We wish to offer you the following ideas to help you prepare your child for their first day of school.

• Talk a lot to the child and encourage them to express themselves. Listen to what they say.
• Ensure they have lots of experiences – visit the beach, bush areas, airport, railway station etc. Go shopping together and allow your child to help find items on your list.
• You may wish to teach them to write their name, define colours, shapes, sizes and how to do up shoelaces. Encourage them to cut out, paste, paint etc.
• If you child shows an interest in copying words, please make sure you do not print with capitals only.
• Teach you child to take care of personal belongings.
• Try to make sure that they are able to complete tasks you have set for them.
• Join the library and read books often to your child. Encourage your child to participate in the story.
• Encourage your child to become more independent

 

Pre-School Visits

Parents and children are encouraged to visit the new entrant classroom prior to the child starting on their first day. The main objectives of an introductory visit are:

• To familarise the child with the classroom and environment . All children deal with school visits different. Please feel free to stay in the classroom for the duration of the visit, or if you both feel comfortable, you are welcome to leave your child and return later.
• To encourage a positive parent / teacher, home / school relationship
• To observe the child and listen to parents analysis of their child, in particular any social, physical special needs for when the child starts school

School visits will include the daily programme of writing, news, physical education and / or reading. Ideally the child will rekindle friendships with his peers and start a positive relationship with the teacher.

School visits are held on a Friday morning (8.40am – 10.15am) and Thursday afternoon (1.00pm – 2.40pm). If these times are not suitable please contact the school office to make an alternative arrangement.

We ask you to report to the school office on your first preschool visit as parents need to sign a pre-enrolment permission slip and you will then be taken to the classroom.

Preschool Visits

Why have a pre school programme?

We believe that a smooth transition to school is important to ensure a good start to your child’s learning at school. This pre-school programme is designed to ensure that your child start school with a good grasp of pre literacy and numeracy skills, which prepares them for their learning journey before they arrive at school.

What are the benefits for your child?

• Introduces the children into the class routines and edict.
• Ignites the love of learning in your child.
• Provides one on one support for your child in the early stages of learning, which enables them to feel successful.

What are the benefits for parents?

• Models teaching strategies that parents can use at home
• Builds continuity between home and school learning.
• Enables parents and children to build on prior learning.

How will this programme work?

Children on our pre-school enrolment list and those intending to enrol at Makarewa School will be invited to attend this programme with an adult, one afternoon a week for 8 weeks. Each session will run for an hour and will be held on a Tuesday afternoon. These children would also have 2-3 school visits as part of the transition process.This pre-school programme is run by our new entrant teacher Cindy Russell.

What will your child do at these sessions?

Your child will be introduced to pre literacy skills and numeracy skills. There would be an expectation for parents and children to practise these newly learnt skills at home during the week.
We recognise that you, the parents, are your children's first and most important teachers.  During the preschool years you have a huge challenge to prepare your children so that they are prepared for school. 

Below is a checklist that sets out the experience and skills your children should have by day one.  

Area Details
Literacy	Have had a variety of experiences with listening to and learning stories and rhymes, reading books, drawing, colouring, painting and writing. Please encourage your child to Can hold my pencil correctly. Can write  & read my name. Knows some alphabet sounds Form some letters correctly. Hold a book correctly. Talk about the pictures on a page. Have a love of books. Begin to start to point to the words on a page.
Mathematical Skills	Can count objects up to 10. Can recognise numbers 1 -10. Can write numbers 1-10. Knows how old I am, and how old the members of my family are, including my pets.  Recognise coins and notes, and can handle money and buy simple things in a shop.  Know the basic shapes – square, triangle, circle, rectangle etc. Know the days of the week, and which are work-days and which are weekends.
Language Skills	Can converse confidently with adults and other children.  Can listen to what others say, listen and follow instructions, or react and respond appropriately.
Personal Care	Is capable of taking care of myself.  Can dress and feed myself, look after my belongings, take myself to the toilet, and take care of my personal hygiene.
Social Skills	I am able to socialise confidently with others and play and share in cooperative ways, and generally adapt my behaviour to suit the occasion.
Physical  Skills	I am physically skilled and active.  I can run, ride, crawl, skip, hop, jump, swing, climb, hit, throw and catch.