Principal

Expos

Thank you for taking the opportunity to attend a student Expo this week. It was wonderful to see all of the work our students had to share. It was also great to have so many parents back on site. Be sure to have a look in the Curriculum News page to see photographs of the Expos. 

Cross Country 

Congratulations to all on a wonderful whole school event. It was fabulous for us all to be together. Thank you to Carley for all of her hard work, thanks to Cameron for his support and to all staff for undertaking their roles on the day. 

Well done to our students for their efforts in running! 

Acceptable behaviour and our expectations

This past week I have spent time in discussion with our Year 6 students about our school community and what is important to us. I talked about how our actions and words demonstrate what sort of community we are.

I wanted to share this conversation with all in our community, we are all responsible for ensuring our school is the best it can be in terms of the expectations around how we interact and the example that we provide to our students. 

I asked students to close their eyes and think about a time when they were excluded, hurt or had mean words used against them. I asked them to think about how it made them feel but more importantly to remember what the people around them did. We talked about the behaviour we walk past, being the behaviour we accept. 

We discussed insults that have been used in our yard and school that were of a concern to all of us, including:

• You kick like a girl
• You're so gay
• I don't like your skin colour
• You're not wearing good runners I'm not being your friend

We talked about sexism, racism, homophobia and attacking someone because they are disabled. We also discussed the reactions that occur when someone is mean, rude or bullying. We talked about the impact it has if those around laugh rather than stand up for someone. 

We spent time talking about being a bystander and the need to be courageous - we know it is not always easy but as a community we have to work out what we are saying if we laugh - we are saying it's okay to call people names, to hurt them or bully them. 

We are a school where care is part of our motto - it is the responsibility of all of us to show care. 

We discussed the disappointment with some of the behaviors we have seen in the yard - physically hurting each other, bullying, homophobic and racist slurs and swearing. This led to a conversation around body shaming, which is also something being reported to us, this is taken as seriously as all of the other examples set out above. 

Our teachers will be working through the Rights, Resilience and Respectful Relationship (RRRR) program with a particular focus on body image and identity. We spoke about how to seek assistance and the words that could be used to get out of a situation and then go and seek help. Students asked us to assist them with the language they can use to assist each other, this will also be part of our RRRR program. 

As a group we discussed the importance of seeking help and the need to stop using words like 'dobbing'. If someone is being harmed then you are seeking assistance for them by coming to the teachers. The notion of 'dobbing' does nothing to support our students as they develop their own moral compass and it does not serve them well at school. 

I talked to the students about grandma's house rules - I want them to consider and remember that if it is not okay to say or do something at your grandparents house then it is not okay to do it at school! 

I want us to support our students to be brave and to support each other, being the leaders that we know they can be at Boroondara Park PS. Our teachers will work with the students to do the right thing towards each other. 

We look forward to you supporting us by reinforcing with all of your children how we can work together to be supportive members of the community who do indeed respect each other, care for each other and ensure we are all feel safe. 

Child Safe Standards

All schools, including Boroondara Park PS, must be able to prove they meet all seven Child Safe Standards. In a previous newsletter article we have shared information regarding the standards - they are included below for your information. 

We all have a role to play in protecting our students, you will see these posters up around school. Take the time to read this one and familarize yourself with how we can work together to protect our students. 

Boroondara Park PS has a Code of Conduct and Child Safe policy, both on our website. We are currently reviewing our Code of Conduct and a new version will be included next term. 

COVID Audit 

This week we have had a COVID audit. We spent four hours working through the requirements for keeping us all safe and for following all regulations and requirements. We were very pleased to see we had a lot of things in place and well established. There are some things we need to follow up and we will be revisited on the first Friday of next term. 

You will have seen the floor and footpath spots and squares reminding us to keep our distance - we must stay vigilant and ensure that these behaviours are embedded. Be safe and stay 1.5m from others. We also have signs on all of our doors indicating how many people can be in each space. 

We will continue to ensure our processes and behaviours protect us all, we will provide you with information and thank you for ensuring when on site you follow the COVID safe processes and behaivours. 

Discover Balwyn - Balwyn HS

Balwyn High School is holding their annual Middle School event showcasing the Teaching and Learning Program to families interested in becoming part of the community. All details are in the Community Information section of this newsletter. 

Thank you and happy holidays

Thank you for your continued support of Boroondara Park PS, we have had a wonderful term filled with lots of learning and getting to know our new classes and teachers. 

Wishing everyone a safe holiday, enjoy the break and we will see you back for Term 2 on Monday April 19th.

Susanne Lowe

Principal