Friends of St Joseph's (FOSJ)
Parents can enrol their children with the office from birth. For planning purposes, we encourage enrolment prior to your child's fourth birthday. This way we can plan the class your child will be joining and ensure all children have a great start at school.

Starting School
As you may or may not be aware, children may start school from five years of age, but are not required to be enrolled at school until they are six years old. Please discuss your preference for your child's start with the school secretary in conjunction with the class teacher.

School Visits
New entrants entering after the first week of Term 1 may have a visit from 9:00 am - 10:30 am (parent to be present). Please make arrangements with the school office/class teacher.

Preparing Your Child for School
A low-key approach to starting school seems to be the best strategy to ensure the children's anxiety is minimised. Discuss what will happen in a typical school day so they are comforted by the routine. From an organisational point of view, here are some tips:

  1. Discuss the school day timetable (see page 12).
  2. Name all items of clothing, lunchbox, school bags.
  3. Ensure your child can put on/take off all items of clothing independently.
  4. Explain the school policies on hat wearing, food policies, etc.
  5. Ensure your child knows where the toilets are, and they are confident to ask to be excused to use them independently.
  6. Backpacks should be large enough to accommodate a reading bag, lunchbox, drink bottle, and polar fleece top.
  7. Discuss where you will drop them off and pick them up at the end of school.
  8. Remind your child to eat morning tea and lunch. Enclose easy to manage items in the lunchbox.

The First Day of School
On your child's first day, please visit the school office and check in with the secretary. We realise it is a big day for everyone, and please let us know if there is any way in which we can make your child's transition to a big 'school girl or boy' any easier. Experience has shown that a quick goodbye is the best way for children to settle into class.