http://www.northland.school.nz/
https://www.kelburnnormal.school.nz/
https://www.cardinalmckeefry.school.nz/
http://www.kns.school.nz/
http://www.otari.school.nz/
http://www.wadestown.school.nz/
The team have a procedure supporting children to manage the transition as easily as possible ...
Northland Kindergarten Procedures
Transition to School
Our extensive research into effective transitions between settings has
highlighted that there needs to be a range of processes being in motion at the
same time.
·
The school gets ready for the child,
·
the child
gets ready for the school,
·
the family
feel included and comfortable,
·
and the
kindergarten team smooth the way…..
How does this work at Northland Kindergarten?
1. The team will provide
information to schools if they ask while preparing their returns to ascertain
class sizes and class/teacher needs. We
will ensure families are regularly asked about intentions as yet unstated to
keep our records up to date.
2. The kindergarten
team actively encourage families to
enrol children at the school of their choice in a timely way so that children
can be included in the school’s own transition to school process. This is done
through conversations and/or a flyer sent out at the start of the term the
child goes to school detailing the farewell process and useful facts about
enrolling and making the transition effectively.
3. The team will provide
transition visits to some of our three main feeder schools, ( this amount as they are the ones allowing
us regular access to visit with a group of near graduates. ) Policy for
excursions is followed in this instance.
The group will access a
normal school session with a maximum of 8 students, and the team will help the
visitors to participate successfully. Photographs will be taken to give the
children opportunities to reflect on what happened during their visit ( NE
teachers will be made aware of this so they can indicate any current issues
with this). These visit pics will be reviewed in a range of ways by the team.
They will be available on the children’s computers for group discussion and for
families to view – generally in a ‘Photostory 3’ format. A synopsis of a visit will be present in
children’s profiles for kaiako, tamariki and whanau to use as a basis for
discussion. The rationale for this is helping children feel the normality of
both settings, and finding similarities and differences we can explore together
for a smooth transition. It also behoves us in bicultural terms to personally
deliver our precious children to a new setting as best we can.
4. Children will
experience how a graduation ceremony will work as part of tangata whenua
farewelling past graduates to their new
setting. It gives us the opportunity to open dialogue with near graduates ( in
particular) about the notion of going to school. The ‘transition to school’ flyer and
interpersonal discussion will help
families be part of this. Making a hat
well in advance is a shared project to help process the finality of the move
forwards. Children having autonomy over
the hat design, the cake design, the plan for the ceremony re: songs or stories
they would like the tangata whenua to share with them as they leave the group,
special claps they can lead the group with... all give them a sense of leading,
ownership and control of the process as they move through.
5. The team will engage in
professional discussion where sought and where we feel particularly useful with
any school we are sending children to. In some cases this will include inviting
the NE teachers, STJC, and/or principals to the kindergarten to share our
programme aims and processes as well as our knowledge of how our precious
tamariki show their best learning approaches. It may also include the team
engaging in meetings in the school context.
6. The team will support
this work smoothing the way to school with a preparation of a boundary object
to precede their start date. Approximately 2 months before they start school,
the team will begin to prepare a learning pūrongorongo – a document telling the
relevant information.. It is likely to include a cover sheet to introduce the
learner. It will include a letter from the child telling their new teacher what
they think is important about them as a learner. The team will invite families
to share anything they would like to about their child they feel a new teacher
might find useful to know. The team will copy the last several Learning story
style assessments which will be analysed in the usual way such anecdotal material is unpacked… usually in
terms of the ‘Te Whāriki early childhood curriculum’, bicultural lenses, how
learning has been strengthened, how their identities are developing, common
learning approaches, motivations or
dispositions identified. It is usually inclusive of NZ Primary curriculum
analysis. This document will generally
be mailed to the school concerned marked the attention of the NE teacher. We
know this helps the new context know the
child as a learner more quickly and be able to support their sense of belonging
in the class room and wider school context more quickly and effectively.
Children needing this document to be completed will be highlighted on our term
planner of children’s assessment records.
7. The team member who has
charge of the transition portfolio for that child will ensure that each step
will be facilitated.
LAST
REVIEWED: Jan 2017
NEXT REVIEW: Jan 2018
To be read in conjunction with Policy and Procedure guide:
teaching and learning:
transition to school
No comments:
Post a Comment