Principal's Report

Welcome to Week 3. It was wonderful to see such a huge attendance at our Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea. I would once again like to thank our PTF and our amazing mums, grandparents and carers who jumped in to offer their help and support on the day. A lot of thought and care went into making it a beautiful afternoon for the special women in our children’s lives. I would like to thank Mrs Bradley, my scone making partner in crime, for coming out of retirement and spending a couple of hours baking with me! Even though Mrs Bradley is no longer here with us each day, she continues to care about our school and checks in on a regular basis. I would also like to thank our teachers for preparing their students so well. They performed beautifully at our afternoon tea and made us all proud.

As you are probably aware, two of our most favourite members of the Skye Community are Lenny & Murphy. Lenny and Murphy are both accredited Therapy Dogs. They have been doing some incredible work with some of our students, who just need an extra friend or someone to help them feel calm and happy when they are having a tough day. The school's Therapy Dog Policy has been updated and is available for you to read on our website. A reminder that there is an OPT OUT consent form for parents to sign if you would prefer that your child does not come into direct contact with the dogs. This could for example be due to fear, an allergy or for cultural reasons. Lenny and Murphy are both very relaxed and well-behaved dogs and will never approach a child or jump on them. It has been lovely to see several students who have had a fear of dogs, now ask for a pat or to throw the frisbee for them. They are very proud of themselves for overcoming their challenges of being near dogs. We always teach the students how to safely approach the dogs because as we all know, not every dog is friendly or wants to be approached by strangers. If you have any questions about the dogs, please do not hesitate to contact either Mr Bernau or myself. 

I am looking forward to heading to our Grade 6 camp next week. Fingers crossed that the weather holds out for us! I will be leaving you all in the capable hands of Mr Bernau while I am ‘holidaying’ with 44 children at Waratah Beach! Not sure if they will have a sun lounge and day spa available ... but there is nothing wrong with dreaming a little!   

Wishing you all a lovely Mothers Day on Sunday whether it is celebrating being a mum, celebrating with your mum or remembering those special mums and mother figures who may no longer be with us. 

Have a great fortnight ahead.

Jane Briffa