Students return to classroom as the school year gets underway

Twin sisters Amelia and Isabelle Raad are excited to start school at St margaret Mary's Primary, Merrylands.

The start of a new school year has seen many children across the local area first time including twins Amelia and Isabelle Raad.

For Merrylands mum Marina Raad, dropping her daughters off at 'big kids school' for the first time was a bittersweet moment.

"It was emotional, but also a long time coming," Raad told Parra News

But five-year-olds Amelia and Isabelle didn't seem to share the same feelings, with Raad saying both her daughters were excited to start school.

"They were excited to head off to big school and it's certainly been a lot quieter at home," Raad added

"They've made friends already and they're quite keen to learn new things. They've definitely been happy to go to school."

"Because they've got each other, it makes it a little bit easier."

The twins are attending local school St Margaret Mary's Primary Merrylands.

Raad says the teachers have all been "100 percent" supportive of the new students and their parents.

"St Margaret Mary's is a great school and it is our parish community as well, so that makes it that much easier for us that we're familiar with the community," she said.

"They did a couple of days of orientation, so we got to meet the teachers and get a little understanding of the Curriculum that they'll be using in school, so it's been good."

As a mum herself, St Margaret Mary's Primary Merrylands Principal Grace Carlo-Stella said she understands how stressful it can be for parents to send kids to school for the first time, but promises the new students will be in safe hands.

"I always look after kids at any school as if they're my own, because I wouldn't want anything to happen to my kids," she said.

Trust that we know what we're doing, that teachers know what we're doing, that we have the best interests of the kids at heart.

She added that the best thing parents can do is to talk about school in a positive way to their kids and to try not to be too clingy when dropping them off.

"Drop them off and let them play and let them have a great time in the morning playing with their friends and not to be too clingy with them," Carlo-Stella said.
Wise advice.