The moment finally arrived last week for Northdown Primary School’s youngest new pupils to pack their school bags ready for their first day at Nursery and in Reception.
The Margate school’s nursery opened its doors to its new recruits who were eager to explore the activities and resources on offer.
Nursery Manager Kelly Harris said: “All of the children who have joined our nursery have settled in extremely well. Early tears have subsided and the children are freely exploring the Nursery and discovering all that it has to offer. It has been a pleasure to welcome so many new faces and we are excited to spend the year ahead with the children.”
To start off the term, the nursery’s focus topic is “Magnificent Me!”, where the youngsters celebrate how brilliant it is to be themselves. They will discuss their positions within their families and the local community, and finish off the topic with a trip to the local library.
Helping the three-year olds to settle in, they will explore their emotions and feelings through the use of the storybook ‘The Colour Monster’ to really help the children feel happy and settled. Following on from this topic, the children will be given the opportunity to explore their community further by learning all about the seaside and what lurks beneath the sea…
Next door in the Reception classrooms, an equally excited group of children were dropped off for their first day at “big school”.
Luckily, many were graduates of the school nursery so were experts at life at Northdown. Early Years Foundation Stage Lead Charlotte Filmer and Reception teacher Esme Cooper soon settled the children down to begin their school journeys with a focus on what makes each child special and unique.
Thanks to the school’s academy trust TKAT, the new Year Rs each received a new copy of Oliver Jeffers’ How to Catch a Star to take home to share with their families to promote their love of reading.
Headteacher Matthew Harris said: “It is a big step starting school but our youngest pupils have been so brave and enthusiastic when tackling the new challenges put in front of them.
“Watching them explore their new environments and make new friends has been wonderful. We’ve still got some spaces left in our Reception classes so we’re looking forward to greeting more new faces in the near future.”
More information can be found at www.northdown-tkat.org