Dear Parents,
On that all important first day at the Kids Club we have a simple routine to assist your child settle into the After School Care environment. We hope by now your child has had an inspection of our Centre but if not don't worry if not, we will look after that for you.
The Kindergarten children finish school at lunch time for the first couple of days so there won't be a need for after school care. Week 2, they finish at 3.10pm with the rest of the school. The Kindy teacher is provided with a weekly roll so they are aware of which kindergarten children are attending the Kids Club, especially on their first day. A designated Carer will collect the children from the classrooms in a group and walk them the very short distance to the Kids Club. This Carer will remain with the Kindergarten children throughout the afternoon and upon arrival will show the children where to place their school bags, and so it begins.
The children are introduced to each other and the staff are already aware of any particular need your child may have for their first day, based on the information we have received from you prior to this day. The children are shown around the Kids Club and we explain as much as we feel the children are able to absorb, considering they have also just had their first day of school.
After being shown around we finish up in the quiet 'Kids Room' (T.V. Room), we sit them down for a simple chat about some basic rules and question time. At this point the Carer may read a book, tell stories ask questions and attend to any requirements your child may have. Together, the Carers will discuss a buddy system with older children for each of the children once we have had time to talk to the children and gain some feedback. When the older children arrive and have finished the roll call, the other children are made aware of the presence of the Kindergarten children, and what is expected of them to assist the younger children settle in for their first day.
Slowly the children will be 'introduced' into the program and start to mix with the older children as their confidence level grows. From past experience we do find that many of the Kindergarten children are keen to join in the fun as soon as possible, but this is judged by the carers at the time.
At collection time, please feel free to (and we encourage it!) ask as many questions as you would like to as we are only to happy to assist in any way we can.
We look forward to the induction period of the children running smoothly and please feel free to contact us during the afternoon should you have any concerns, queries or just want to hear that your child is settling in really well. We shall telephone you should we have any concerns what-so-ever.
We look forward to that all important first day with your child.
With thanks
Chris Hegarty
Licensee.