Dear Parents,

As most of you would be aware, there has been a great deal of media attention recently in regards to social media. There is a push in political circles to increase the legal age from 13 years to 16 years on platforms such as Snapshot and Instagram, to enable children in their formative years to be protected from the influence and potential harm of social media. This harm can include exclusion and bullying and can have a devastating impact on students and their families.

Although we are a primary school and we do not currently have any students 13 years of age, we are aware that an increasing number of students are accessing these online platforms. I would strongly encourage parents to listen to the current advice from cybersafety experts, including the eSafety commissioner, in regards to student use of social media. To be blunt, it would appear to be negligent to simply provide your child with a phone and / or access to the internet without an understanding of the potential harm and safeguards in place.

While we respect that some parents permit and endorse their child’s use of social media, it is important that parents are aware of the online content their child has access to and potential impact on their health and wellbeing. The evidence is overwhelming in regards to the potential harm of social media, especially for children of primary school age, who simply do not have the cognitive capacity to discern and manage the information they are receiving. In most cases, a student with a phone has unvetted access to the world wide web, and are likely being exposed to content far beyond their years, unbeknown to their parents. An inability to manage this content can lead to anxiety, poor self esteem and much worse.

As a minimum, parents should limit their child’s access to the internet and take steps to supervise and be aware of their child’s online activity. Unrestricted access to a mobile phone 24/7 is simply too dangerous. I am not underestimating the challenge for parents in this space, as I too have needed to navigate this space with my own children, two of whom are now young adults. The peer group pressure is immense and often the driving force behind access to social media is to maintain social connections with friends.

In addition to the potential harm for young children, there is also overwhelming research in regards to the importance of participating in `offline’ activities, such as sport and recreation. It is essential that students have the opportunity to switch off and engage socially, in person, in meaningful ways.

As a school we have a responsibility to respond to issues on social media, that are brought to our attention, involving students at our school. While these issues are not common, we are concerned that our students are active online, often late into the night when they should be asleep. We are more than willing to offer advice or support for parents in this space.

Casual Dress Day - Friday 14th June

The Mini Vinnies Team have organised a casual (free) dress day and food drive for Friday 14th June. Please see the Mini Vinnies section of this newsletter for further details.

School Closure Day - Friday 2nd August

We can now confirm that our School Closure Day for Term Three will take place on Friday 2nd August (3rd week of Term Three).

Parent / Teacher Interviews - last week of term

Correspondence will be sent later this week in regards to bookings for Parent Teacher Interviews. These interviews will take place after school hours on Tuesday 25th and Thursday 27th June.

School Review

Firstly, thank you to the small group of parents who were able to meet with our School Reviewer, Craig Tanner. Craig was extremely impressed with the feedback he received from our key stakeholders; staff, students and parents, in regards to our school community. Some general feedback received indicated that all stakeholders feel that HT is a very welcoming community with a great sense of belonging. For our staff, it is a great place to work. Our learning and teaching is strong, as indicated by our academic results (including NAPLAN) and our staff are committed to professional learning and excellence in teaching. Furthermore, there is a strong sense of student wellbeing and connectedness to peers. Craig commented that we should all be proud of our efforts!

In the coming weeks, in consultation with Craig, we will develop our 4 year plan for school improvement.

Relocation of seating and flag pole

As communicated in the last edition of the newsletter, we have relocated the flag pole from the front of the office (HT office, not SMC) to the artificial turf / sand pit area. This wlll provide the option of hosting our flag raising assembly on the open asphalt space or the oval. We are also exploring the possibility of installing a second flag pole for our indigenous flag.

End of School Term - Friday 28th June - 1 pm finish

The school day will finish at 1pm on the last day of each school term to provide Time in Lieu for staff. We acknowledge the early finish time does impact some families so we will therefore offer supervision of students until 3.30pm if required. Please indicate below if your child needs to remain at school following the 1pm finish time.

If you have more than one child please provide the name of each child below. For planning purposes please complete the form before Tuesday 25th June at 12pm.

Supervision after 1pm - Friday 28th June

Please only complete this form if your child will not be collected from school at 1pm on Friday 28th June.

We will conclude the term with an assembly at 12.30pm to announce the TORCH Bearer of the Term Awards. Parents are most welcome to attend.

Safety concerns - crossing Riddell Road

A number of families are choosing to cross Riddell Road in the morning rather than use

the supervised crossing. For safety reasons, we strongly encourage parents and students to use the supervised crossing. It only takes an additional minute or two to walk up to the crossing. With the steady flow of traffic from 8.30-9.00am, it is not always safe to cross between traffic, particularly with cars moving in and out of the drop off bay, at times obscuring vision.

Management of illness in schools, including COVID

We appear to be having a better run in regards to student attendance, with less student absence over the last couple of weeks. However, the message remains the same - if your child is unwell or symptomatic, they must stay at home.

The government advice continues to recommend that staff members, students or visitors who have symptoms of cold, influenza or COVID-19 undergo testing for COVID-19. Parents of symptomatic students should be asked to collect their child from school and keep them home until they are no longer symptomatic. The Department of Health recommends that staff and students who test positive for COVID-19 isolate for a minimum of 5 days and do not attend school until their symptoms resolve.

Art Show- save the date!

Each year we celebrate the Arts, with a focus on the Performing Arts (Italian) one year and the Visual Arts the next. This year we will celebrate our amazing student artists with an Art Show on Tuesday 10th September (evening). Details to come.

Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF)

Applications for the CSEF fund are still open. If you hold a valid, means-tested concession card or are a temporrary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. If you are the holder of a concession card and would like to apply please click below to obtain a CSEF application form and hand it in to the school office for processing no later than Monday 24th June, 2024.

Please see the Community News Section of the Newsletter for more information.

School Fee Statements

Statements were issued to all families on 20/5/2024 via email. If you have not received a copy please contact the office immediately to confirm your email address.

A reminder that the 2nd payment (50% of Family Fee and Levies) is due on the 28 June 2024. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the office.

Have a great week!

Warm Regards,

Adrian Scutt

Principal

Time to eXcel