That's to be expected, assured University of Canberra clinical psychologist Vivienne Lewis, who encouraged parents and carers to acknowledge and normalise their child's anxieties.

"They're nervous about what friends are they going to make, what teachers are they going to have, what assignments are they going to have, if they didn't have a very good year last year they'd be anxious about that repeating itself this year," she said.

"For kids starting at a new school or starting school for the first time it's that apprehension of not actually knowing what to expect that can make them really anxious."

The UC High School Kaleen parents and citizens association aims to soften the blow with a picnic ahead of the school year.

Ever year, the group invites year seven students to meet with year 10 mentors in a Belconnen park - a chance for students and their families to meet their new peers.

"It's a casual way of students getting to eyeball other starting students before they start school again next week, because they've had a big break from when they finish primary school at the end of last year and haven't seen anyone for a while," president Elissa Steel said.

"It's quite a big change from year six to year seven, from primary school to high school.

"Anything that parents and other students and the schools themselves can do to support students in that change is useful."

Dr Lewis encouraged all parents to ensure children felt ready for school. That meant having uniforms bought and ironed, lunch boxes packed, and laptops, pencils and books ready to go, she said.

Dr Lewis also suggest parents prepare a small reward for students to enjoy at the end of their first day, such as a favourite meal for dinner.

"Parents are often very anxious about their kids starting school as well, so it's important for adults to actually be able to try and contain that because if your child sees you acting very anxious about them going back to school they will actually feel more anxious about it," she said.

Dr Lewis said the nerves should settle within the first few weeks of starting back at school.

"When they've got ongoing sleep issues, loss of appetite, if they're getting upset where there's crying or a lot of distress then parents need to be a bit concerned, but having said that you really do need to see how they go within the first couple of weeks," she said.

"Where parents would need to be concerned is when that distress is actually quite high and ongoing and doesn't seem to be getting better as the child is progressing through the weeks."

Term one begins on Monday for new starters, but most ACT students will return to school on Tuesday.