Parents across The Golden Plains Shire wished their kids good luck as they turned up for this year’s prep classes.
Preliminary figures indicate approximately 230 children will begin prep in the Golden Plains Local Government Area.
Member for Western Victoria, Gayle Tierney said the students could look forward to years of quality education and support at local government schools.
“Every Prep starting their school life in The Golden Plains Shire this year will receive a free Welcome to School library bag to mark this important occasion”, Ms Tierney said.
Welcoming the Preps today, Ms Tierney said this year’s bag was the biggest yet containing useful items including a water bottle, book voucher, pencils, bookmarks, vegetable seeds and an apple-shaped picture frame fridge magnet.
These children make up the 42,700 Preps across the state beginning at a Victorian government school.
“Starting school is an exciting time for both children and their parents, and we hope this bag of useful and fun items will make our new students feel even more welcome,” Ms Tierney said.
This year’s library bag has a healthy theme and contains information about the Brumby Government’s ‘Go for your life’ campaign, which has invested in excess of $150 million to promote healthy eating habits and more physical activity.
“They say a healthy body leads to a healthy mind. That is why the Brumby Government has a range of initiatives dedicated to encouraging active and healthy kids to reach their full potential at school,” Ms Tierney said.
“These Prep students are heading to Victorian government schools that are healthier than ever before with ‘Go for your life’ initiatives including free fruit and vegetables on Fridays for about 81,000 Prep to Year 2 students, school kitchen gardens, extra sports equipment, bike sheds and healthy canteens.”
The blue bag complements the Welcome to School – A Parent’s Guide to Victorian Government Schools handbook distributed to all Preps last year.
Ms Tierney said there had never been a better time to be in a Victorian government school.
“We now have record low Prep to Year 2 class sizes and a massive $1.9 billion Victorian Schools Plan, which will see 500 schools across the state renovated, extended or rebuilt by 2010.”