By Kim Arlington
TEACHERS will be doing double duty at Parklea Public School, where five sets of twins are starting kindergarten this year.
School resumed yesterday for the first of more than 767,000 public school students statewide; the twins are among about 66,000 kindergarten pupils starting classes over the next week.
Two of us … Parklea Public School welcomes five sets of twins this year, including, from left, Brody and Charlize Martyn, Tina and Jana Grkavac, Aleena and Andrew Macfarlane and Alyssa and Michael Makhoul.Credit: Wolter Peeters
While nobody at Parklea has seen such an influx of twins before, it is not unique - Clemton Park Public School in Earlwood is also welcoming five sets of twins into kindergarten this week.
The Education Department has launched a hotline to provide families with advice on how best to prepare for the start of the school year, and for the parents of the Parklea twins, there was an extra decision to make - to separate, or not to separate.
''Usually we ask the parents what they feel comfortable with, whether they want to keep their twins together because it's worked well at preschool or at home, or if they prefer to have them separated,'' said Sarah Ogie, one of Parklea's five kindergarten teachers. ''It's OK to have that close relationship but you need to [nurture each twin as] an independent worker.''
Eleisha Martyn opted to have her twins Brody and Charlize in the same class. ''They are used to being together; that's what works for them. With that transition to a new environment, the security of having their twin is nice for the first year. Once they're used to the new environment I'm happy to separate them.''
Ian and Felicia Macfarlane will also keep their twins, Aleena and Andrew, together. ''They are always looking out for each other,'' Mrs Macfarlane said. ''They always say they are best friends. They have each other … it will make the transition easier.''
Jizelle Makhoul hopes her twins, Alyssa and Michael, will ''become self-reliant and develop their social skills separately'' if they are not in the same class. Alyssa thought it would be fun to be in a different class to her brother, explaining: ''I can meet new friends.'' And if they miss each other, they can always play at recess and lunch.
Tina and Jana Grkavac will also be in different classes, but have the comfort of knowing their sibling is in the classroom just next door.
Their mother, Slagjana Grkavac, only decided to separate the girls after ''a lot of thought and consultation'' with the school. ''They need to express their own individuality,'' she said.
''They can't wait to start.''