STARTING KINDERGARTEN

Research has found that children learn best when they have a positive self-esteem. A positive self-esteem means the child feels loved and valued and is able to confidently interact with the world around them. Parents can help develop their child’s self-esteem and school readiness by:

• Talking positively about school and education
• Encouraging children's efforts, irrespective of results
• Encouraging them to socialise regularly with friends of the same age
• Encouraging active lifestyles and creative potential through painting, making things or just running around
• Providing them with responsibility e.g. setting the table/cleaning up after themselves
• Accepting that they will be at a different stage of development and will learn at different rates
• Allowing them to stay with relatives or friends occasionally to develop independence
• Reading to your child regularly, as research indicates this will have a significant influence on a child's 'readiness' for school

Building awareness that will assist the child but are not essential to know before they come to school include how to:

• Write or recognise their own name
• Recognise and take care of their own belongings
• Practice general self help skills such as shoelaces, zippers, opening containers and toileting
• Creating some familiarity with the alphabet and with numbers through talking about them when the opportunity arises
• Helping your child to distinguish between their fruitbreak, recess and lunch

Please remember that each child develops individually and it is very important children enjoy their opportunity to learn.

Religious Education - sharing your own faith and values with your children. Teaching them how to pray and allowing them to accompany you to church services.

Communication – take time to talk and to listen to your children, discussing the events of the day, asking questions, making observations and planning future activities.

Reading – read to your child, be seen as a reader, give books as presents or rewards, point out different signs in the street or whilst travelling and have plenty of books and print materials in the home.

Writing – let them see you write (notes to friends, shopping lists, etc.), provide a space for writing, praise their attempts as they begin to mimic writing and provide them with tools for writing (pens, pencils, paper, note books, crayons, tracing stencils)

Maths – encourage them to count common objects aloud (pegs when hanging out the washing, animals on the farm), use words such as more/less, equal/below/above, circle/square, name the different types of money and how much things cost. Allow your children to play with blocks to copy shapes and talk about the time (morning or afternoon).

TRANSITION TO HIGH SCHOOL

St Paul's strives to make the transition from primary school to high school smooth for Year 6 students. This can be a very unsettling time as students leave primary school as the "big fish" to go to high school and become the "small fish". This is also the time that friendships can be tested and change as students mature and move to different schools.

St Paul's is currently the feeder school for both St Joseph's Lochinvar and St Peter's Maitland.

Our Year 6 teachers take the time during Term 3 to meet with the Year 7 coordinators and discuss the needs of all students attending their school in the coming year.

Parents are also invited to make an appointment with the Learning Support Team if their child requires specialist support in transitioning to high school.