Starting kindergarten is a really exciting time in your child's life. We welcome you to our wonderful school community and we look forward to getting to know you.
Attending school on time every day is really important as the habits start to form in Kindergarten that will set them up for the rest of their lives. Keeping routines at school helps children succeed as they are able to focus on their learning rather than remembering where things go and what to do. Routines also help children build their confidence and independence.
The change from early childhood settings to Kindergarten will mean lots of new learning as more structure to the day is introduced. When your child starts Kindergarten the teachers will start helping them to learn new routines such as how to unpack their bag, where to find the toilets and when to eat their lunch.
Literacy and numeracy, as well as social development, are the main focus areas in Kindergarten and the teachers will spend a significant amount of the day teaching skills in these areas. In the resources section of this site you will find some great ideas to help support your child's learning at home.
If you child arrives after 9am they will need a late slip from the office. You will need to ring the door bell and wait for a member of the administration team to meet you. All school gates are locked at 9am
Bags will be unpacked with hats and jackets placed in tote trays. Each child has a locker allocated to them that has space for a bag and tote tray to keep their belonging in. Children will need to be able to unpack their bags with minimal teacher support. At the start of the year there will be more staff allocated to support Kindergarten to establish routines. At the start of each term the class teacher will send home a term overview that outlines in more detail what will be taught.
This will include shared, guided and independent reading. Writing, handwriting and speaking and listening will also be taught. If you look at the resources section you will find more detailed information about each area.
The library program is a part of literacy skill development and the children will attend library once a week for about 30 minutes.
At the start of the year teachers will support the children to become independent with eating recess. Additional time will be provided until the children become more confident. Eating time is a big change from early childhood settings as there are allocated times to eat and the children can not help themselves to food throughout the day. The school does not provide a fridge to store food.
The children can play anywhere on the playground. Often the children's buddies (year 6 student) come and play with them.
Learning about maths is more than just number work. The children will learn about mathematical thinking, shapes, measurement, simple data collection, addition, subtraction and simple division and multiplication. The teacher will scaffold learning so that each lesson builds on from the previous lesson. In Kindergarten many maths activities are hands on as the children manipulate materials to support their learning.
Fitness involves vigorous activities and learning new games. Fundamental movement skills are also taught.
The teacher will supervise the children as they eat their lunch. Sometimes they may take longer than the allocated 10 mins and may choose to take their food to the playground.
The children may play anywhere on the playground. Teachers on duty wear a bright orange vest so they can be easily identified.
After lunch all classes come inside and read quietly for 15 mins. This allows them time to settle and get ready for the afternoon session. Whilst each teacher's class timetable will vary, most afternoons will have one or two of the other learning areas taught. Sometimes lessons are grouped together for example reading a factual science book during modeled reading.
Teachers will walk their class to the pick up area. Children place their hands on their heads when they spot their family member. At the start of the year there will be staggered drop off and pick up times.
The children will also participate in two hours per week of Italian or Mandarin lessons.
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