered with a Year 6 student. This is to help your child have a welcoming experience from the very beginning.

The buddy system helps older children learn to take on responsibility. The younger children know that they have a fellow student they can go to for help.

Buddy systems help your child make friends and create a sense of belonging with the school community.

Your child will meet their buddy on their first day of school. Your child’s buddy will be with your child during each recess break and will support them in making and finding friends, lining up at the correct place after each bell, orienting and learning the location of facilities (e.g: toilet) and becoming familiar with the physical space of our school.

Handy Flyer to Stick on the Fridge: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/Tips-for-parents_Starting-Prep.pdf

We look forward to seeing your child in 2022!

Do You Have a Question?

We invite you to click on the link below to post questions you may have about your child starting school in 2022. Answers will be posted in our next newsletter.

Foundation 2022 Google Form

FAQ

Question 1-What will orientation and Head Start Week look like this year given the current climate and will the kids be interviewed/assessed like in previous years?

Answer:

At this stage, we are hoping the 2022 Foundation students will be able to attend their orientation sessions & the Teddy Bear's Picnic onsite during Head Start week as they have done in previous years. Head Start is scheduled to take place in Week 10 this term.

We will be conducting interviews with 2022 Foundation parents & children Monday to -Friday in Week 8. If parents have received both vaccinations, these interviews will be conducted onsite (more than likely outdoors). If parents have not been double vaccinated, the interviews will be conducted via Zoom.

All relevant dates and events are detailed in the 2022 Foundation pack that has recently been emailed to families this week. If there are any changes, parents will be notified via Skoolbag.

SPICE (Supported Playgroup Igniting Children's Engagement)

We are pleased to announce St Raphael's Playgroup will run once again next year. Playgroup will take place 9:30am-11:30am every Thursday, commencing Term One 2022. If you would like to attend our St Raphael's Playgroup with your pre-school child(ren) aged 0-6, please read through the attached agreement and complete the enrolment form. This form can also be found in the 2022 Foundation Pack that has been recently sent to families who have children starting school next year.

Completed forms may be emailed to the SPICE coordinator Lorraine Uzunovski uzul@srprestonwest.catholic.edu.au

We look forward to reconnecting with current families and meeting new families in our playgroup next year!

SPICE 2022 Agreement & Enrolment Form

Parent, teacher, and child Interviews for Foundation 2022

Parent, teacher, and child Interviews for Foundation 2022 will be held from Monday 22nd November - Friday 26th November 2021.

It is preferred these interviews are held in person and onsite at school for parents who are fully vaccinated.

For parents who are not fully vaccinated provision has been made via online Zoom meetings with the teachers.

As you would be aware the Victorian government requires schools to use the Service Victoria QR codes for electronic record keeping. It is now mandatory in all schools to enable the effective contact tracing of any COVID-19 cases.

Visitors to school grounds must comply with vaccination requirements, density limits, face mask requirements, QR code check-ins and practise respiratory etiquette and good hand hygiene. At this stage, the density limit of one person per four square metres should be applied to any spaces and activities being attended by parents/carers and other visitors. The density limit applies to all persons in the space, including students.

Meetings will be of 20 minutes duration. The booking system will be open from 4 pm on 08/11/2021 and will close at 4 pm on Sunday 21st November.

For these interviews we using the internet-based booking system called Parent Teacher On-Line (PTO). It will save time for parents, staff, and students! Using this system, you will be able to book the interview times that suit you best from any internet-connected computer or device.

Please access the system as follows: Go to the school’s home page: https://goo.gl/Mu61rU

The App can also be found on the App store or Google play.

When using the app, you will need to add your school using code 89n2z

EMAIL ACCESS TO PINS WILL BE USED

Click “Obtain PIN/Password” and enter your email address (Mother’s email address on our school database). Your PIN will be emailed to you. The email you receive will include a link that can be clicked on to log straight into PTO, bypassing the login screen.

Full instructions are provided to you after log in. Please note the following points:

When you log on, the system displays only your own child/children. Bookings are made for individual parents/guardians.

You will only see time slots that are available at the time you are using the system. As time slots are booked for teachers, those time slots are no longer displayed as available. PTO prevents double-booking of teachers or parents/guardians.

When you have made all the bookings you require, you can download or email a report of your bookings in time order for printing. You can log in and change bookings any time up to 4pm on Sunday 21st November

If you encounter any problems using PTO please contact Lynette Gamble by email lgamble@srprestonwest.catholic.edu.au

Dates to Remember

Term 4/ 2021