Grove Gazette

Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinator 

 

Dear Families,

It’s great to be back in the swing of normality, whatever that is. It appears to me that not normal is now normal, or perhaps it’s the other way around. American actor Jodie Foster said, “Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from.” I’m not sure if I agree with her or not – it might depend on what my view of normal is. Anyway, let’s hope we don’t have another lockdown!

 

Awards Made Easy

Following is a quick reminder of how the awards and presentation of certificates will proceed…

  1. At the end of the week, one student from each grade is chosen for an award for displaying one of the attributes from the SEL Wheel throughout the week.
  2. The following week, the award winners will appear in the newsletter on Wednesday
  3. Then the award recipient’s families will be invited to attend assembly on Friday. Please remember to sign in with the QR code.
  4. On that Friday, the School Captains will call out the student’s names, they will stand up with their award before everyone claps their achievement. This is your chance for that photo opportunity!

These changes will remain in place until we are allowed to re-commence holding assemblies that the whole school community can attend. When this does happen, awards will only be presented at whole school assemblies, and not at junior or senior assemblies. 

 

 

Staff Health and Wellbeing: Is the Glass Half-Full?

 

Over the many years I’ve spent teaching children in the classroom, I struggled to take days off when I’m feeling unwell. I’ll often say to myself, “I’ll be okay, it’s only a sniffle.” I think our staff here at OG are the same, as are most across the teaching fraternity. We always put our students first and just get on with things when not feeling one hundred percent. However, things are so different and have changed so much in recent times. We have all had to change our mindset, and if we do have a sniffle or slightly sore throat, we must stay home. So far, I’ve been lucky enough to continue to remain healthy (touch wood), and I hope it stays that way. However, if I do feel slightly unwell, I will need to stay home and also get a COVID test. So, if your child’s teacher is absent, we might consider adjusting our mindset and be thankful that they are being responsible for their health and the health of our community. We may also consider that this is a wonderful opportunity for our children to develop their resilience while their regular teacher is absent. And at the same time, let’s hope that we all remain in good health.

“I'm not a glass-half-full optimist. I'm a glass-overflowing optimist.” Marc Randolph, co-founder and first CEO of Netflix.

 

Thanks for all your continued support,

Andy McNeilly

Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinator