Principal's Message
Welcome back to Term 2!
It has been wonderful to ease into the new term with a short three-day week and beautiful sunny weather. The positive energy across the school has been contagious, and it has set the tone for a fantastic term ahead.
New Playground Launch
Last week, the excitement on our students’ faces was priceless as they caught their first glimpse of our brand-new playground equipment. To ensure a smooth and safe introduction, class teachers led students through initial exploration sessions, allowing them to interact with the equipment in a supervised and controlled environment. Additionally, Mrs Maxwell conducted a comprehensive safety lesson with all Foundation to Year 4 students during their Physical Education sessions.
These lessons focused on developing an understanding of taking responsible risks rather than unsafe ones while using the new equipment. To support student safety during playtimes, we have also allocated an additional Yard Duty staff member in the playground area.
Key safety messages introduced to students included:
- Challenge by Choice: Everyone progresses at their own pace, respecting individual comfort zones and abilities.
- Waiting Zones: Students are encouraged to wait safely away from active equipment areas, avoiding standing directly underneath structures such as cargo nets, ladders, and platforms.
- Sharing Space: A maximum of 3–4 students are permitted on the top of the big cargo net at any time, maintaining personal space and safety.
- Grip Techniques: Students were taught to use a ‘crab claw grip’ — fingers over the top, thumb underneath — when climbing on bars.
- Climbing Safely: Students must face ladders and cargo nets while climbing and maintain ‘three points of contact’ at all times (two hands and one foot or two feet and one hand) to ensure stability.
- Descending Carefully: Students are reminded to climb down safely rather than jumping from equipment.
- Safe Entry to Monkey Bars: Students should climb up carefully rather than jumping to grab the bars.
In addition, students revisited the important general playground safety rules:
- No inverted manoeuvres (e.g., hanging upside down),
- No playing tag or racing on equipment,
- One person at a time on the slide, always going feet-first,
- No climbing up or blocking slides.
It has been wonderful to see how quickly and responsibly students have embraced these expectations, showing care for both themselves and their peers.
SunSmart Update
A reminder that our SunSmart Hat Policy concludes for Term 2 on Tuesday, April 30. We kindly ask that families store school hats in a safe place ready for use again from September 1st, when the policy recommences.
Welcoming Future Students
This week we are excited to welcome some of our prospective 2026 Foundation students as they participate in their first 30-minute ‘taster’ session at our school. These sessions offer young learners an opportunity to become familiar with the school environment and begin building a sense of connection and confidence.
If you know of any families considering enrolling at our school, please encourage them to book a tour — we would love to show them all that our wonderful school has to offer!
We look forward to a term filled with learning, growth, and fun!
Mel and Kate
