Principal Reflections

A Short Message from Dr Jake

Dear Parents & Friends,              

Term Three Progress Meetings

St Edward's is very focussed on student improvement.

This term, you will have the opportunity to meet with your child's teacher in order to discuss their learning progress. This meeting is important, not only for reviewing your child's current progress, but also for coming up with strategies to ensure continued growth.

At the meeting you will receive your child's Term Three progress report.

The progress report is a document that shows the progress that your child is making towards completing the learning requirements for their grade. Progress reports give an overview to parents on how well their child is doing in school. They also help teachers identify which areas a child may need more support in.

Teachers use them as a starting point for discussion with you on areas of growth and development for your child.

To date there have been over 350 parents who have booked in to see their child's teacher. If you haven't booked your spot yet, please do so. If you are having technical difficulties, please contact our office for support. We aim to and look forward to having 100% participation in these meetings.

Happy Father's Day

We wish all Dads, Grandads, Uncles and father-figures a wonderful Father’s Day on Sunday. May your day be filled with laughter, coupled with the smiles and love of those closest to you. And may every witty comment you make, every joke that you crack and every idea that you share, be matched with the hilarious belly laugh and compliments that you so richly deserve. We look forward to sharing breakfast with you tomorrow morning.

National Child Protection Week

National Child Protection Week (4th - 10th September) is an annual event starting on the first Sunday of September. This year’s theme ‘Every child, in every community, needs a fair go’ aims to spread the message that to treat all of Australia’s children fairly, we need to make sure every family and community has what kids need to grow up safe and supported. National Child Protection Week is all about the ways that we can work together to build communities that support children and families. Children are safest when they are listened to, respected and believed. All adults can play a part by ‘tuning in’ to children in everyday situations about small worries; then they are much more likely to feel comfortable telling us if something big is wrong. Here are some ideas for talking with your children about safety:

• Support children to identify trusted adults (both within the family and outside) that they can talk to if they are worried, upset, or don’t feel safe. Make sure these adults know they are on your child’s list.
• Remind children that they can talk to you or a trusted adult about anything, no matter how big or small their worry might be.
• Talk to children about how they know when they feel safe or unsafe. Help them to listen to their early warning signs (how their body feels), and to trust their feelings and instincts. Use everyday activities as opportunities for conversations (e.g. preparing meals and snacks, going for walks, playing, shopping). If children are used to having lots of communication, it can make it easier to talk when big or tricky issues come up.
• Be open to talking about all kinds of feelings, including anger, joy, frustration, fear and anxiety. This helps children to develop a ‘feelings vocabulary’. 

Visit www.napcan.org.au to find out more about the campaign, including activities for families. In particular, check out the Children’s Art Activity which asks children what they think is most important in a child-friendly community.

Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us as we are only too happy to help.

Peace & Best Wishes

Dr Jake Madden

(Principal, St Edward's Primary School)