Hello.
Huh?
Look.
Oh.
Hmm.
Wow.
Huh?
Look.
Ah.
I'm Sally.
And I'm Possum.
Hello.
Oh, hello, everyone.
Today is a big day because lots of children are off to school for the first time.
Possum hasn't come in yet.
He's normally in by now.
I wonder what he's up to.
I'll go see where he is.
Hmm.
Well, Possum's not playing cricket out here.
No.
Hmm.
Hmm.
Well, he's not in the garden.
He might still be in bed.
I do know he loves climbing to the top of his tree.
It's a lovely view from up there.
Let's see.
Oh, look, there he is.
Hello, Possum.
Oh.
He hasn't seen me yet. He's looking at something over there.
I wonder what it is.
Ooh.
Hello, Possum.
Hello, everyone.
Good morning.
Oh, it's such a beautiful day.
Hey, have a look at all those children walking along.
They're all wearing the same clothes and the same hats and the same bags.
But what about those adults?
They're wearing different clothes.
Why's that?
Hmm.
I'll ask Sally.
There she is.
Hi, Sally.
I'm coming down.
Oh, be careful, Possum.
I don't know why I keep telling him to be careful.
Possum is such a good climber.
Good morning, Possum.
Good morning, Sally.
Possum, you haven't come in for breakfast yet.
Ah.
Yes, I am hungry.
But, Sally, I saw something very exciting over there.
There's lots of children over there walking along the road.
They're all wearing the same clothes, the same hats, the same bags.
I don't know why.
They're wearing their school uniforms.
They've got their schoolbags on their backs.
Oh.
But I saw these adults – they weren't wearing the same clothes or bags.
No, the adults are the parents.
They're taking their children to school.
The children then stay at school and learn lots of wonderful things, like reading and writing and drawing.
The parents either go home, perhaps to do some chores, or they might go to their workplace.
That's just like here, Sally.
I learn so much here.
Why don't I, after breakfast, I go to school?
Oh, I'll need a uniform, I'll need a hat, a bag and what am I going to put in my bag?
Just hang on, Possum.
Why don't we sit down and have some breakfast and then we can talk about it, OK?
OK, let's go.
Oh, Possum thinks he's able to go to school.
I'll have to explain to him that possums don't go to school.
It's just for children.
He'll be so disappointed.
This looks delicious!
And it's going to taste even better because I'm going to school.
Why don't we sit down and enjoy our food?
OK.
Possum, there's something that I have to tell you.
Possums don't actually go to school.
Oh.
Only children do.
But will I learn if I don't go to school?
Possum, we've learnt so much here.
Remember all the fun times we've had and all the things we've made?
We've learnt many things and we've had lots of good times!
That's true.
But I was watching all those children and they all looked so happy.
I thought I would be the same.
Is it true that all children enjoy going to school?
School is a wonderful place, Possum.
Most of the children are very happy to go but there are some children that can be nervous sometimes because it would be the first time they are away from their family or out of their home.
They might not know who anyone else is.
They might be worried that they won't have any friends that the work might be too hard, but the teachers are lovely and very encouraging and they'll make sure that everyone feels happy.
You're right.
If I went to school, I'd be on my own and I wouldn't know who anyone else was – and I'd miss you, Sally.
Why don't we watch some children being taken to school by their parents for the very first time?
Let's watch.
Yeah, let's watch.
Oh, they look like they were having such a good time.
Yes.
School looks lovely.
I wish all possums could go to school.
Sally, can you clean up by yourself?
I'm going to go to my tree.
Of course, Possum.
Thank you.
Aha.
I knew Possum would be disappointed if he wasn't able to go to school but he seemed to have an idea.
I wonder what it is.
Sally, look, I've got my shirt, my hat and, look I've got my towel.
Soap to wash my hands.
A notebook to write notes in.
And an apple for my snack later.
Oh, Possum, I can see you've thought long and hard about what to put into your bag.
That's great but you do remember our discussions about possums not going to school, though, don't you?
Only children go.
Yes, yes, Sally, I know, but I thought we could play school!
Would you like to be the teacher?
Or me?
Why don't we take turns?
Where shall we do it?
Hmm.
The kitchen!
And once we finish there, we can play out here.
Come on, let's go.
Great idea!
Let's go!
'Thank you, Possum', said the teacher.
'You were such a big help in showing the children how to climb today.'
'Thank you', said Possum.
'I can't wait to see what we learn tomorrow.''
And that's the end of the story.
Sally, the possum in that story is just like me!
Yes, that's right – you were the same possum.
Would you like to draw a picture?
Yeah.
Pick a part of the story you liked the most and you can draw a picture of it.
Hmm.
I know!
I'll draw a picture of Possum climbing.
Great.
Finished.
Oh, that looks lovely.
Oh, it's a lovely drawing, Possum.
What a great picture.
I think that would look beautiful in your tree.
You can look at it whenever you want.
I think it could be time for a snack.
Would you like an apple?
Should we go outside to eat it?
Yeah.
Hang on Sally, I've got a question.
Once children go to school, do they stay there?
Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
At the end of the school day, the children's parents come and pick them up and then take them home.
It's always a very exciting time, because the kids all tell their parents what's happened that day, what they've learnt, show them pictures of what they might have drawn.
It's a very exciting time.
Oh, that's great.
Why don't we watch children being picked up from school and how their parents collect them?
Let's watch.
Yeah, let's watch.
Wow!
It looks like those children had a wonderful day at school.
Yeah.
I had a great day pretending to play school, and now I have a juicy apple.
Hang on, Possum.
Our time is up.
Thanks for watching.
See you next time.
Bye!
Here you go, Sally.
Thanks.
Mmm.
Mmm.