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Effortlessly gliding into Primary

Although Lachie Gordon has just celebrated his fifth birthday, he has been a member of the ACG Strathallan community for almost four years. Beginning in our preschool, the young learner has recently transitioned to Primary, and thanks to our exceptional School Readiness programme, he has hit the ground running.
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ACG Strathallan Year 1 student, Lachie Gordon

Starting school is a big step for any five-year-old, but for Lachie Gordon, transitioning from preschool to Primary has been a simple, seamless and straightforward process.

During his nearly four years at ACG Strathallan Early Learning School, Lachie gained all the building blocks for success. And thanks to their School Readiness programme, he was ready, willing, and incredibly excited to embark on the next step of his educational journey.

“The transition from preschool to Primary was really easy,” says mum Amanda Gordon. “Going to a couple of Primary school assemblies as a senior preschooler meant that Lachie was comfortable with the school. And four senior preschoolers started Year 0 together, which also helped. Plus, because Lachie has been coming here since he was seven months old, the ACG Strathallan environment is not new for him.”

In fact, this continuity of education was one of the key reasons that the Gordon family chose ACG Strathallan in the first place.

“We really liked the idea of being at one place for all of Lachie’s schooling.”

It was a decision that has paid off. Not only did Lachie love his time at the preschool, but he has also adapted to life as a Primary student with ease.

“Lachie had a great time at ACG Strathallan Early Learning School – when he goes in without saying goodbye, you know that he feels at home! He was definitely ready to start Primary at the beginning of Term 2. Part of that was practising writing his name each day when he hung up his bag. Also, having dedicated group time with their group teacher was similar to sitting in the classroom at Primary school.”

ACG Strathallan’s unique School Readiness programme ensures children are well prepared and supported as they transition into Primary. They gain a head-start on their literacy and numeracy through things like songs, art and discussion; get an insight into the world of science with hands-on experiments and experiences; build cultural awareness, develop their love of music and movement, and are able to use the College gym for free-play and more structured physical wellbeing sessions.

“The term project topics were also excellent in that the kids could build their knowledge about a topic, such as the sea or dinosaurs, and then incorporate learning such as songs, drawing and writing into it. We loved getting the Storypark updates on what Lachie and his class were up to and enjoyed continuing the conversation about their term project topic once he got home.”

And although the Gordons have a wealth of fond memories of Lachie’s time at preschool, since starting at ACG Strathallan Primary, he hasn’t looked back.

“Lachie is very engaged with his schooling at the moment – long may it continue! He is enjoying music every week, and his favourite instruments to play are the drums and ukulele. We are very happy so far too. You can see by the way the students interact at morning drop-off and in after-school care that the values of respect and caring are instilled in their education.”

But most importantly of all, what does Lachie have to say about it?

“My new school is good, and I like doing my homework,” says the lively five-year-old. “I also like playing with my friends in the playground!”