SWAN Hill’s latest batch of prep students have strapped on their backpacks and filled their lunch boxes for the beginning of a thirteen-year journey this week.
The preps excitedly joined their buddies and teachers in the classroom as they settled in, along with tens of thousands of other chidren in schools across the state.
Among them was Beverford District Primary School (BDPS), which saw the largest influx of students in a decade, principal Phillip Cox said. “It’s the biggest intake we’ve had for ten years – there are nine new preps which we are pretty stoked with – to go with our seven preps from last 2022,” Mr Cox said.
“So we’re really growing, which is wonderful, and from those sixteen kids, there are 13 new families to the school.”
It can be a day with tears as kids leave mum and dad’s side, but for the preps at BDPS, it was nothing but smiles and laughs – it might have been a different story for the parents on the car ride home, though.
“We didn’t have any tears from the students – maybe a mum or dad shed one in the car park, but the kids were pretty happy to be here – which is a real testament to the transition program their teacher Chloe Wren ran last year,” Mr Cox said.
The transition program run by BDPS has been crucial in making the preps feel ready for this significant milestone in their lives, according to Mr Cox.
“We run come-and-try sessions in term three and then a more extensive program in November and December that gives the kids a good grounding,” he said.
“By the end of these sessions, they have a good idea of what schools going to look like for them and what the expectations are, so there’s hopefully no shock value for them.”
This week has been all about making sure the preps are eased into the processes that will dominate their lives across the next decade and a half, with plenty of fun and engaging activities occupying their busy minds.
“Basically, they’ve just been settling in and getting used to the routines,” Mr Cox said.
“They’ve been doing plenty of hands-on stuff and all the normal prep things like speaking, listening and counting.”
