Assistant Principal's report

Welcome back

I've really enjoyed chatting with students and families over the last week and hearing about your holidays and starting school. If you ever have any concerns, questions or wonderings please be in touch. Working with our student and parent community is my favourite part of the job, both as an educator, as a mum and as a human so there is no conversation too big or small - let's tackle it! 

Parent Library

Together with the expert help of Martina (Library) and Mel (School Counsellor) I have begun curating a small library for parents to borrow from if the need arises. There is a small range of peer-reviewed texts that offer guidance around parenting, grief, neurodiversity and other subjects that sometimes arise in one's parenting journey. If you would like to borrow something confidentially please come to chat, and if you have other great suggestions please let me know!

Lunchboxes

Once again, we are back in the thick of packing lunchboxes every day, isn't it fun!? A few tips for making your child's (and their teacher's) day easy!

• Pack food that is tried and tested already, eating at school is about fuelling our brains and bodies so don't panic if the lunch box isn't 'instagram worthy'! If your child is the type that will only plain sandwiches or crackers at school but eats a balanced meal at home then feel free to just focus on filling that tummy. It's a great idea to chat to your child about making food choices that will fill them up and last longer, as opposed to sugary snacks that burn off super quickly and leave us hungry an hour later.
• Brain food: every class eats Brain Food in the middle of the morning to fuel our brains and reinvigorate us for learning. This must consist of fruit or vegetables only. Encourage your child to choose their own.
• We discourage students from taking packaging and containers outside when practical so consider packing a snack that fits easily in the hand as they race out the door, especially for recess. 
• If the lunch of choice requires cutlery (like noodles or pasta) please don't forget to pack it! Like staffrooms all over the world, ours is often mysteriously low on forks and spoons (that happens when teachers are on the run eating their lunch!) so we don't always have any to spare.
• Always consider whether your child can undo or unwrap the food that you pack. Teachers are happy to help but it's not unusual that things like tuna cans or yoghurt pouches come home simply because a busy child often doesn't want to stop and wrangle them!
• And lastly....name name name those lunchboxes and containers! Your teacher, child and bank balance will thank you!

I hope you will pop by to chat soon, you matter a lot to me.

Lauren Hopkins

We are kind. We are resilient. We are respectful.