Principal's Page

Trivia Night Success!

What an absolutely fantastic evening we had at our school Trivia Night last weekend! I had such a wonderful time, and I'm particularly proud to share that the teachers' table managed to secure a shared second place – clearly all that professional development has been paying off in more ways than one!

I must give enormous credit to Olga, Tori and their incredible team for the fabulous organisation of this event. Their attention to detail, creativity, and tireless work behind the scenes made for a truly memorable night. The evening was a resounding success, raising an amazing amount of money for our school that will go towards installing an additional bike shed – a much-needed facility that our students will greatly benefit from.

The silent auction was a particular highlight for me, (I may have gotten a little carried away and came home with two amazing items!) and the live auction created such excitement throughout the room. The "Principal for a Day" item was especially hotly contested. I'm not sure whether to be flattered or concerned about how enthusiastically people bid for the chance to take over my role!

As both a school and especially as your Principal, I truly value the contributions made by everyone involved – from the organising team to all the families who attended on the night to people who donated silent auction items. Events like these showcase just how fabulous our school community is when we come together.

Digital Citizenship: Being our best selves online

On a different note, I'd like to address something that's been on my mind lately regarding our students' online behaviour. We've been noticing that some of our students are saying and doing things in digital spaces that we would never see them do in real life. It's almost as if the screen creates a barrier that makes some children feel they can behave differently, what some might call a "keyboard warrior" mentality.

This concerns me because the wonderful, kind, respectful students we see at school every day are the same children who are interacting online. The values we practice in our classrooms – respect, integrity, inclusiveness and curiosity – shouldn’t change just because we're communicating through a screen.

I'd encourage all families to have regular conversations with their children about digital citizenship. Help them understand that their online actions have real consequences for real people. The person on the other side of that message, comment, or post has feelings just like they do.

Some questions you might ask at home:

• Would you say this to someone's face?

• How would you feel if someone said this to you?

• Is this comment helpful or kind?

• Would you be comfortable if your teacher or family saw what you posted?

I know that with your support at home and our continued focus at school, we can help our students develop into thoughtful digital citizens who make positive contributions to online communities, just as they do in person.