By Luke Voogt
Lara Primary School teachers will have plenty on their plate with identical twins Royston and Albert Smith, who started prep alongside 84,000 kids state-wide this week.
With their dad having trouble telling them apart at times, their teachers might struggle, according to mum Kerry Malesza.
“The teacher said to me this morning, ‘I’m going to confuse them’,” she laughed.
“They’re always up to mischief because they’ve got each other’s backs. Royston’s a bit of a tricker and likes to tell people he’s Albert.
“Royston is a little bit bigger and Albert has a blue vein on the bridge of his nose.”
The excited youngsters donned the school’s two different colours yesterday morning, with some gentle prodding from mum.
“I asked them what they wanted to wear but I did encourage them to wear two different shirts,” Kerry said.
Over at St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Norlane, 28 preps were saying goodbye to mum and dad for their first day.
“It was just so lovely to see their excited faces as they came through the gate this morning,” said school leader Tracey Lunnon-Talbot.
The school is very multicultural with a large Maori contingent, including a few preps this year, and pupils learn Maori as a second language.
The preps will also get to meet the school’s resident guinea pigs, chickens and therapy dogs.
Last year’s preps showed great resilience battling through periods of remote learning, Tracey said.
“Their parents were fantastic too – they really engaged in all of the work.”
While “very optimistic” 2021 would be different, Tracey said the school was prepared for similar lockdowns.
“We’ve got platforms in place that will ensure the kids continue to grow in their learning,” she said.
