Principal's Update

Dear Families,

This week I had a birthday. Now I'm not telling you then so you can wish me many happy returns. I'm telling you to highlight the fact that in our school, each and every day your children demonstrate kindness and love. Yesterday, three groups of children came and presented me with cards they had made and had been signed by their classmates. They chose to do this themselves.  It was the best birthday gift I could ever get.  It also reminded me that every day your children show kindness to others. They help them when they are hurt, they offer to help the adults, they help their classmates with their learning, they give each other and adults compliments and I could go on. It is important that we take the time to celebrate the kindness of our children.

Last Friday, all staff had a wonderful day of Professional Learning with Trish from Real Schools. We will be working with Real School for three years to build a culture of Restorative practices across our school.  The day was a great reminder that schools are safe places of learning for children, not only academic learning but social emotional learning and learning about behaviours. We look forward to sharing some of this learning with you.

Over the next two weeks, our Grade 3 and 5 children will participate in Naplan assessments. We remind you to chat with your children about this and remind them that it is just an assessment on one day and that all they can do is give their best. There is no need to be anxious or concerned.

Our new gardener, Dan, is doing an excellent job on our grounds. We have just planted ground cover plants under the trees at the front entrance to the school. In the past, many of our future SMJ kids have loved playing under the trees while they waited for their siblings. We do ask that families keep them off this space to give the plants the best chance to grow.

Enjoy your long weekend. Stay safe and cool.

Louise