By Mikayla van Loon
Mooroolbark East Primary School (MEPS) welcomed back students for 2023 and said hello to the new Prep class on Monday 30 January, including four sets of twins.
Seeing all students back on campus, Principal Deborah Keating said it was mostly smooth sailing for all year levels and an exciting morning for the parents of the new Prep students.
“The prep transition and dropping off went really well and I think that’s a testament to our transition program last year. The kids feel so comfortable to come in and start and there’s been a real excitement so it’s been lovely,” she said.
“What I like about coming back is getting out there and reconnecting with the community and seeing some parents we haven’t seen for those six weeks and just having a chat and catching up on what’s going on.”
With four Prep classes of 20 starting this year, MEPS has nearly reached capacity again with 603 students across all levels being educated at the school.
“Some of them are siblings, some of them for the first time…I think it’s an exciting year. It’s just a new chapter in life’s journey, for yourself as the parent but also for the kids and it’s an exciting year,” Mrs Keating said.
“They get tired but they get so much learning and development both academically but also in their own little personality and I think that’s what I love about Prep, is seeing that development over the year.”
Not only did the school see roughly 80 Prep students start their educational journey at MEPS but also four sets of twins enrolled, something Mrs Keating said was “quite unusual” particularly in the same year level.
The Preps begin their first week of school with two half days and then have Wednesdays off for all of February to make that school routine easy to settle into.
“It’s really just getting them in and getting them into routine. For all of our kids the first two weeks are about building strong relationships in the classroom with their teachers and their peers.
“We go through all of our school values and wellbeing and just get into the hang of the routine and the expectations for the year ahead and the term ahead.”
Having potentially had a disrupted kindergarten experience, Mrs Keating said it may be more challenging for the Preps to establish that routine and feel comfortable with Monday to Friday schooling.
“After all the Covid years, last year’s Preps and I would imagine [this year’s], it’ll be interesting to see how these preps go, because they would have had a disrupted kinder and how they settle in but it all seems fairly good so far.
“Although it seems like [it was a while ago], Covid and remote work, it’s going to have a lasting impact. We certainly have things in place for them. We will be able to identify the children who need extra support and be able to meet those needs.”
This will be Mrs Keating’s first full year as principal having started in the middle of last year and she is looking forward to getting to know her community better.
“Continuing on the great feel the school has, and great for learning the kids. For me it’s just fully understanding my community and what they need.”
