Tears, smiles on first day at north school
Some parents were all smiles as they left their children in classrooms while others shed tears.
A variety of emotions were on display on the first day of school at Tsaroga-phoka Primary School in Soshanguve.
Some parents were all smiles as they left their children in classrooms while others shed tears.
Some of the children were seen running away from classes and following their parents as they were too scared to set foot in the classroom but some seemed unfazed by being in school for the first time.
Nhlamolo Mnisi was seen talking to his mother on the phone and crying, saying he wanted her to come fetch him as he did not want to be at the school.
Tsaroga-phoka Primary School principal Shadrack Lekola said for the first two weeks, the Grade 1 learners “always struggled to cope”.
“For the coming two weeks, they will be crying, they will be dirtying themselves, but they will eventually get used to the environment.”
Lekola said parents had been requested to give teachers time to deal with the children.
READ MORE: GALLERY: Tears and laughter for grade 1s in the north
“On the first day, we request their parents to give us time to break the bond between the parent and child. We do not want them around and immediately after 08:00, we do not want any parent around the school until the afternoon when they fetch them so that they must get used to the school environment,” said Lekola.
He said that teachers had different strategies for dealing with children who were inconsolable.
“As ‘deputy parents’ there are different strategies to deal with those children. Our teachers are parents too, so they know how to handle uncomfortable children because they have experienced it in their own families.”
A Grade 1 teacher said they knew how to give the children love “because they do not know the environment”.
“We just give them love, it is easier for the ones who come from grade R because they know the school environment but it is more difficult for the ones who were not in grade R but in a week’s time they will be ok.”
A group of parents said they had mixed emotions about seeing their children set foot in a classroom for the first time.
“You look forward to them finally starting school but the emotions have the better of you when you see them crying,” said a parent.
“They have been excited to go to school, impatient to fit their uniforms but as soon as you leave them in the classroom it is a different story.”
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