Pre Primary schooling

[DD1]

hello all,

Have not posted something in a long time but have been reading alot of your comments and posts which end up ultimately answering whatever Q's i have at the time. But now, I would love to get in touch with parents of kids who are around 5 years of age.

Wife and I can deal with almost anything...noproblem...whats concerning us for the moment is the element of some sort of continuity for our 5 year old boy in terms of the transition to an Aussie school in the Melbourne area. What hurdles, obstacles or setbacks have you parents faced in term of any shortfalls in the admission requirements for a 5 year old.

At the moment, my boy is in Gr00 at Crawford PrePrimary - will be 6 in Feb 2009. I've googled schools and whatever but I dont find the more concrete info which I'm looking for. I figured that a beneficial thing to do is chat to any SA parents with little ones in a similar age group.

If you're out there, would appreciate if I could learn from your experiences etc...

Thanks.

[CandiceM]

Hi

The only real requirement for admission to pre-primary is that they turn five before 30/06. If you are applying at a public school you will need to fall into the catchment area of the school. Private school entrance will depend on places available. If the private school is church based you could be assessed according to your involvement in your church life. Meaning that you may have preference if you attend church regularly.

Most children in pre primary have attended the kindy year that precedes it. In Kindy they learn basic numbering, letter sounds, shapes and colours. Most importantly they focus on the child's social development, ie sharing, group play etc. The schools here are very jacked up in terms of on-site help. If they pick up a problem, or if you are concerned about something, they are quick to send your child for testing.

My son has a speech problem, and the school has provided aural tests and a pyschologist to do an IQ test. This is in addition to the developmental testing that the teacher has done. We are currently trying to get my son into a Language Development Centre. This is specialised classrooms that deal with all sorts of speech problems. Its attached to a 'normal' public school, the kids do the same curriculum as any other pre-primary class, but the speech element is more focused on. The children also socialise outside the classroom as a group with the entire pre-primary year, this program runs for only 3 years till grade 2. After which they go back to their catchment school. I pay no more for this service then I would if he carried on at the school he is in currently, which is $30 year. This is only for WA and each state has there own pricing, depending on what visa you are on.

If he is not accepted into the LDC he will carry on, where he is now and get additional specialised speech therapy and language devlopment within the school.

In my opinion Aussie schools are much better equipped to deal with developmental issues that your child may have, so in that respect I wouldn't have any concern, that he is up to the same level or not. I can see in my sons class, that some of the kids are at a much higher level, especially with regards to communication skills, behavioral issues and general maturity, and some children are at the lower end of the spectrum. There is one little boy who is from Sudan (I think ) and his level of English is extremely poor.

As far as the social aspect of school I found that my son adjusted quickly to being back in school and loves it. There is quite a diverse range of nationalities in his class including 3 South Africans, 1 African child, a japenese child and a number of kids from the UK.

I hope this is kind of the information you were looking for.

Candice

[DD1]

Hi

The only real requirement for admission to pre-primary is that they turn five before 30/06. If you are applying at a public school you will need to fall into the catchment area of the school. Private school entrance will depend on places available. If the private school is church based you could be assessed according to your involvement in your church life. Meaning that you may have preference if you attend church regularly.

Most children in pre primary have attended the kindy year that precedes it. In Kindy they learn basic numbering, letter sounds, shapes and colours. Most importantly they focus on the child's social development, ie sharing, group play etc. The schools here are very jacked up in terms of on-site help. If they pick up a problem, or if you are concerned about something, they are quick to send your child for testing.

My son has a speech problem, and the school has provided aural tests and a pyschologist to do an IQ test. This is in addition to the developmental testing that the teacher has done. We are currently trying to get my son into a Language Development Centre. This is specialised classrooms that deal with all sorts of speech problems. Its attached to a 'normal' public school, the kids do the same curriculum as any other pre-primary class, but the speech element is more focused on. The children also socialise outside the classroom as a group with the entire pre-primary year, this program runs for only 3 years till grade 2. After which they go back to their catchment school. I pay no more for this service then I would if he carried on at the school he is in currently, which is $30 year. This is only for WA and each state has there own pricing, depending on what visa you are on.

If he is not accepted into the LDC he will carry on, where he is now and get additional specialised speech therapy and language devlopment within the school.

In my opinion Aussie schools are much better equipped to deal with developmental issues that your child may have, so in that respect I wouldn't have any concern, that he is up to the same level or not. I can see in my sons class, that some of the kids are at a much higher level, especially with regards to communication skills, behavioral issues and general maturity, and some children are at the lower end of the spectrum. There is one little boy who is from Sudan (I think ) and his level of English is extremely poor.

As far as the social aspect of school I found that my son adjusted quickly to being back in school and loves it. There is quite a diverse range of nationalities in his class including 3 South Africans, 1 African child, a japenese child and a number of kids from the UK.

I hope this is kind of the information you were looking for.

Candice

Hello Candice

Thanks a million. This eases the concern a whole bunch for me.

All the best with your son.

Deepesh

Edited July 15, 2008 by DD1

[Leon/Lou]

Hi there all,

I am a tad concerned about schooling for my LO. My eldest daughter is almost 9 and in Gr3, have been in touch with Templeton Primary via email, but all they replied was to please get in touch with them when we arrive in melbourne... however, my concern is my 4 yr old daughter. She will be 5 in July '09 and I assume she will be old enough for kindy.

Do the primary schools there have kindy and preschool classes like some of our schools, or are they completely seperate little schools? Just wondering whether to keep her at home until the next school year starts, which I would like to do if it means she can start at a school that she can continue through Primary school, to minimise changes.....trying to keep the upheaval in their little lives to a minimum.

Lou