Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to those that attended Learning Conversations last week. They continue this week and if you haven’t booked your time, please see below for details!

Support from Home

This past week I have spent time in classrooms in discussion about the way we treat each other as a community that respects and cares for each other. The issue I have concentrated on is the way we speak to each other. Two areas I have concentrated on have been:

1. put-downs

2. poor language

Our society seems to accept put-downs, and our children can very easily use put-downs without realising how harmful they can be for others. Put downs can make others feel threatened and afraid. They have been asked to be thoughtful of the way they speak to each other and to be mindful of using words that are sensitive and thoughtful. I ask you to support us in this area in the out of school hours.

Swearing is another aspect of our society that seems to be acceptable and even expected. I have called the children to question how swear words can affect others by making them feel unsafe and not worthwhile. The core of our school culture is honouring the dignity of the other and ensuring that the Christian values of care and respect for each other are upheld. It is impossible to change what the children hear outside of school or what is acceptable language in other environments, but the staff will work hard to ensure that poor language is not accepted in the school.

I ask you to support us with this issue as we work together to ensure that our children respect themselves and others by the way they speak.

Pupil Free Day – Wednesday 5th August 2026

Please note that school is closed:

Wednesday 5th August for a Catholic Education Sandhurst Limited (CESL) Staff Spirituality Day

Term 3 Learning Conversations

Our Term 3 Learning Conversations continue this Tuesday 4th August from 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm.

These meetings provide an important opportunity for families, teachers and students to come together to celebrate learning, discuss progress and set goals for the future. Students will be actively involved in the conversations, sharing work samples and reflecting on their achievements and next steps.

We encourage ALL families to attend and strengthen the partnership that supports every child's success.

Appointments are available to book on SIMON everywhere or by contacting the school office.

In order to facilitate more effective conversation at these meetings, it may be worth giving some thought to the following questions:

What do you see as your child’s most important success this year at school?
How do you see that your child’s learning needs are being met at the moment?
How might we be able to work together to enhance things further for the second half of the school year?
Do you or your child feel the need to raise any issues for discussion at the meeting?

Mid year meetings are a formal opportunity for parent/teacher communication but certainly these meetings are not the only times when there can be effective communication about your child’s learning. Teachers are always happy to make themselves available to discuss your child’s progress. The allocated time is 15 mins per interview.

How was school today?

It is not uncommon for parents to ask “How was school today?”, and get little response from their child. If that’s the case at your house try some of the following questions at the end of the school day.

Different ways to ask your child, “How was School today?”

· What was the best thing that happened at school today?

· If you could choose who would you like to sit next to in class?

· Where is the coolest place at the school?

· Tell me something that made you laugh today.

· If I called your teacher tonight what would she tell me about you?

· How did you help somebody today? Did anyone help you?

· Tell me one thing that you learned today and I’ll tell you something I learnt at work.

· Do you have any wonderings about today?

· Who would you give student of the day to today? Why?

· Tell me something good that happened today.

· What is the most interesting thing your teacher said today?

· What do you think you should do/learn more of at school?

· What do you think you should do/learn less of at school?

· Who is the funniest person in your class? Why is he/she so funny?

· If you got to be the teacher tomorrow what would you do?

We hope that these little tips help begin a conversation that is both positive and informative!

Parenting Ideas with Michael Grose

You may have heard about Michael Grose, who is one of Australia’s leading parent educators, talking about resilience. He talks openly about the fact that parenting has changed dramatically over the past twenty years and it is now very common that we have become a nation that over parents. He states that many parents feel confused about the best way to raise kids and are overwhelmed by the busyness of life and ill-prepared to raise kids in a fast-changing modern world. Wanting what’s best for our children can rob them of the vital opportunity to develop personal resilience.

In one of his articles he talks about the seven common resiliency robbers, and I would like to share them with you each week. As a parent and teacher, it made me stop and think.

Resilience Robber 1.

Parents fight children’s battles for them and don’t give them a chance to solve their own problems. There is nothing wrong with a parent going into bat when kids struggle or meet difficulties inside or outside school but solving children’s problems for them should be the last resort, not the first option that parents use.

Stay tuned next week for more of these tips which not only apply to parents but to teachers as well.

I hope you have a great week, and I look forward to seeing you at the Learning Conversations!

Kind regards,

Paul Bissinella 

Acting Principal 

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