Rory, 5, and Morgan, 12, tried on their new school uniforms in Albion last week. 76471 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By Laura Wakely
THERE have been mixed emotions for parents this past week as children in Brimbank prepare for the 2012 school year.
Five-year-old Rory McLeod couldn’t wait to join her older sister at St Theresa’s Primary School in Albion.
Mum Jodie said her daughter had been happily gathering her “loot” of pencils, books and bags for Prep, even counting down the days on the calendar to her first day of school.
“She wants to learn to read and write,” Jodie said.
“She’s over the playing part of kinder.”
Jodie, on the other hand, is a bit apprehensive.
“She’s my baby, this is it for me. It’s the start of a new chapter for us as a family,” Jodie said.
She won’t be the only one shedding tears.
Gorton MP and Minister Assisting for School Education Brendan O’Connor said there were more than 850,000 students heading back to school in Victoria.
One of those students is Albion’s Morgan Bleszcz, who faced her first day at St Aloyisuis in North Melbourne on Thursday last week.
The 12-year-old was looking forward to taking the leap from Grade 6 to Year 7, while mum Natalia was nostalgic for the day she dropped her daughter off at Prep.
That day Natalia took photos of Morgan and her friend walking to school for the first time in their uniforms.
Last week Natalia and Morgan repeated the ritual, this time readying for secondary school.
“We think where has that time gone?” Natalia said.
“It’s a fairly odd feeling, a bit daunting I suppose, but exciting.”
