Principal's Message

Ms Reynolds

Parent Learning Walks

Yesterday a group of 8 parents, 2 students and 3 staff members gathered to go on a Learning Walk together. Learning Walks are a way to build partnerships for learning by looking inside a range of classrooms and reflecting on what we saw, felt and wondered. We walked through 3 classrooms - 5/6B, 3/4W and 1/2B - as well as the staffroom, office and my office too!

Thank you to the parents for making time to look at the "inside" of our school! Here's a snapshot of what we noticed:

What did you see?

organisation
calm
happy students
lots of art
positive behaviour
focused students
great communication

What did that make you feel?

proud!
safe!
a sense of beauty
calm and comfortable
trust
I miss school!

What are you now wondering?

How much classes work outside...

How does a teacher plan for different students...

What's a day in the life of a teacher like...

Thank you to the parents, students and staff who looked around and shared their thinking with us. I hope to run another Learning Walk next term - let me know if you're interested!

Come and Play!

Happy International Play Day! At GEPS, Come and Play is our theme for term 2 - it's a way to build deeper connections with families, through play. We believe that playing with your child (and making learning playful at times) builds both social outcomes and academic outcomes.

We've held Come and Play in Stage 2 and 3 based on maths games; We've had a Kindy Come and Play experience today; and Stage 1 are having their play on Thursday with Paint and Sip! I hope our Come and Play theme is giving you opportunities to engage with your child at school.

Up-coming

Our Bunnings fundraiser is on this Saturday (1st June) from 9am-4pm. The Stage 1 team are raising funds for excursions. Come along to Bunnings Villawood to support them!

Learning Conversations continue for Stage 1 and 2. Make sure you have an appointment booked!

Our Dance Team have their official audition next Tuesday 4th June. Good luck to them - and practice hard this last week!

Reconciliation Week

This week is Reconciliation Week - and began on Sunday with National Sorry Day - a day to remember the past injustices done to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The theme for this year's Reconciliation Week is Now More Than Ever. This theme reminds us that we need to continue to work for justice for all and that each of us can do our bit to get closer to reconciliation.

At GEPS, we acknowledge the traditional owners of the land and each day we pay respect to their stories, histories and connection to land and Country. We acknowledge the Dharug people, who are and were the owners of this land. We recognise that we all come from different parts of the world and we have a lot to learn from Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and caring for Country.

For more information:

https://www.reconciliation.org.au/our-work/national-reconciliation-week/