First Day of school for Kindergarten and Successful Foundations

On Thursday, we welcomed 46 new Kindergarten students to Holy Name. Each family had their own start time for the morning which allowed the Kinder teachers to welcome each child and family individually which is so important on special milestone days like starting Kindergarten. This allows us to make meaningful connections with the new students and their families. There was definitely a happy buzz in the room with families arriving and the new Kinders settling into the classroom and engaging with the provocations.

Our Kindergarten students will now continue with their Successful Foundations journey which started during their 5 transition to school visits in term 4 of last year. Over the next 5 weeks the first hour of everyday will be dedicated to Successful Foundations, where we view play as a pedagogy and a rich source of learning. During this time, the children will engage with the play provocations set up inside and outside the classroom. The Successful Foundations project allows our teachers to provide open-ended playful and investigative opportunities that enable children to demonstrate what they know and can do. This encourages the kinder teachers make meaningful and authentic records of children’s knowledge and skills as we observe the students engaging in play experiences. 

Successful Foundations provides such a positive transition for students to school life and gives such powerful insights for teachers into individual student’s knowledge and interests because:

• a sense of belonging enables children to more effectively demonstrate their understanding and abilities
• when children feel safe and valued they will more be more likely to take risks and be creative in their responses
• authentic learning and its assessment best happens in interactions and collaboration with others.

I look forward to sharing more photos and learning experiences through Successful Foundations over the next 5 weeks.

Mrs Suzie Monks

Primary Coordinator