Ready for Prep

The start of the Prep year can not only be daunting for children, but for you as parents too. For parents, there are healthy lunchboxes to plan, car park drop-offs to coordinate and uniforms to organise. Many parents may worry: will their child make friends? Will they grasp the knack of reading? And even, will they stay awake for the entire school day?

At Pacific, we want parents to feel completely confident in our ability to handle your child’s big feelings. It’s our job as teachers to make our new Preppies feel comfortable and to show them how to make new friends.

We have a whole bag of tricks to help create a sense of family and unity from day one. Prep is so much fun! Parents can trust that we will support your child to manage all their emotions, from exhilaration to excitement, and even a little nervousness. By morning tea on the first day, it is smiles galore and we love to see every child embracing the adventure of learning.

The primary focus of Term 1 in Prep is building relationships, establishing values of kindness and respect, and developing core early literacy and numeracy skills. This conscientious approach ensures that each child is known and appreciated as a whole person who is very important to our Pacific family.

We love Term 1 because it’s a happy and warm time that we spend getting to know one another. The children spend a large part of each day talking, singing, making, drawing and laughing about the things we love – our families, our pets, our bikes and scooters, our grandparents and cousins, our favourite books and songs, our trips to the beach and our holidays camping.

We teach children about valuing difference and accepting people as they are. It’s beautiful to see the strong class bonds that form as they get to know each other better each day.

Some advice from me:

• Believe that your children will make the transition well and build their excitement about starting Prep, rather than focusing on their concerns.
• Read, read, read and then read some more. A rich vocabulary is the best advantage in starting school.
• Ask lots of “why’” questions as this helps prepare them to think, to justify and to consider alternatives; use play as the basis for these questions.
• Assist with building your child’s organisation and independence. They are so very capable and simply require the encouragement, support and belief in them that they can carry their own bag, unpack their lunch and change their shoes.

Prep is a wonderful year! It is full of fun, friends, warmth and connections, as well as an incredible amount of learning. Children are encouraged to thrive and embrace every opportunity to be independent and to grow. You just wait – you will be amazed at the leaps and bounds they take in their learning and social skills over the year. We encourage families to enjoy this exciting time. It flies!

Mrs Sue Zweck, Head of Learning K-5