Starting School

Nindi was starting school this year. She goes to Marrickville West Public School. We chose this school for her because there would be three other Indonesian students that starting school in the same year. It would be better for her to have already known friends. Starting school was scary, wasn't it? Especially when it is in a new country when everybody speaks strange language (and English language with strange accent).
Fortunately, this school had a good program for its new students. They had six weeks Preparation To Start School program. One a week at tuesday, children were gathered in the classroom, having activities just like what school might be. The parents are invited in other room to be given some informations about the school.
Here in Australia, children start school at Kindergarten for 1 year, and then they can go to Year 1 until Year 6. Kindergarten, or kindy for short, is usually attached to Primary School (or Sekolah Dasar in Indonesia). The children are eligible to join kindy if they are five years old or older.
Public school is free for citizen and permanent resident. Nindi is exempt from the payment because her father is studying here under ausaid program (thank God for that). But we still have to pay 'a small fee', what they called School Contribution (remember BP3 in Indonesia), for $40 a year.

Mamapong.