Junior Primary Handbook

Welcome to Clifton

Clifton and ‘big school’ is a new and exciting experience for families. We would like to welcome you and your children to the Clifton Notties family.

In Grade 1, children make remarkable physical, academic, and social growth. They will most likely have outgrown their clothing by half-year and become independent little readers and writers, too. School routines become more formal, with designated times for work and play. The content of topics is deeper and broader, and the children are encouraged to question, challenge and be flexible in their application of knowledge to problems posed.

The Grade 2 year is a fun year where all the hard work of Grade 1 is realised. Children start to see what they can do independently. This is where they start getting ready for the more formal Grade 3 curriculum. Children come into Grade 2 reading and writing basic sentences and end the year writing their own stories and reading more challenging books on their own. Along with the academic programme, we aim to encourage a love and appreciation for our country, in particular our wildlife. This is fostered through the various themes covered during the year.

The Grade 3 year is the final year of the Junior Primary phase, and for this reason, is a very important year for the pupils. They begin to work more independently, and more is expected of them as far as quality and quantity of work is concerned.

Children and Staff Respect the Following Principles:

Support for self-directed learning
Programmes which reflect the real world and its changing nature
The recognition and support of individual needs and aspirations
Involvement of the parents and the community
Striving for the development of lifelong learning
Maintaining flexibility and accountability within the academic curriculum
Fostering critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, risk-taking and decision-making

What we Expect from our Children

One of our main objectives is to ensure that all of the children know the classroom rules and are aware of the boundaries.
They must feel free to ask questions at any time and are encouraged to never copy work from another pupil, but should rather ask for assistance.
We encourage class discussion and we are always happy to hear the children’s views and enjoy listening to their news.
We would like to be informed of any happenings that could affect the child emotionally and hamper their progress.
It is one of our main objectives to ensure that all of our pupils are happy and encouraged to work to the best of their abilities.
We expect the pupils to tell us about any classroom conflict situations which might arise, as these can be rectified at school rather than at home.
We do have an open-door policy and encourage parental input. We are always available for discussion with parents.
We believe competence needs to be built through appropriately pitched, differentiated work and quality feedback, and that confidence must be developed to ensure that each pupil maintains a good self-image.