Starting school is an exciting time for your child and family. Preparing your child for their transition to school lays the groundwork for their future learning and development. At St Paul's we encourage learning through play and promote a sense of belonging through building relationships that will put students on the path to success.
Preparing Your Child for the Beginning of School
Talk positively and confidently about starting and attending school
Read books together about starting school
Speak with your child about the change in their daily routine, how will they get to school, what time they have to get up in the morning and what they will have in their lunch box
Tell your child about what they could do if they are worried or need help at school e.g. school buddies, classroom teachers, teachers on duty, etc
Be involved in the St Paul's online school community e.g. Seesaw, the St Paul's Facebook page and Compass
Develop family routines at home to support your child’s learning at school e.g. read with your child each night
Engage in meaningful play with your child
Participate in fine motor activities
Practice one and two step instructions, for example, please go to the fridge and bring the milk to the bench
Work on self care, such as the children independently putting their belongings away, putting shoes and jumper on and off and independent toileting
Encourage your child to learn to recognise their own name
The Importance of Play
The familiarity of play fosters a sense of safety and comfort for children and is an important part of school transition that gives children the opportunity to develop the social skills necessary for school success. Being able to choose what to play and who to play with develops personal responsibility, and gives children time to practice and consolidate their skills in working with others.
Through play, children learn to:
emotionally regulate
be creative
be resilient
cooperate
collaborate
solve problems
develop their language, social and communication skills
Play encourages children to:
move more
develop physical skills
increase their confidence
Build relationships
Literacy and Numeracy prior to school
Early Literacy and numeracy skills begin with oral language and play.
Activities that can promote early literacy skills include:
Shared book reading – being read to, and looking at books.
Talking about books, the pictures in books, and what is happening in the story.
Having conversations
Drawing
Thinking aloud and sharing with your child what you are doing.
Questions – ask open-ended questions – how, why, what do you think?
Story telling
Songs, rhymes and word play
Encouraging your child to talk and contribute to discussions.
Use praise and encouraging comments.
Play with your child, model turn taking in conversations.
Dress ups
Play
Activities that promote early numeracy skills include:
Counting buttons as you get dressed
Playing dominoes, card games and board games involving dice
Talking about numbers seen whilst at the grocery shop
Making wrapping paper with a repeated pattern
Making shapes with play dough
Playing with measuring cups and containers
Putting sticks or leaves from the garden in order from smallest to largest
Building relationships and connecting with the School Community
Building and developing relationships with the school community fosters a sense of belonging and promotes a sense of wellbeing for children starting school. There are many opportunities for parents to connect and actively participate in the St Paul's school community.
Connecting with your classroom teacher
At this stage in the transition process, the current kinder teachers and executive members of the school community are able to access and communicate through Compass. We encourage you to look out for updates and alerts. Once your child starts kindergarten the class teachers will communicate with you through Seesaw.
The school Facebook page, Compass app and newsletters are great ways to keep up to date with current and upcoming events at St Paul's. The school Facebook page is accessible to all parents and is a lovely way for you and your child to establish a connection to the school community.
St Paul's Parish Community
Throughout the year, our school participates in liturgies at our local parish, St Paul's Catholic Church. As part of our religious studies, the students visit the church to develop their understanding of the church and its symbols. It would be lovely to see some of our future kinder children and their families at a parish mass. For further information about mass times, etc please visit the parish website below