By Renee Wood
The 2023 back to school return is an exciting time for schools, parents and students, but this year raises and even greater thrill with no Covid-19 interruptions for the first time since the pandemic began.
Coldstream Primary School principal Phillippa Adgemis is hoping the pandemic’s effects won’t be felt but there is a possibility it will continue through.
“I would hope not but sometimes when the foundations have been shaken, it’s hard to recoup,” Ms Adgemis said.
Last year social play and emotional resilience were key areas which needed addressing due to the effects of disruption, and work in this space will go on to ensure students aren’t being left behind.
“We’re going to be looking at targeted programs for emotional mental health, so anything we can to just make sure that the children are not dealing with those underlying feelings of anxiety, which then makes them not as disposed to learning,” she said.
“So we’re looking at all of those things that we can do, whatever we can to support them.”
More than 77,000 prep students will begin their schooling years from Monday 30 January, while over one million students will also return to school across Victoria.
In Coldstream, 14 preps have begun the start to the first chapter of their education years.
“We’ve got the early years which is starting to flow through – a lot of them from playgroup families have now gone into early years so next year will be even bigger,” She said.
Shae Clancy said her son Mitch was excited and ready to get into the school yard.
“He was excited, it went smoothly. He was ready to go to school,” Ms Clancy said.
“They did the orientation days in between a couple of hours learning things about the school and what they do, so that’s been really good.”
Prep students have gone through a transition program in the previous year to ensure the correct activities focus on what the children need.
Mandatory prep testing also occurs at schools from this week to provide the department with baseline data about student’s knowledge.
Ms Adgemis said if students are feeling anxious during their first week, the focus on expectations and routine is beneficial.
“They learn those routines very quickly and the routines just give them that sense of what’s happening and they can focus on the learning and that’s what we want,” she said.
