Transition To School

Welcome to Muritai School

Muritai School has a fantastic junior school. This page is designed to be a wealth of information for you to support you and your child in your transition to school.

We believe that a child’s first teacher is their parents and that their early education at home, kindy, ECE, day care and playcentre is their foundation for school. As a school we have great relationships with our local Kindergarten, daycare and play centres to help foster connections and facilitate sharing.

We believe that relationships are essential for learning and fostering these relationships are critical to enabling your child to have a settled and happy start to school. We really want to get to know you and your child.

Timeline for Starting School at Muritai

This is a generic timeline for starting school at Muritai.

In May of the year before your child starts school Felicity Lovell emails out a google form to East Harbour Kindergarten and Barnardos so we know who will be starting school in the following year and to gather personal details. This form also gives you an option to say what cohort you would like your child to start school in. Muritai School has eight entry points per year for new entrants, the start of each term and the middle of the term. Children have to have turned 5 before they start school. There is information about cohort dates here

One to two months before your child’s cohort start school Felicity Lovell will contact you to let you know the dates your child can come on school visits. Felicity will also ask you some questions about your child to help us best prepare for your child’s start to school. School visits are usually held in week 3, 4, 5 and 8, 9, 10 of each term. You can find the dates of these visits, as well as lots of other upcoming events in our school calendar.

Your child will attend 2-3 school visits on a Thursday. If you feel your child needs more visits then just let Felicity know, these can easily be arranged. At these visits you complete our enrolment forms.

You order their stationary.

Your child starts school!

Tips for Transition to School

Thank you so much for supporting your child so far in their transition to school journey. Some great things to do before they start school are:

Visit the school grounds for a play
Peer in the classroom windows (say hi if a teacher is there)
Answer any questions they have
Talk about how it is normal to feel a mixture of nerves and excitement but reassure them that their teachers are there to help and will look after them. They are going to have a great year of learning and fun!
Start getting back into routines in the two weeks before school starts (bedtimes, waking up)
Encourage their independence packing their own bag to go to the beach or pool, helping you to make a snack, tidying up their room etc
Praise them lots, talk about how proud you are that they are ready for school and how they share, use kind words, can organise themselves etc. Specific praise is so important and helps them develop their confidence.
Practise eating their morning tea and lunch out of their lunchbox- make sure they can open the lunchbox and drink bottle. Please note we encourage nude food (minimal or no packaging).
Connect with other children and families who are also starting school in your cohort or already at school. If you don’t know any I am happy to pass on your contact details, just send me an email. I cannot give out people’s contact details due to privacy but I can pass yours on to others.
Read to your child, enjoy books together.
Do cooking together, count and measure out the ingredients.
Draw together, practise the pencil grip.
Talk to your child lots as you do things together. Oral language development really helps their early reading and writing development.
Teach them how to share and take turns by playing games like snakes and ladders, uno so they learn how to manage their feelings.
Talk about feelings and what to do when they feel sad, annoyed, frustrated.

Information about School Visits

Your child will have 2-3 school visits on a Thursday before they start school. They may also visit

school with their teachers from Barnardos or East Harbour Kindergarten.

Visits run from 9:30-11:00am and are led by their proposed teacher.

They are usually in weeks 3, 4, 5 and 8, 9, 10 of each term. Parents stay during the visits and complete the school enrolment form.

You can find the dates of these visits, as well as lots of other upcoming events in our school calendar (link here)

School Visit Tips

Pack a normal kindy bag (drink bottle, snacks, change of clothes if needed, coat).
Talk to your child about the visit before you come.
Have fun playing with your child but also give them time and space to meet new friends.
There will be some students from across the Kororā team at the visits and they will meet their classroom teacher as part of the visit.
The visits will include some play in class, a school tour, some short taster to school lessons and a normal school morning tea time.

We can’t wait to welcome you to your school visits!

Korora Stationery

Stationery can be ordered from www.myschool.co.nz

The stationery list is attached HERE.

Please send your child to school with all books named. You are welcome to duraseal/cover books if you would like but there is no expectation to.

Our Korora Team

Our junior school is named Kororā, after the native Little Blue Penguin that lives in our area. It is the world's smallest penguin and is a very apt name for our youngest learners who we need to nurture, keep safe and guide through their first two years of schooling.

Room 1 (Year 1) Nicolette Fisher nfisher@muritai.school.nz

Room 2 (Year 1) Felicity Lovell flovell@muritai.school.nz

Room 3 (Year 0) Sally Ingram singram@muritai.school.nz (Starts in Term 2)

Room 4 (Year 2) Amy Cardno acardno@muritai.school.nz)

Room 5 (Year 2) Sheldon Wilson swilson@muritai.school.nz

Room 6 (Year 1/2) Nadia Henderson henderson@muritai.school.nz

Team Leaders- Felicity Lovell and Nadia Henderson