Learn about Kindergarten Enrolment, and the steps to following in that process.
Local Enrolment
Please contact the school with your enrolment enquiries anytime throughout the year. If your child is currently enrolled in a NSW public school, contact us to discuss the enrolment procedures and obtain the necessary paperwork.
Help is available for parents who do not read English and require translations of the necessary paperwork. If your child has a temporary visa or visitor visa you will need to apply to enrol by contacting the temporary residents program.
You will need to bring the completed relevant documents with you to your appointment.
We look forward to welcoming you to Fairy Meadow Demonstration School and our school principal, Gavin Hoy, will enjoy showing you around the school and talking to you about the programs the school can offer your child.
To make an appointment please contact the school:
Telephone (02) 4284 2009
Fax (02) 4285 1753
or simply send us an Email: fairymeado-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
To download a copy of the the appropriate documents please follow the links below:
Starting Kindergarten
When to start school
Your child can start Kindergarten at the beginning of the school year if they turn five on or before 31 July in that year. By law, all children must be enrolled in school by their sixth birthday. When to start your child at school is an individual decision. You may want to discuss this with us or with your child's preschool teacher, carer or doctor.
Preparing for Kindergarten
Parents/caregivers can do a lot to help prepare their child for Kindergarten before the big 'first day'. Below is a list of skills that will be useful for children starting Kindergarten. We recognise that not all children will have these skills as everyone develops at a different pace, so this is intended only as a guide so that starting school may be just a little easier.
Encourage your child to attempt the things mentioned below, but don't worry if your child can't do all of them. Talk to the Kindergarten teacher, and together you can support and assist your child's learning.
Language
- talks to other people about familiar objects and events
- answers and asks simple questions
- makes needs known
- follows simple instructions
- uses books for enjoyment or for looking at pictures
- identifies pictures in books, magazines, on television or video
- uses a variety of things (pens, pencils, textas, paintbrushes, sticks in the dirt) to draw, to scribble or to write
- joins in singing familiar songs
Mathematics
- recognises that numbers can be used to count
- uses words such as many, a lot, more, less
- identifies things in a group that are different
- sees differences in shapes
- differentiates between opposites - up and down, under and over, in front and behind, day and night
Personal/Social Skills
- uses the toilet independently
- can say own name and address
- adapts to unfamiliar settings and new experiences
- can finish a task, and tidies up afterwards
- plays cooperatively with other children - shares and takes turns
- can sit still to listen to a story for a few minutes
- is curious about the world
- can share an adult's attention with several other children
- participates in imaginative play
Physical Skills
- uses scissors to cut along a straight line
- enjoys a variety of indoor and outdoor play
- can put on and take off jumpers, shoes, socks independently
- makes and designs things using a variety of materials
Kindergarten Orientation
Information Night
At Fairy Meadow Demonstration School we like to ensure that the transition to Kindergarten is made as smooth as possible for both our future students and their parents. An orientation evening will be held in Term 3.
Transition to school
We have a set of planned activities to assist your child in making a smooth transition to Kindergarten. Research indicates that children who settle quickly into school are more likely to be socially competent and achieve better results. Contact us to find out about our activities and how you can be involved.
- Session 1:
- Session 2:
- Session 3:
- Session 4:
- Session 5:
- Session 6:
Kindergarten "Best Start"
The Best Start Assessment is a tool to help teachers assess your child's skills as they enter school, and to tailor teaching to their individual needs. Teachers will sit with your child when they start school to assess your child's literacy and numeracy skills so that they can develop an appropriate teaching program that caters for your child.
Children come to school with different levels of literacy and numeracy. Some are familiar with books, can recognise some letters, even write their name or count to ten, while others have not yet learned these skills. However, Kindergarten teachers have no expectations of what pre-schoolers should know at the start of their first year of school.
Our Kindergarten teachers have always observed their new students and used different methods to find out what each child knows and can do so that they can plan and teach what their students need to learn next. Best Start gives our teachers a common set of high-quality assessment tools and professional training.
It is very important to emphasise that Best Start Kindergarten Assessment is not a test. Its purpose is to help the teacher gather information to guide the teaching of your child.
For the first 3 days of the school year, parents are given a 30-minute time slot to bring their child to school for the Best Start assessments with one of our Kindergarten teachers. The teacher will observe each child and use tasks, such as talking about a book that has been read, and record what their students know and can do. The teaching of your child will be based on the information gathered in these ways.
The teacher will look at your child's early reading and writing, their ability to communicate with others, and how they recognise and work with numbers, groups and patterns. You'll be given feedback about what your child's teacher has learned about your child, which you are welcome to discuss if you wish, in keeping with our usual practice.
Kindergarten Buddies
Students in Year 5 are matched with a kindergarten buddy in preparation for their entry into school the following year. These Year 5 students work with their kindergarten buddies on their orientation days so when these new students begin their school year they have an older friend and role model to help them. These students then work together on special class programs as well as have times together to share and play. This program is really enjoyed by the senior students and is a highly valued by the school community, particularly by parents with beginning kindergarten students.