Wellbeing support and resources

The Pandemic has challenged us all. With everyone doing things we never imagined we would be doing when COVID entered our lives. For our children to thrive in our current environment, of uncertainty and constant change, we need to support them to learn new ways to think, feel and act. This provides us with a common language to describe how we are feeling.

Understanding feelings in kids - whilst this is a post from a number of years ago it can provide a guide for having conversations around big feelings and providing a common language.

From the Royal Children's Hospital

We recently shared a message through Sentral regarding a session from the Royal Children's Hospital on Supporting children's mental health during the pandemic and beyond

This link will take you to the You Tube recording of the hour presentation with Dr Anthea Rhodes, paediatrician.

The presentation which provides practical tips and guidance around what your child is going through at the moment,

There are a variety of resources and podcasts from the Royal Children's Hospital which could support you and your family.

RCH podcasts

At the start of this presentation mention was made of two particular recent episodes -

Anxiety

Children and COVID vaccinations

Kids Helpline - 1800 55 1800

headspace - National Youth Mental Health Foundation

eSafety Kids

eSafety Kids staying safe on line - Covid-19

R U Okay

As a community we need to acknowledge we have all been personally challenged by COVID.

A conversation with others where we are heard and understood is what is going to make us feel better and give us the strength that we need at this uncertain time. This applies to both adults and children.

Find expert help

NAPLAN results

NAPLAN results

The recent school Review indicated our students academic achievement is generally excellent.

The NAPLAN results for Year 3 and year 5 students at Boroondara Park PS for 2021 are outstanding.

Individual results and our school results will be analysed in the coming weeks. Through this process we will identify students who require specific support if their results and the matched assessment by teachers indicates a specific focus area – this could involve developing an Individual Education Plan along with parents, adjusting the classroom program for a student or participation in support programs offered by the school as available. It will also support us to build on the learning of those above the expected level, especially through our classroom learning programs and explicit focused teaching groups.

This image shows the National Minimum Standards and bands in Year 3, 5, 7 and 9.

BPPS results

Year 3	Top 2 Bands	Middle 2 Bands
Reading	80%	20%
Writing	73%	27%
Spelling	70%	28%
Grammar and Punctuation	64%	33%
Numeracy	60%	36%

Year 5	Top 2 Bands	Middle 2 Bands
Reading	67%	29%
Writing	42%	57%
Spelling	57%	38%
Grammar and Punctuation	56%	39%
Numeracy	58%	36%

80% of our Year 3 students achieved results in the Top 2 bands for Reading with 20% in the middle two bands. In Writing 73% of our Year 3 students were in the Top 2 bands, with 27% in the middle two bands. In Numeracy 60% of Year 3 students are in the Top 2 bands and 36% in the middle two bands.

67% of our Year 5 students achieved in the Top 2 bands for Reading and 58% achieved in the Top 2 bands for Numeracy.

Our students results include our school achieving above similar schools and Network schools (those in our neighbourhood), in the Top 2 bands for Reading and Spelling for Year 3; for Writing, Spelling, Grammar and punctuation for Year 5. Our Year 5 students achieved above similar schools in the Top 2 bands for Reading (67%) and Numeracy (58%). In all areas our students achieved well above the State levels.

Individual student reports have been sent to the school and are currently being reviewed by our teachers. Shortly we will be posting the reports to all Year 3 and Year 5 families.

NAPLAN results form part of the picture of student achievement and are used with school based assessment and teacher data gathering. Once you have received your child's NAPLAN report if you have any questions please contact your child's teacher or Randal Symons our NAPLAN coordinator.

The attached document provides the NAPLAN highlights for Victoria for 2021.

Book Week

Book week is a wonderful celebration of books we love! Thank you to everyone who was able to dress up and share their books last week. The Book Week Padlet has some great examples of our favourite books.

Thanks to Ray Owens, Julie Tainsh and May in the Library for their work in preparation for and celebration of Book Week.

Ellie's Dragon

Curriculum and Wellbeing News

Shannon Reeve has this week written about our Integrated Studies units - Science, History, Geography, Economics, Civics and Citizenship, Health, Design and Digital Technologies and the Capabilities - Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Understanding Capability, Personal and Social Capability, Intercultural Capability.

"Engagement and ownership are key elements in fostering independence in each student and a guided inquiry approach enables the students to develop real-world skills such as intrinsic motivation, teamwork, time management and personal organisation."

Nick King has included an article focused on the available research around student achievement during remote and online learning.

"The observations are designed to give you a balanced snapshot of the perceptions versus the available evidence of remote and flexible learning."

Take care and stay well. Any symptoms go and get tested, get vaccinated when you can.

Susanne Lowe

Principal

Canteen