Prep Handbook 2021
Welcome! Cathedral College Wangaratta offers a warm welcome to all the children and the parents of our Prep 2021 class. Starting school is a very exciting time for children and parents. It is important to make the experience as enjoyable and positive as possible. We look forward to forming a strong partnership in the educational and emotional interests of your child, and sharing a happy and rewarding Prep year together.
Principal: Mr Nick Jones Head of Junior School: Mr. Greg Newbold Prep Teachers: Mrs. Marcelle Gerrish and Mrs. Tali Silva Prep – Year Two, Year Level Coordinator: Mrs. Marcelle Gerrish
For a child, starting school is an exciting new experience. At Cathedral College Wangaratta, your child will have new classmates and friends with whom they will share their days. They will find teachers who respect them as individuals, will support them educationally, socially and emotionally, and in whom they can trust. In the classroom, we aim to create a relaxed, fun, engaging learning environment in which the children are treated as individuals and encouraged to provide their best effort and strive to maximise their abilities. WHAT WILL MY CHILD LEARN AT SCHOOL IN PREP? In Prep, the children develop skills that are the foundation stones for future learning and success at school. Prep children will learn to: • Speak to a variety of audiences and to listen to others. • Develop literacy and numeracy skills through a wide range of learning contexts. • Express themselves through art and music. • Participate in regular exercise, develop motor co-ordination and develop good healthy eating habits. • Engage with their world and learn how to be part of a community. • Use technology as a tool for learning. • Be active, responsible learners. • Appreciate that learning is a process where mistakes can be made. • Reflect on what they have learnt.
COMMUNICATION Communication is a vital part of parent/teacher relationships. There are two important modes of communication we utilise. Firstly, each week, your child will bring home a Prep newsletter. This will be full of information that is relevant to each class. Secondly, your child will have a school diary that is used as a communication tool between parent and teacher. The classroom teacher checks these daily. It may contain printed notes and written comments. The Cathedral College Wangaratta newsletter, Digistorm App and the Cathedral College Wangaratta Facebook Page are where you will find information regarding the wider school community.
REPORTING TO PARENTS Parent Teacher Interviews are scheduled in the first and third terms. These are opportunities for you to meet with your child’s teacher and discuss your child’s progress at school. School reports are sent home at the end of Term Two and Term Four. Please do not ever think something is too small to talk about. Our doors are ‘always open’, so please feel free to drop in, ring us at school or write a note in the diary to discuss any queries or questions you may have.
ATTENDANCE The children will start school on Monday February 1; however, in Term One, as a way of ensuring that they do not tire too much as they familiarise themselves with the increased demands of school, the children do not attend school on the following Wednesdays: February 3, 10, 17 and 24 The children have these days off to allow them to rest and recuperate. Individual teacher/student interviews will be held on Thursday January 28 and 29. Families will be contacted during January with additional information on this program. The children will start attending school full time from Monday March 1.
SCHOOL DAY Our day begins at 8:55 am, when the ‘get ready’ bell rings. The start of the school day is at 9:00am and finishes at 3:10pm. At the end of the day, children will be walked to the pickup zone (car park) to be collected by parents or guardians. Children catching buses will be escorted to their appropriate bus line. Children attending Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) will be walked to the OSHC line. If your child is absent, please ring the school by 8:45am on 5722 2144, email attendance@cathedralcollege.vic.edu.au or register an absence through the school app.
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP PREPARE MY CHILD FOR PREP? As parents, you are your child's first teachers and there are many ways that you can stimulate your child's interest in learning. A good start is to ensure that your child can:
• Recognise their written name. • Write their name using a capital letter at the start, followed by lower case letters. • Hold a book the right way and turn pages. • Name common colours and common shapes. • Follow directions. Ask for help. • Independently go to the toilet. • Do up shoe buckles, and tie shoelaces. • Do up zips and buttons and put on and take off jumpers. • Open lunchboxes. • Listen to and communicate with other children and adults. In addition, it is useful at this stage for you to: • Label school uniform and supplies together. • Share activities together. • Encourage hand-eye activities such as cutting, colouring, sorting, throwing, and catching. BUDDIES Our Year Five students at Cathedral College Wangaratta are involved in our Buddy program. Each Prep child is paired with a Buddy and this friendship endures throughout the year. Their Buddies are there to help them feel safe and secure during those early days at school. They are a familiar face in the playground and a person of contact. Each week, the Buddies meet and spend time together.