Why they are excited to join the next class

What you need to know:

For both the beginners and those who have already been in school for several years the experience of moving to another class is always exciting.

When children start school, most of them have already had some experience from the nursery school setting which means hat they have already faced lot of challenges and have different experience to share. For both the beginners and those who have already been in school for several years the experience of moving to another class is always exciting.

Young Citizen visited different schools where several children spoke about their expectations and experiences of moving from one grade to another. Martha Bonaventure 12, is a pupil at Tusiime English Medium School, Tabata, says she feels happy and excited to be moving to another grade though she knows the challenges that await.

“I feel like I have taken a big step. This shows that I and other pupils in the class will be having more knowledge and skills,” she says. “It’s fun you know, you might also get new friends. It is like a new beginning. You gain confidence and self respect.

You become happy when you enter a new grade because you acquire and learn new things,” notes the soft spoken girl . Martha has the motivation to become the best pupil in the final examinations. “I want to become the overall best pupil in 2018. Entering a new grade is like an adventure because you have to study harder than before,”says Martha.

Vanessa Austin is a pupil at Maximillian Primary School in Dar es Salaam,says the feeling of changing classes and sometimes even teachers is a bit scary but that is mainly because of the challenges that one expects. “I am supposed to be joining Grade Three I know how to manage my things on my own and being independent.

For me this is good experience because every year I meet new pupils and we become friends.

Also this is the time for me to learn new skills and to compete with others,” says Vanessa. Going to school for the first time is a big event for children, although every alteration is stressful.

The first week of school in every year, children expect to meet new people, new classes, new teachers, and the same fears. Ethan Jonah from St Mary’s Mwanza told Young Citizen that most of the time he face the fear of not being able to speak fluently in the class, This always makes him think of what his fellow classmates will say about him. “Speaking in front of people is scary if you are not courageous enough,” he says.

According to www.kellybear.com it says that when children enter a school, they are confronted by standards of behaviour, teachers’ expectations, and social pressure to fit in with their peers. Children who are different in any way often have difficulty adjusting to new environments.

Hyperactive and special needs children may find conforming difficult and may require individual consideration.