Starting School

Your child is legally entitled to start school at five years of age.

We will invite you and your child to our New Entrant family meeting the term prior to them starting school.  This enables the child to meet the teacher and become familiar with the new surrounding.  Three visits to the class are also arranged at the same time.

It is also an opportunity to fill in the forms necessary for enrolment.  These include:

•    Enrolment form
•    Health card – families are required to produce evidence that all vaccinations have been completed.
•    Dental clinic enrolment (if required)

New Entrants are dismissed daily at 3.00 pm.

The first day at school a New Entrant requires:

•    School bag (not too small)
•    Lunch
•    Play lunch – wrapped separately and named
•    Plastic drink bottle
•    Named clothing
•    Sun hat


Help your child at home before coming to school by:

•    Encouraging the learning of name and address well enough to repeat it
•    Getting to know the way to and from school
•    Talking about school so that there is an awareness of some of the activities, and that it will be a happy and interesting place to be
•    Reading and enjoying books together
•    Talking about walks, holidays, shopping and any other family experience
•    Using scissors
•    Printing name (not in capitals)
•    Putting away equipment and toys after using them
•    Putting on and doing up shoes and coat
•    Using a handkerchief and a tissue
•    Flushing the toilet and washing hands afterwards.


Parent Involvement:

There are many ways in which parents may participate in the life of the school.
In the Junior School parents may help in the Activity Programme or the Reading and Language Programmes.  Some other areas of participation are:

•    Making equipment at home or school
•    Road Crossing Duty
•    Lunchtime / Sport coaching activities
•    Security patrol
•    Library – book mending
•    PTA committee
•    PTA short term project
•    Disco
•    Lunch orders
•    Second hand uniform sales
•    School environment / trades people
•    Other personal interests/skills which could be utilized in the classroom

Junior Readers:

All Junior School children will bring readers, poetry books and alphabet activity books home to share with their parents.

Information for parents on how to help their children with reading at home, as they progress through reading stages, will be provided.

The cost of Junior Readers is rapidly increasing and we seek parent cooperation in ensuring that the books are well cared for and kept out of the reach of younger children.