By Callum Ludwig
Woori Yallock Primary School has welcomed three new classes of prep students to the school for 2024.
Half of the prep students had their first day on Wednesday 31 January, and the other half on Thursday 1 February before all new prep students completed their first day at school as a cohort on Friday 2 February.
Grade 1 and 2 Teacher Libby Bemrose was keeping an eye on all three classes, helping with toilet trips and helping students check out their books on Friday and said it is always an exciting time to begin a new school year, but this year at Woori is one of our most exciting yet.
“The start of every school year for Woori Yallock Primary School is all about building a strong foundation of clear class expectations, routines and fostering an environment that allows students to feel safe and supported in all aspects of their learning and social development,” she said.
“We have found that when we take the care and time to establish these expectations and routines that these follow through the remainder of the year and our students are able to actively and confidently engage within our whole-school orderly learning environment regardless of if it is their first or seventh year at Woori.”
2024 is an exciting year for Woori Yallock Primary School with the school’s $10.5 million upgrade finally set to be fully completed in the coming months, just in time to celebrate the school’s 150th anniversary.
Ms Bemrose said they want to set up their students for success and the best way to do this is through the start up programs that each year level participates in during the first few weeks of school.
“During this first week, all classrooms will work together with their classroom teacher to come up with a set of class expectations that are relevant and reflective of each class and participate in a range of getting to know you and team building activities,” she said.
“They will also familiarise themselves with the school and its facilities, it seems that every year the prep classroom teddies go missing and the preps have to work together and search the school to find these cheeky runaways.”
Prep students helped build their classroom library, picking two books each from the library to take back with them to create a catalogue of books that reflect their interests and values, while they will also get to make some personal touches and artwork to add to the rooms in the coming weeks.
A couple of other touches for preps and the wider school population of 420 students have also been prepared to welcome them for 2024.
“In the lead up to the new school year beginning on Wednesday 31 January, all Woori Yallock Primary School students will have already individually received their 2024 postcard from their classroom teacher,” Ms Bemrose said.
“These postcards often help ease the nerves of both staff and students by giving them another opportunity to connect before the year begins and build the excitement for the year ahead,”
“Many students keep these as keepsakes that they treasure for years to come.”
The preps’ Grade Six buddies, whom they met in a transition period the year prior, also made a personalised video for their new fresh-faced friends to show them around the school and share a bit more about themselves.
Preps will eat with their buddies during recess and lunch for the first few days of the year, with the senior students also looking out for them on the playground and joining them for a range of learning activities throughout the year.
