By REBECCA BILLS
SELBY Primary School and Selby Pre-School have collaborated allowing pre-school children the opportunity to get a taste of what primary school life is all about.
Selby Primary School Principal Justin Butler said the school has partnered with the pre-school for the past year.
“Because we are a really small community a lot of kids in the kinder have siblings in the school and the administration for parent volunteers was very onerous and we had the office staff already at the school,” he said.
“A lot of the kinder students come along into this school setting anyway and this partnership allows for a lot stronger transition for them.”
Mr Butler said the pre-school continues to operate in much the same manner as it has in the past, however, the link with the primary school allows for added opportunities in terms of use of facilities and resources.
“Every second week we have kids come up and read books in the library, use the kitchen class room and they meet with some of our Grade 5 students in a kind of buddy program,” he said.
Mr Butler said both the younger children in the kindergarten and the older children in the school love the interaction together.
“The young ones also get to meet and spend time with our prep teachers and it ensures the children are familiar with different parts of the school,” he said.
“It really is a terrific thing for all involved.”
Selby Pre-School is now officially managed by the Selby Primary School Council.
The pre-school children spend Tuesday mornings from 9.30am to noon on site at Selby Primary School as part of the program. For more information on the program, visit www.selbyps.vic.edu.au.
