The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board's Junior and Senior Kindergarten programs offer excellent beginnings for each child's academic, social, emotional and language development.

Most Kindergarten programs are offered on a full-day, every-other-day basis.  However, 10 schools will be offering full-day Kindergarten starting in September 2010, and another five in September 2011. 

Parent interest has been high at KPR’s 10 first-year early learning schools, which will offer the program in September 2010: Apsley, Northumberland Hills, Bowmanville Central, Colborne, Ganaraska Trail, Grant Sine, Havelock-Belmont, Otonabee Valley, Prince of Wales and Roseneath Centennial Public Schools. Their full-day Kindergarten classes are almost full.

Schools that will offer full-day Junior and Senior Kindergarten in 2011-2012 are: Brighton, Hastings, Keith Wightman and Orono Public Schools, as well as the new school being built on Bons Avenue in Bowmanville.

Registration for Junior and Senior Kindergarten takes place each fall for the following school year. Families who move later in the school year are urged to register their children as soon as possible at their local school.

Parents may register their children to start school in September if either of the following applies:

• Junior Kindergarten - child must be four years of age by December 31 of that year.
• Kindergarten - child must be five years of age by December 31 of that year.

Parents should bring a birth certificate or other proof of age, proof of address, and current immunization information, when registering their children. Since registration times vary, please contact your local school for details. An elementary registration form may be printed off our website and filled out ahead of time.

As a general rule, we recommend most children should know their first and last name, the names of family members, their age, where they live and their phone number, by the time they enter school. Additionally, most children should be able to do a number of things independently, including:

• getting dressed
• tying up shoe laces or doing up Velcro straps
• using the bathroom
• eating snacks or a meal on their own
• speaking so others can understand them.

Pre-school children learn best through play. Interaction with other children and adults is a confidence booster. Parents should encourage their pre-schoolers to share and cooperate with other children, speak about their feelings and actions, and participate in new experiences. As well, parents should help their children become good listeners and allow them to solve problems.

Pre-schoolers can improve their communication skills by being given the opportunity to participate in playgroups or nursery school. Parents may also introduce their children to others in the community.

Parents and guardians worried about their child's readiness for Junior Kindergarten or Senior Kindergarten should contact their child's school principal as early as possible. Schools are a good source of information and may be able to help parents get support for their children.

Kawartha Pine Ridge brochure Preparing Your Child for Kindergarten (PDF, 187 KB)

For more information, please call your school Principal.