Reception

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome to Reception! We are looking forward to being a part of your child’s learning journey in 2024.

The first day of school is Tuesday 30 January 2024.

Term 1 is a 11-week term, with Easter falling within the Term, Friday 29 March – Monday 1 April.

We look forward to meeting and welcoming those of you who are able to attend the Junior School Parent Information and Welcome Evening at 5.30pm on Thursday 1 February. Please RSVP here.

Please bring or send the following to school with your child on Monday 29 January between 2-3pm, or on day one of term:
Books and stationery as per instructions below (alternatively send as soon as you can):
• Labelled art smock
• Coloured (red/green or yellow) Library bag
• Blue reading bag if not already at school
• 1 Pulteney play hat (2 if your child attends OSHC)

Please click here to view the uniform for Reception students.

If your child attended Pulteney in 2023 for mid-year Reception, they may continue to wear the uniform they wore for mid-year reception (the PE uniform).

Reception students have PE on the following days:

RK: Monday and Tuesday

RT: Monday and Wednesday

Play hats are required every day at school and worn during Recess and Lunch when the UV rating is 3 or above.

• Please pack a healthy snack for a morning Brain Food break in a SMALL NAMED CONTAINER separate from your child’s Recess and Lunch. This will be placed in a basket when they arrive at school. This snack could consist of fresh fruit or vegetables, cheese, crackers or dried fruit. No processed food please. Children are also welcome to bring a healthy snack for an afternoon Brain Break if they require. Please be aware our school is a nut aware school, so no nuts or nut products are to be brought to school.
• We do not have access to fridges to store your child’s lunch, so please ensure that an ice bag or freezer block is packed within your child’s lunch box to keep their food fresh and cool.
• We are also unable to heat food for children, so suggest either packing hot food in a thermos or ordering a hot meal from the tuck shop if you wish your child to eat something warm for lunch in winter.

• Recess and Lunch should be packed into your child’s lunch box. Tuck orders are also available to order through the Qkr! App.  Any recess and lunch orders on the Qkr! App website must be completed by 8.30am on the day.
• Please ensure you select the correct class, so your child’s food is delivered to the correct location.
• Please send a drink bottle containing water for your child to drink during class time. We have a water only policy at Pulteney.

MORNING

• Please wait with your child in the playground until the Courtyard glass doors are opened at 8:15am by a staff member.
• Reception to Year 2 students will no longer line up on the blue mats when the bell goes. Parents and caregivers are welcome to walk their child into the classroom. If children are being dropped off from 8.15am once yard duty commences, they can leave their bags on the blue mats and once the bell goes, children can walk themselves into the classroom. Children are not permitted to play in the courtyard before the 8.30am.
• Alternatively, you may choose to drop your child at the Symonds Place ‘Kiss and Drop’ from 8.10 – 8.30am.
• When the bell rings at 8.30am, parents are welcome to bring their child up to the classroom. Alternatively, children can head upstairs independently.
• Classroom learning will commence at 8.30am promptly. Please ensure your child is at school on time as learning will begin promptly at the start of the day.
• Students arriving at school later than 8.45am need to be signed in at Wheaton House before coming into class.

The children are encouraged to be independent with the following morning tasks:

• Carry their bag to and from the classroom
• Unpack their drink bottle and place it on the drinks tray.
• Unpack their brain food and place it in the brain food basket.
• Leave their lunchbox in their school bag.
• Place play hat in their locker. (If attending OHSC extra hat remains in front pocket of school bag)
• Hang their formal hats on the named peg inside the classroom.
• Students then move to a literacy activity in the classroom.
• 8.45am Children move to the class mat for Morning Meeting as their parents leave the classroom

AFTERNOON

• In the afternoon the school day ends at 3.25pm.
• Children will be taken downstairs to the blue class mat and Reception parents are welcome to enter the courtyard and collect their child from the mat.
• It is important that children say good afternoon to their class teacher each day so that we know your child has been safely delivered to you.
• Children attending OSHC will be taken to the OSHC building.
• Children not collected from the designated area will be walked to the blue boxes in the outside playground and remain with the teacher on duty until 3.40pm. Children remaining after this time will be taken to OSHC.  If the weather is inclement the children will remain in the under-croft steps with the teacher on duty.

• A range of library books will be sent home from Week 1. Please note that these library books are for your child’s enjoyment and that they are provided to expose your child to a range of texts. This is also a lovely opportunity for you to spend quality time reading to your child. We encourage these books to be read, discussed and enjoyed several times during the week as this will build many pre-reading/Literacy skills.
• Readers will be sent home from Week 3, but there will be further information provided at a parent information session regarding this. Date to be confirmed.

• All toys, games and precious items are to remain at home please.
• Birthday invitations – Please use addresses located in the ‘Buzz Book’ which can be accessed via the Parents Community Portal to send birthday invitations to home addresses. Please do not give invitations out at school as it could cause upset to some students not invited.
• Please remember to send your child’s play hat, art smock and library bag as soon as possible
• Complete the Student Questionnaire (sent to parents at the end of last year) as soon as possible

Thank you for your support with this.

Please name and cover your child’s books as follows:

• Write your child’s name on every coloured cover sheet supplied with this letter
• Place each coloured cover sheet on the correct book as instructed below
• Cover the A4 books and Scrapbooks with the clear plastic book covers from the book pack

Thank you for taking the time to prepare your child’s books.

Please email us at cass.vandenbroek@pulteney.sa.edu.au or jessica.burns@pulteney.sa.edu.au if you have any further queries.

Kind regards,

Cass van den Broek (Tamingka Community RT)

and

Jessica Burns (Karra Community RK)