It’s April already! How quickly time flies. It may seem too early, but if your child is in Year 5 or 6, preparing for High School can never begin too soon. High School is a fast-paced learning environment with a much bigger workload. There is a different teacher for each subject and students are expected to be able to work more by themselves. High Schools also tend to split their Year 7 classes into high and low achievers. Sadly, the lower classes usually have the less motivated to learn and more disruptive students in them. So it is more important than ever to be fully prepared to give your child the best opportunities possible.
The transition to High School is both exciting and scary for children and parents. Here are a few suggestions, which may help:
- Visit the High School. Most schools have orientation days for Year 6 students to attend.
Christine Hawkins
Owner KMEC Hunter
- Keep the lines of communication open. Ask your child how they feel about going to High School. If they are feeling anxious, reassure them that everyone is probably feeling the same, but they just don’t show it.
- Choose a High School that friends or relatives attend. Hopefully, they will look out for each other.
- Keep their self-confidence high. If children do well in the last few years of Primary School, they will be placed into the highest class possible in Year 7.
At Kip McGrath, we will be working hard on suggestion number 4. If you have any concerns, please talk to us. We are here to help.
How Long Will My Child need Tutoring
As you know at Kip McGrath we specialise in Maths and English so the majority of our students fit into two broad categories:
1. Those wanting to learn to read and spell at a functional level and
2. Those wanting to achieve grade level in maths.
The Kip McGrath Reading Program consists of 80 sessions to move a child from a non-reader (having a reading age of less than 5 years) to a functional reader (having a reading age of 9 years).
The Kip McGrath Spelling Program consists of 7 levels with each level typically taking 20 sessions plus homework (approx 6 months) to complete.
The Kip McGrath Maths Program consists of 12 levels with each level typically taking 20 sessions plus homework to complete. Maths tends to take longer to achieve grade level than English. The reason is that while we are filling the gaps in previous knowledge, students are constantly learning new maths concepts at school.
So in answer to the question: “How long will my child need tutoring?” some students come 6 to 12 months, achieve their goal then feel confident to move on by themselves, while others need the support of coming every week. Some come for an extended period, take a short break then resume when school becomes too difficult again. I know this is not an ‘exact’ answer, but the reality is that all children are different. However the guidelines above should give you a good ‘feel’ for how long it will take your child to catch up on average.
