Positive Climate for Learning
Richard Crawshaw
Assistant Principal
In this final Newsletter edition for the year, I wanted to begin by congratulating the community on the achievements you have all made this year. The high level of collaboration and communication that you have all shown, be it through Seesaw, email, phone calls and video conferencing, has been incredible. The enormous amount of work you have all done has been outstanding. This huge level of commitment to your child/rens learning by maintaining this communication just shows how strong the JSA community is. The 'saying' we have all heard, 'being apart, keeps us together', I think really resonates with the JSA community in that we had to work remotely, however the community remained together and come out the other side much stronger because of it. Everyone supported each other and this made it possible to finish the year on a positive note. Well done all, and please enjoy a well earned holiday period over the summer.
Mental Health and Wellbeing: School holiday support for parents & carers
It’s been a big year and this guide provides tips and resources for parents, carers and families to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in their care over the school holidays. This includes services to reach out to if more support is needed.
Please click on the above link and read the above article from the DET which outlines some actions you can take, and supports you can seek should you require them.
Drumbeat Program: Building Resilience through Rhythm
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending a Drumbeat session with one of the Middle classes. The Drumbeat program provides the opportunity for participants to use their hands to play the Djembe (small drum). The Drumbeat program is proven to have a positive impact on social and emotional needs. Some of the outcomes of this program are;
- Improving social regulation
- Provision of a constructive means of self-expression
- Increased self-esteem
- Increased sense of belonging and connection
- Increased collaboration skills
- Increased musicality; including rhythm, expressiveness and harmony
The students each had a chance to choose their own way of playing and play in harmony together. It was great to see students exploring their creativity, using both hands, and most of all joining in with them and having fun together.
Summer Holiday Activities
Now we have some restrictions lifted, there are a heap of activities available for you and your child/ren to visit post lockdown. Here a just a few suggestions to get you thinking about where to go out of the house;
- Ride the City Tram: The City Circle Tram service provides a free and convenient way to get around central Melbourne. The City Circle Tram makes its way around the city and links with other trams, trains and light rail services in and around Melbourne. There’s no limit to use – you are welcome to spend all day on a City Circle Tram.
- Organ Pipes National Park: A short drive up the Calder Freeway. The Organ Pipes, a set of basalt columns formed by the cooling and cracking of molten lava, are the most well known feature of the park. Enjoy a picnic, a walk and the spring wattle blossom.
- St Kilda Beach: If you go to St. Kilda Pier just before dusk you’ll see the Fairy penguins swimming in at the end of the day and climbing the breakwater rocks into their nests. There are usually between 10 and 20. If it is warm weather, you can have a paddle in the water, grab an ice-cream from the pier, then watch the penguins march into their nests.
- Story Time at the Library: Check out the goings on at your local Library over the summer. Often, local libraries have lots of quiet activities for children e.g. reading, story time, board games, and internet usage.
- Botanical Gardens: Always a beautiful place to walk around, check out the old trees, fairy gardens, swans on the lake near the cafe, and have great views of the Yarra River and city. It is easy to catch the train there too.
I hope you all take the time to switch off and relax over the holiday period regardless of what you choose to do, these are just some ideas.
Student Representative Council
The SRC is lead by Mark Taylor and as you know, is an important part of student voice, agency, and leadership. Thanks to our SRC for their work in 2020.
Achievements this year:
- Organised voting for student house captains and vice captains
- Coordinated student designing of the school house mascots
- Completed their flag duty at the beginning and end of each day. This new experience has instilled a sense of pride amongst the SRC members.
- The SRC have spent most of Term 4 reflecting on student experiences in the playground, as well as planning for all SRC members to have their playground vests ready for Term 1 next year.
As our 2020 group have missed the bulk of the year due to COVID, we will be continuing with the same cohort in 2021. This will allow all members the chance to consolidate their learning, and be part of some whole school changes. The staff believe that the SRC and the House Captains are going to play an integral part in developing Student Voice and Agency opportunities at JSA, and we look forward to SRC members handing out PBS tickets to their peers in 2021. The SRC will spend time in 2021 developing their visibility throughout the School, especially during playground sessions, and also increasing their leadership skills.