Big start for 180 kinders

KATINA CURTIS

More than 180 children will be going to school for the first time this week in kindergartens around the municipality.

At Minnamurra Public School, all is ready for the 62 new students also starting tomorrow.

Among those will be Rosie McCormack, Luke Males, Paris Hudson and Aaron Mayo, who had a practise run up the school path while their mothers looked on.

The rest of the students – who are now old hands at school – returned to the classroom today.

Minnamurra PS principal Ian Yabsley said the kindergarten students would be going into three separate classes because of the Government’s policy of having small class sizes in the early primary years.

He said the school’s numbers looked very positive for the new year.

Gerringong Public School principal Joy Fullagar said they had about 58 new kindergarten students starting tomorrow.

“We are trialling a new buddy system with the kinders and they have already met their buddies on the orientation days last year,” Ms Fullagar said.

“So when they come to school they already have a friend. It’s good for the senior children, too, because they develop leadership skills.”

She said a Year 6 buddy would meet each of the new kindergarten students when they first arrived to show them the way to their classroom and to meet their teachers.

In Jamberoo, the school’s acting principal, Kate Murphy, said: “We have 20 beautiful kindergarten people starting this year.”

In Kiama, the primary school is expecting about 40 kindergarten students.

Kiama High School students also returned today, while at Ss Peter and Paul, classes begin next week.