Starting School at

CTMS

A guide for parents and caregivers

Clifton Terrace Model School

15 Clifton Terrace, Wellington, New Zealand
Phone (04) 472-7519 Fax (04) 472-8204
Email staff@ctms.school.nz
Website www.ctms.school.nz
 Welcome to Clifton Terrace Model School

We are delighted that you and your family have decided to enrol your child at
Clifton Terrace Model School. Starting school is a milestone in a child’s life. It is
a major event for parents and caregivers too. This booklet is to provide
information to help an easy transition to school for both you and your child.

How do I enrol my child at Clifton Terrace Model School?

 Phone the school (04 4727 519) and indicate your interest in enrolling your
child.
 A prospectus can be posted out or emailed to you.
 Make an initial appointment with one of the CoPrincipals. Bring your child
with you if possible.
 During this appointment a staff member or student will show you around
the school and will be available to answer any questions you have about the
school.
 Clifton Terrace Model School currently has an enrolment scheme in place.
Check the map in the information pack, to see if you are living ‘in-zone’.
 ‘In-zone’ enrolments have automatic entry to the school. If you live ‘out of
zone’, ballot procedures will be discussed at the initial interview.
 During this visit, arrangements will be made for pre-enrolment visits
(generally encouraged for new entrant five year olds). These visits are
convenient to the parent and the teacher.
 For 5 year olds we generally recommend three introductory visits, 1 per
week for three weeks, prior to your child turning five. For older students
we are happy to arrange a pre visit if desired.
 During this visit you will be asked to complete an application form.
 We will also provide a stationery list and we encourage parents to bring the
required stationery on their first day.
 On your child’s first day of school you will need to call at the school office
to collect an enrolment pack.
 Parents of five year olds and children new to New Zealand must bring their
child’s birth certificate or passport to verify their date of birth.
 In addition, parents enrolling five year old New Zealand residents will be
required to provide a copy of their child’s immunisation records.
School Visits- What should I expect?

Please bring:
 A named water bottle
 Morning tea/or lunch in a named lunch box
 A sunhat (especially for Terms 1 and 4)

Procedure:
 Be positive and talk about school in a matter of fact way!
 Make cheerful comments about starting school and explain that school is an
interesting place where there are lots of new things to learn.
 School starts at 8:55am and we ask parent to be punctual.
 If your child is visiting at the beginning of the day we will usually introduce
you both at our hui or assembly in the morning.
 We ask parents to stay and accompany their child for the duration of the
school visit. This is a legal requirement being prior to official enrollment.
 Parents are invited to come to the staff room and make a cup of tea if
your child is happy to be left in the playground or classroom.
 Your child will join in the normal class programme to introduce them to
class routines and expectations.
 By the time your child starts school they will feel comfortable with some
of the routines.
 If you are in the classroom, please feel free to join in with the class
activities by working alongside your own child or helping other children.

Host Family

At Clifton Terrace Model School we introduce new families to a host family. This
will give your child the opportunity to meet a child (generally from the same
homegroup) and give new parents the opportunity to meet another family who has
been in the school community for a little while. There is more information about
host families in the Information Booklet.
Day One

Each day your child needs to bring:

 Water bottle (We are a Water Only School)
 Sunhat (Terms 1 and 4)
 School Bag
 Lunch box (We have a Healthy Food Policy)
 No toys
School opens at 8:30am and school starts at 8:55am. If you are going to be late
or absent you need to phone the school office before 8:45am. The Office
Manger will phone you if they do not hear from you. This is to confirm the
whereabouts of your child and ensure their safety. Parents and caregivers are
welcome to stay as long as they feel they need to on the first day. Each child
responds differently to the excitement of their first day at school.

We encourage independent behaviour and the child’s ability to take responsibility

for their learning and possessions. Please support your child so they:
 Hang up their bag and coat
 Kauri and Kowhai children put their communication book in the box.
Kahikatea students leave it open on their desk.
 Put their items for the day in their tote tray

School finishes at 3pm. Please feel free to come into the classroom and greet
your child at the end of the day. This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce
yourself and meet other parents. It is important to be at school by this time as
teachers are greeting parents at the end of the day and continuing on with
meetings and organisation for the next day and are unable to supervise your
child.

Communication Book/Notices
You child will have their own Communication Book. This book goes between home
and school each day and will often have important information about what your
child is learning at school. On Mondays it will have a weekly notice with
information for that homegroup specifically. It is also a book where parents and
teachers can share information about your child. Please read it and sign it each
day. Your child will receive an ‘Events’ school notice each Friday with more
general information about the school. If you have more than one child at the
school the youngest will be given the Events to take home. Please let us know if
you require more than one notice (e.g. for children with two homes).
Readiness for School for 5 year olds.

Independence
It would be helpful if your child could:
 Take responsibility for their belongings, without adult support
 Tie their shoe laces
 Put on/take off their shoes and socks
 Hang their bag and coat on their hook
 Open and close their school bag, lunch box, water bottle
 Take their jacket on and off
 Put their communication book in the box each morning
 Recall their address and phone number
 Know their birthday date and month

Learning

It would be helpful if your child could have experiences and practice in how to:

 Write their name

 Recognise some letters of the alphabet
 Match some letters to letter sounds
 Write the lower case letters of the alphabet
 Write numerals 1-10
 Count to ten
 Know their colours
 Sit and listen quietly to a story
 Share news about a special event
 Showing independence and taking responsibility for themselves and their
actions

School Entry Assessment

for 5 year olds
During the first week of school the homegroup teacher will carry out a simple
assessment task to assess skills such as your child’s alphabet and knowledge. This
entry information will help the homegroup teacher develop your child’s early
literacy and numeracy goals.