School can be an exciting place where anything is possible!
We look forward to welcoming new families to our St John’s Narraweena community.
As your child prepares to start Kindergarten (or a later grade) at St John’s Narraweena, we know there is a lot of information parents need to know about this exciting event.
Starting school is a very exciting time for your child and for you as parents. However, it is not uncommon for children and parents to be anxious about the process. Our transition program focuses on helping you and your child feel comfortable in the school. By the time your child has completed transition, our aim is that he/she will feel very settled and happy to just walk into the classroom and get on with their learning.
The Transition Program sessions for 2026 Kindergarten children will be held on the following dates:
Session 1 - Tuesday 21 October, 9am to 10.30am
Session 2 - Tuesday 4 November, 9am to 10.30am
Session 3 - Friday 21 November, 9am to 10.30am
Each child starting Kindergarten in 2026 will be required to attend 2 of the 3 transition sessions. Dates and sessions will be allocated to each child.
Start of Kindergarten Screener
The CSBB Start of Kindergarten Screener (SoKS) is an assessment given to each child in the first days of school. It helps the teachers to get to know the children as young learners.
The assessment is conducted 1:1 – one child at a time with the teacher. It takes about 20 minutes per child to complete. Children will be assessed prior to the first day of school in 2026. Dates will be sent to parents along with booking information. The SoKS is an initiative of Catholic Schools Broken Bay (CSBB) and replaces previous testing (Best Start Numeracy and Literacy)
There is no need to prepare your child for this assessment; it is designed for the teacher to understand your child’s current ability and for them to prepare for your child coming to school.
We asked our Kindergarten parents for some feedback about the transition process and starting Kindergarten at St John’s, here are some of the things that they said:
“We are so happy with St John’s. The communication, the teachers and most of all the little buddies are just wonderful. What a beautiful school.”
“Thank you for making the transition to school such an easy process. We felt very informed and comfortable the whole way from enquiring to the first day of school”
“We felt welcome at St John’s from our first visit and we are so happy we chose this school for our children.”
Comments from previous years:
“As a first time school parent, the consistent and clear communication has made the transition so much easier.”
“The positive experiences and attitudes that have been inherited. I felt that as a school you really do get those foundations right which work alongside parents in what we are doing with our children at home. The perfect partnership in my eyes.”
“Friendly staff and community feeling.”
“The welcoming feel and the lovely Kindy teachers.”
“The access and continual communication.”
“The staff have been so nurturing and supportive of my daughter. We appreciate that Mr Bateman knows all the children by name and is such a welcoming presence in the school.”
“The quality of the teaching staff and welcoming school community.”
“The nurturing environment for the children.”