Herd of Preps- Just a few of the 140 new preppies who started at Pakenham Springs Primary Scho

By Melissa Meehan
AT PAKENHAM Springs Primary School, the pitter-patter of little feet has been replaced by a stampede of 140 pairs of Prep school shoes.
A total of 140 Prep students started their school life at the school this week – the biggest number of new students in the area.
Prep Community Learning Team Leader Janette Collins said 2010 has brought the biggest number of Prep students to the school, increasing the number of classes to seven from five in 2009.
“I think the increase is due to the number of housing estates in the area, there seems to be a new house every day,” Ms Collins said.
“A lot of parents are moving into the area and there are a lot of young families around.”
There are so many new Preps at the school, that a couple of new teachers were employed to meet the needs of classes.
While they only started on Monday, the Preps have been busy cutting and pasting, singing and learning how to write their own names.
“They have also played a lot of ‘getting to know you’ games,” she said.
“As well as trying to teach them about learning and what school is all about.”
She said the transition to Primary School from Kindergarten was made much easier for the students thanks to the buddy system, which allowed this year’s Grade 6 students to build their friendship over 2009.
“The current Grade 6 students worked with them when they were in kinder,” she said.
“They went to visit throughout the year and it really has helped their transition.”
Ms Collins said being able to see familiar faces in the school ground made the first day of school much less daunting.
Over the next month, students will attend school all weekdays except for Wednesday where they will each have one interview that will assess their reading, listening and motor skills.
But in the classroom students can expect more exciting things, including colouring, cutting, ball games and hula hoops.