Transtion to school evening

Last night (November 3rd) we hosted a transition to school evening at KIDSPACE. We invited principals and new entrant teachers from a range of different primary schools in Napier/Taradale and had a fantastic turn out! We started off the evening with Jess doing a formal greeting in te reo followed by her mihi. Monica extended a warm welcome and spoke about what we hoped to gain from this evening. Cold drinks, nibbles and brownie slice was provided as teachers and princiapls mingled, chatted and were introduced to unfamiliar people.

We wrote up questions on big pieces of paper and put around the centre, encouraging people to answer them, providing us with feedback. Some included, 'How are new entrants doing on entering the classroom?; How do you use children's profiles from ECE?; In what ways can we strengthen the relationships between ECE services and new entrant classes?; What unstructured activites are available in new entrant classes to ease transitions e.g. mobilo, painting etc? After we have collated the feedback given, we will email out a copy to schools that attended and will post a copy on the blog.

Christine Dew from the Ministry of Education came along and spoke about transition to school, as this was her passsion area. She is the regional manager for ECE services based in Waikato.

Sue, the new entrant teacher from Westshore, and the principal Martin, spoke about the transiton class they hold one morning a week. This gives young children the opportunity to come along and get a feel for the school and routines early on. They have 'letter of the week', and children are encouraged to join in and give new things a go, such as the climbing wall in the school hall, which provides enjoyment as well a challange.

Thank you to the parents that came along last night. We value your contributions.

Ainslee