Wellbeing

Transition

2023 Preps 

We have had the opportunity to have some of our 2023 Preps join us for our Prep Play days over the last few week. These days have provided the opportunity for the children to participate in some unstructured play in our amazing playground, as well as the opportunity to have some structured learning and activities in the classroom. This supports our future students in getting to know our space and routines which will provide them more confidence when it comes to day 1 of prep. 

We have one last Prep Play day which is on the 6th of December from 12:15pm -1:00pm in which we encourage all 2023 preps to join us to become familiar with our learning spaces.

If you have a child beginning in Prep with us next year, below are some strategies that could support their transition:

-practice packing and unpacking their bag 

-practice taking their jumper on and off 

-practice asking for help

-talk to them about the different feelings they may be feeling

We are so excited for our 2023 preps to be a part of our Pod Learning Community. 

TRANSITION IS FOR ALL STUDENTS

For all of our current students, Transition Week will be held in Week 11 (December 12th to December 16th). This will include two days (Monday and Friday) where your child will spend a day with a teacher that will be a part of their community in 2023 (not their 2023 homeroom teacher). These transitions will be held in the spaces that they will be learning in in 2023.  

We ensure that all of our learning communities are consistent in approach and learning philosophy. This ensures that our students can rely on familiar routines, organisation and learning structures to support psychological safety and confidence. All classrooms that your child may enter has familiar furniture, consistent vocabulary, similar calls to attention and management strategies.  This helps create continuity in the use of spaces as well as a sense of calm and safety so that your child can put all of their focus on the learning processes that are so familiar to them. 

2023 Junior Learning Community 

In 2023 our Junior Learning Community will be relocating to the Blossom Learning Community - the relocatable classrooms behind the Gumnut Learning Community. Our transition approach with our current Preps and Year 1 students will be focused on supporting our students in adapting to this new environment. The classrooms are double portables with open spaces across the classrooms, which mimic can mimic the collaboration spaces used in our current buildings. How we have worked will continue to be the way, building a community that strives through strong peer collaboration, with Junior students moving in and out of Home rooms to work alongside many different peers and teachers across the Community.  If you have a Prep or Year 1 child that will be in our Junior Community next year, you can assist in supporting this transition by beginning to talk about the space they will be in next year.  During the week of transition, our teachers will begin preparing them by visiting and sharing this space with them.

The Gumnut Learning Community welcomes our Year 2 students

In 2023, our Middle and Senior Community will remain in the Gumnut building they currently occupy. Our current Year 2 students will have the biggest shift during transition, moving to a different environment but also being surrounded by older peers, which may be easy or challenging for some. This transition will be strongly supported by the Middle and Senior Teaching Team who understand the anxiety and perhaps reservation some of our younger students may feel. This will not be too dissimilar to the feelings of a new Prep child beginning or a Year 6 moving to Year 7 at the beginning of a school year. 

Change is a necessary experience that strengthens our mindset and skillset. The big feelings that our students sometimes experience at this time of year are normal and should be acknowledged as such. The opportunity for our new Senior students to embrace their leadership title and our expectation that 'Big kids look after Little Kids' is one that will be reiterated during this time and into next year. Building a community that demonstrates Be KIND begins in this week. 

As always, please speak to your homeroom teacher if you believe your child needs may need extra support within this transition time.