BYOD – Bring Your Own Device (iPads)

Last Thursday we held a parent information session about the school’s BYOD program. The presentation was a little bit different this year as we included the following:

A brief history of how the BYOD program came about in 2019.
How device use has increased student engagement, collaboration and creative thinking.
Students spoke about how iPads are used in their classrooms and showed examples of their work.
How the school monitors what students are doing on their iPads through Apple Classroom (we showed parents how Apple Classroom works).

Thank you to the parents who gave their time to come along to the presentation. I’d also like to give a special thank you to Miss Bainbridge who worked so diligently to prepare the presentation and work with the students. Last but not least, a huge shout out to the following students who spoke so confidently and proudly showed the work they’d created using their iPads: Year 3: Charlotte B Year 4: Atharva T Year 5: Harry B Year 6: Jesse G, Elliot T, Mimi X and Jaskirat T.

Access to the Presentation: The BYOD presentation was filmed so that parents will be able to view it at their leisure. A compass newsfeed will be posted with details of how to access the recording.

iPADS and Child Safety

The school has offered numerous opportunities through the year for parents to become better educated about their child’s device use and their online habits. Despite this, far too many students, spend far too much time on their devices and for a vast majority, this screen time is unsupervised. An analysis of the weekly screen time following the holidays showed that some students are spending 30 to 60 hours per week on their iPads. That’s right… 60 hours in a week. Excessive device use (iPads, phones, tables) leads to screen addiction which in turn leads to disengagement from more beneficial activities such as active play, exercise and sport and even going to school.

So what can we do?

Together, we can recommend limits on iPad use.

At home

At home- iPads limited to a maximum of one hour of recreational use per day.
If your child has homework on their iPad:
a) ask them to show you what that homework is
b) ask them how long they think it will take them to do it and time them
c) ask them to show you the completed homework.

At school

iPads will only be used for designated school tasks and this will be monitored through Apple Classroom.
If for some reason the iPad doesn’t connect to Apple Classroom, the student will use a school iPad (if available) for that activity.
iPads will not be used on wet weather days nor will they be used as a ‘break time or reward’.

CYBERSAFETY

The end of the year will soon be upon us and students will be ready for the summer holiday break. Prior to this, we will once again be hosting a parent education workshop by ‘Think U Know’ (A National Crime Agency to protect children from dangers online) and based on the high praise from the parents who attended the workshop at the beginning of the year, this adult session should be a priority.

Coinciding with the parent workshop, we have an incursion with the Moorabbin Proactive Police Unit who will educate students from years 3 to year 6 on strategies for staying safe online, including when gaming.

ANXIETY – Strengthening Children and Teens against Anxiety

The long awaited ‘Understanding Anxiety’ workshop is next week. If your child has ever suffered anxiety, then this workshop will provide the understanding and helpful hints you need.

When: Wednesday October 25

Where: Murrumbeena PS Library

Time: 6:30 – 8:00pm

Bookings: Try Booking https://www.trybooking.com/CMDZE

NOTE: The content of this workshop is owned by Compass Seminars and therefore no recordings of the session will be made.

CLASS PLACEMENT POLICY

Determining class lists for the following year is quite a lengthy and considered process. The process takes in the social, emotional and educational needs of the students and ensures that classes are balanced as best as possible across the year level. This year, the process is different resulting from a change in our policy.

A compass post outlining the process will be posted this week. We will ask you to engage in a conversation with your child about their peers - those they learn well with and who contribute to their sense of belonging in their classroom community.

We will be providing you with the link to a Google Form in which you will be asked to list four children who your child feels will support their learning. These names are not ranked in any order. It's important that parents endorse their child's choices after discussing peer selections.

The Google Form must be completed by Tuesday 31 October 2023

For further information, our Class Placement Policy can be found on our website.

SCHOOL COUNCIL SUB COMMITTEES

Social and Fundraising Committee

You’ll read later in this newsletter a more detailed report from the Social and Fundraising committee but I couldn’t let this opportunity to thank our wonderful parents pass by. The highly successful Trivia Night is a credit to the organisational skills of Committee Convenor Liz Maplestone and David Funston. Together with their helpers, they not only organised a night of song, laughs and trivia but they’ve also grabbed the opportunity to run a cake stall and sausage sizzle at the recent Referendum voting day. They’re also making sure our students don’t miss out on the fun as they’ve organised a Halloween themed Disco, so be sure to purchase your child’s entry ticket on Qkr. To Liz and David, our school community genuinely appreciates your tireless efforts. Thank you.

Facilities Committee

The Facilities Committee oversees the maintenance and further development of the school’s buildings and grounds. Along with prioritising and actioning items from our five year maintenance plan, the sub committee also identify areas for improvement.

Painting of Classrooms

During the recent term 3 break, the classrooms located on the ground floor of the main building were painted and what an incredible difference this has made. The classrooms are not only brighter but appear bigger. During the upcoming summer holiday break, the classrooms on the first floor, will be also painted and new carpet will be installed in all classrooms in the main building.

Please read the facilities report (located further in this newsletter) and see how you can be involved.

School Council Committees

Recent activities undertaken by the sub committees:

Finance: this committee recently reviewed the 2024 voluntary parent contributions
Education: reviewed the 2023 NAPLAN data and the Class Placement Policy
Facilities: proposed two improvement projects (see further report)
Canteen and Uniform: reviewed the canteen menu, sales and prices in readiness for 2024
Social and Fundraising: organised Trivia Night, the Referendum fundraiser and the student disco (see further report)

Being a member of school council provides greater insight into the various activities of the school and the guidelines that govern these. We thank each member for their school community perspective and positive involvement on our Council.

Chellee Plumb

Murrumbeena Dads