KUCHING: The first day of school here yesterday drew out varying views and expressions from parents who accompanied their Primary One kids.
At one of the schools, it appeared that some parents were excited, some were nervous, some looked fine while a few just seemed cool and nonchalant.
A mother who identified herself as just Ramizah (as Malaysians are wont to do when asked for their names), said taking her Primary One child to school was a routine for her.
“My Primary One child is the youngest of four siblings, so by the time it’s her turn, I feel it’s no big deal as I have been taking my other children to school,” she said.
She said that her youngest child has not gotten her class timetable because they had to go through a transition programme first.
“With my other children, I have not encountered any problem with the weight of their schoolbags because they pack according to their timetables,” she said.
She also noted that all of her children use black shoes to school. “It’s not a problem for me because it’s just a change of colours rather than the materials,” she said.
” He is my first child to enter Primary One so I feel really excited for him although it was a bit difficult to wake him up this morning. “
As for 40-year-old Betty, she said she was accompanying her third child, who is her youngest son.
“He attends Primary One here because her sister is here too. This is routine for me already. With my first child, I felt more excited because it was the first time for both of us,” she said.
She recalled that her son was excited to enter Primary One and woke up early without any prompting.
When asked whether her son’s timetable will make school tough for him and her, she said that she was not sure because the class would undergo a transition programme first.
Marthina, 29, who works in customer service for a Call Centre here, said she took a day off to get her son to school.
“He is my first child to enter Primary One so I feel really excited for him although it was a bit difficult to wake him up this morning,” she said smilingly.
“And yes, he’s using black shoes, which I think will look less dirty at the end of the day compared to white shoes.”
On the school’s three-week transition programme, she thought it should be good because it would help her son know the school better.
“And it is also good for the implementation of classroom-based assessment, I think. The children will be less stressed out,” she said.
Simonetha, 27, whose second son was also entering Primary One, said that she always woke up early to get him to a nursery and later to a kindergarten.
“He’s used to going to school, so Primary One is not so strange to him. And yes, my son and his elder brother are using black shoes. It is not a problem because there are a lot of black shoes in the shops. They are affordable too,” she said.
Regarding the classroom-based assessment, she thought it would help children enjoy going to school as they would have fun while gaining knowledge.
