While most school corridors in the Bay resonated with the delightful murmur and giggling of pupils, a handful of calf-clinchers struggled to let go, a day before their first day of “big school”.
This, as thousands of grade 1 pupils were introduced to their new school, teacher and classmates during orientation on Tuesday.
And while most schools opened applications for admission in April last year, there was still a pool of stragglers looking for a spot for their young ones.
Applications closed in October for most schools.
Victoria Park Grey Primary School teacher Olivia Allen, addressed parents – of about 100 grade 1 pupils – giving them guidelines on how to approach the year ahead and on helping their children be more responsible.
“They are still learning to be responsible, so a lot of things will get left behind or go missing, but [if you mark] them, it will make our job easier to get [lost items] back to them.
“We will not give out homework until the official parentteacher meeting where [the content] will be explained to all parents, so that you have a better idea [of] how to do everything,” Allen said.
She highlighted the importance of punctuality, saying that the morning session was when children would absorb the most information.
“Healthy eating is also important. Please make sure that they have a healthy lunch packed, enough to sustain them for the rest of the day.
“If they are going to aftercare, and they have chips – we usually ask them to keep those for that,” she said.
Parent Bernadine Joosten, said she had an older child at Victoria Park Grey and was impressed with the results she brought home.
Grade 1 teacher Pixie Anderson, of Clarendon Park Primary, said about 140 grade one pupils had been registered, split across five classes.
Anderson, who has been teaching for 39 years, said preparations for the new group of grade 1 pupils start near the end of the previous year.
“We start in October, when we prepare our parents for the big day so that they know what’s happening and everything else,” she said.
“The classroom preparation we do before we break for the holidays, and a week before we open we are back at school to make sure everything is ready.
“Your first day in ‘big school’ is a huge day and it’s emotional for everybody.
“We don’t want the kids to feel [uneasy] because the teacher is not prepared.”
A cheerful Tristan Jackson, 6, was happy to have his friend Onam – who was too shy for words – join him at their new school.
He had the attention of his group, sharing a story about how everyone in his family of eight was “a Jackson”, even his grandfather.
Summerwood Primary grade 1 department head Sandra McKay said the school had registered 108 pupils and would be doing baseline assessments in the coming days.
“We will be doing a baseline assessment where we will be looking at different areas regarding the child's abilities and skills.
“The main thing is their perceptual skills – we make sure the child is ready visually, auditorily, emotionally and socially, to mention a few,” she said.