Thank you to all of the people who joined us for the transition to school talk over at Swannanoa school. I hope that it gave some of you the information that you were looking for as you consider which school to send your child to. It was great to be able to go into a class to see how the modern learning environment works, the teachers in Hapu 1 were very welcoming.

We are proud of our links between Swannanoa School and our preschool. Principle Brian Price and Head of Hapu 1 Bridie Gray have been over to preschool this term to read to the children. Kate Monteath and Reece Bonner come over to us on Monday afternoons to sing with the children, we call this Waiata Hui. These interactions with the school make the children's transition so much easier as they are familiar with the kaiako before they start school.

We were pleased to welcome Christine Baker, a Teacher from New Life school Rangiora, who came to visit a child in Atawhai before starting school.

Carolyn Smith from Ohoka school visited one of the children in Manaaki to get to know him before he started school.

Veeanna Reed from West Eyreton school is coming to preschool in July to read stories to the tamariki. Swannanoa preschool transition to school team have worked hard over several years to encourage the kaiako from our local primary schools to visit, they know they are welcome any time.

We have a number of children heading off to school in the next couple of months. We wish them and their families all the best for their new adventure.

With the weather changing and being a bit cooler we are spending more time indoors. Here are some fun ways in which you can spend time with your children while helping them to prepare for school life.

· Enjoying books together

· Talking about what you are reading

· Having fun with the different sounds of letters

· Use of pens and paper for spontaneous writing

· Let children experiment with writing; squiggles, lines etc…

· Having fun with numbers and counting; baking, magnetic numbers etc…

· Looking at shapes and colours through building with blocks, lego etc…

These are only suggestions, you can make them fun however it suits you!

We are here to help.

Transition to School Team

Jess & Kerry