Bell rings in a new start

By Glen Atwell
FOR prep students across the City of Great Dandenong, the school bell is ringing for the first time this term.
As hundreds of prep students settle in to the environment that will become their second home for the next seven years, teachers and principals are doing their best to make the transition from home to school as smooth as possible.
Principal Peter Gray said the 40 prep students at Maralinga Primary School were enjoying a mostly smooth transition.
“Starting school can be a bit daunting at times, but the preps this year are settling as well as we could have hoped,” he said.
Mr Gray said the area’s diverse ethnic mix meant some of the children started school with a limited knowledge of the English language.
“What we find is that at such a young age, the children without a background in English pick up the language very quickly. It is more beneficial to let the children learn the language than send them to an English language school,” he said.
But it is not only the pupils who are nervous about their first few days. Spare a thought for the many graduate teachers who are making the transition from learning to teaching across the district.
Wallarano Primary School has four graduate teachers, Martyn Drysdale, Amanda Thompson, Michelle Castro and Gabriella Reiner.
Assistant Principal Gayle Doney said that even after a three-day induction program the new teachers were still anxious.
“We ran a three-day program that focused on organisation, class management and student skills, but the teachers were still nervous about their first day,” Ms Doney said.
“It’s understandable though, the teachers are very anxious about building a strong rapport with their students.”