What an exciting day this will be! The children will no doubt be full of excitement and nerves but we will try to make this special day as enjoyable and stress free as possible for the children and their families. On the first day, we hope, our parents and carers can take their Foundation children to their classrooms. The classrooms will be set up with games and activities to help settle the children. When parents/carers feel comfortable in leaving, they may do so!
As the term progresses and the children become more familiar with the morning routine, they will learn to change their reader, unpack their bag and then move outside for play. Staff supervision begins at 8.30am on the yard. The start of school bell sounds at 8.50am for the children to line up on the basketball court in their grades where they will be met by their teacher.
At the beginning of the day, the children will place their bag in their named bag hutch outside their classroom. School Lunch, to remain in their school bag until lunch time. The children take the following things into their classroom.
Student Diary, is placed in the clearly labelled tub.
Two fresh Fruit Snacks in named containers and their water bottle.
Library bag and art smock, your child’s teacher will show you where to put these.
At the end of the day, part of the routine as the children prepare to go home will include –
Time to tidy the classroom and make sure their table is neat and packed up.
Packing their bags, which includes; signed diaries, fruit containers, drink bottle and any notes from the school office to go home.
Sharing afternoon prayer as a class.
It is important that the children learn from the beginning of the year that packing and carrying their bag is their responsibility. It may take them a little longer as this is a new skill that they are learning, but allowing them to do so will help them form the necessary habits of their school routine.
After a very busy and exciting first day at school, the children will no doubt be very tired and ready to go home. To help us prepare the children for the afternoon ‘pack up’, we ask parents/carers to wait in the parent room or foyer until the glass doors are opened at 3:10pm.
At the end of the day, during Term 1 we will walk with the Foundation children to the basketball courts (weather permitting), where they can be met by their parents, carers or siblings, as the corridor can be busy.
With so many things to think about, here is a checklist of things to remember for the first day...
School bag, clearly named
Library bag, clearly named
Art smock, clearly named
A fruit snack, cut into small pieces, in a named container
Student Diary
Lunch Box, clearly named – containing a snack, and lunch.
School Hat – clearly named.
It is helpful if the children know what food is for lunch and for snack and limiting wrappers can make it easier for them to access their food.