Principal's Prattle

Bring a Special Friend Open Day

On Thursday we will open our school to our community and to friends and family of our students.  We are excited to show you our learning in action and to showcase our talented students.  Please join us for a morning of demonstration lessons, a delicious morning tea and activities in classrooms with your special friend. The activities begin from 10.00am.

Whole School Working Bee

We braved the chilly weather last Friday and got stuck into the gardens; weeding, spreading mulch and gravel and planting new shrubs.  It was fabulous to see our students involved and taking responsibility for our grounds and gardens. I would like to acknowledge and thank the parents and staff who joined in and worked hard alongside our students.  

Wilson McCaskill visit was a highlight!

Our school community recently enjoyed a visit from Wilson and Julie McCaskill developers of the 'Play is the Way' program.  Teacher and students spent a full day working with Wilson. Wilson provided feedback and coaching to teachers and worked with each class using the Play is the  Way games to highlight specific skills.  This was our second mentoring session with Wilson and afterwards I received a note from him where he acknowledged the improvements in our students and praised our teachers for their hard work in this space. 

"Dear Tracey,

Congratulations on the significant improvement in the social and emotional competencies of your students. Your dedicated staff have obviously applied themselves to the task and deepened their behaviour education knowledge to the distinct advantage of the children in their care. 

It takes astute and supportive leadership to affect meaningful change and the behaviour of your students clearly indicates that steady hands have guided Loch Primary School’s progress. If the comments of parents at the workshop are any indication, they know full well the role you have played.

You can be proud of the manner in which the students in all classes withstood the pressure placed on them and rose to the challenging situations in which they were placed. It was heart warming for us. 

We hold many mentoring sessions and at almost all of them the teachers fail to take notes during feedback. This is always disappointing as so much is shared and I know little will be remembered. Your staff though attended with either notepaper or devices in hand ready to notate anything of help. Would you please extend to them all my thanks for this professional courtesy and their dedication to their students."

We often hear negativity or get stuck in the challenges of a day and it was just lovely to receive Wilson's note and to be encouraged by his observation of the improvements in our students.

Our parent evening session was attended by a number of parents and staff and they were again treated to a high energy and inspiring workshop with Wilson who explained the philosophy of 'Play is the Way' which is based in evidence and research. For those parents who were unable to attend we do have copies of the Play is the Way manuals available to borrow and read.

Our teaching team are currently beginning implementation of the Play is the Way 3R's and are reviewing our Behaviour  guidelines.  There will be many opportunities for students to contribute to discussions about this and teachers will be providing explicit lessons and scenarios for students to explore.

3R's

At Loch Primary School we are committed to the development of the personal and social capabilities of our students. Social and Emotional Learning, SEL as it is called is defined as,

"a process for helping children and even adults develop the fundamental skills for life effectiveness. SEL teaches the skills we all need to handle ourselves, our relationships and our work effectively and ethically. Teaching SEL skills helps create and maintain safe and caring learning environments".

To achieve these aims we focus on Behaviour Education and Student Self Management. At Loch Primary School we are adopting the Play is the Way 3R's method of Reflection, Repair and Restitution.

The 3R's is an intervention to help all students, especially those who are having difficulty with their behaviour to develop the self management skills to function effectively in primary school.  The 3R's method uses guide sheets that, with the assistance of a teacher, explicitly teach SEL skills. Students are also given the opportunity to make restitution that facilitates the repair of relationships.  The 3R's Method helps students to adhere to the standards of behaviour expected by our school and is for all year levels.  It builds a sustainable culture of safety and support.

Our school does not believe that punishment creates lasting or meaningful changes of behaviour.  Completing a 3R's method guide sheet is not a form of punishment and is not done during your child's lunch or recess times but as much as possible at the point of need.

As educators, we realise that this way of doing things takes more time than simply giving the child a punishment. However, we believe that:

"Behaviour is shaped by the sum total of regular and frequent lessons that create small but meaningful changes over a long and sustained period of time."  Wilson McCaskill

Our aim is to assist students in understanding their behaviour and how it affects everyone in our school community. As a whole school we need a comprehensive understanding of the following terms and how they support and affect our Behaviour Education and Student Self Management guidelines.

What We Understand

Consequence: The effect that my behaviour has on myself and other people.

Our focus is on educating students to understand how their behaviour can affect themselves and others and reflect o the possible outcomes before deciding to act. Consequences and punishments are not one and the same.

What We Do

Restitution: A means to undo the damage and reconnect with your community. A means to rebuild trust.

When students behave inappropriately, they are given the opportunity to reflect upon their decisions and how those decisions have affected themselves and others. They are also provided with an opportunity to make amends and / or restore the damage.

What We Resist Doing

Punishment: The deliberate inflicting of physical or emotional discomfort, pain and / or fear to control behaviour. Delivered after the event.

Our focus is on educating students to change their behaviour based on their understanding of how it affects others rather than on the fear of punishment. We are here to help children, to develop their ability to empathise, not to hurt them. 

Our teachers are passionate and dedicated and do their very best every day. Teaching can be challenging and our team often are deep in discussion planning and exploring ways to meet the needs of students.  Every student is special and brings with them their own unique family background and expectations.  As a team we work hard to maintain open communication with all families and to respect the differing parenting and family structures that our students live with. It is however essential that we have a consistent approach and expectations for behaviour which are clear and understood by all students.  The Play is the Way approach may be different to your own parenting or own experience of school however I ask you to learn about the elements of the approach and familiarise yourself with the information available.

I ask for your support in our use of the 3R's method and invite you to discuss any queries you may have. We also ask you to talk to your children  about the 3R's method when they learn about it in class. It will make for very worthwhile and interesting family conversations. 

Acknowledgment & Thank you

We have received some very generous donations this term totalling $8510.00 and I would like to acknowledge and thank those responsible.

• The Jenkins Family, Keith and Margot, visited and presented us with a cheque in memory of Roma Jenkins.  It was lovely to hear more about Roma and the family history in Loch.
• The Jelbart family have been responsible for raising funds through the Camp Draught and the Notman Pasture Seeds Community Grants.

These donations are huge for our small community and we are very appreciative of the generosity and kindness shown to our school and students.

Reminders for Parents

Enrolments for 2019

We are calling for all enrolments for 2019 to be confirmed by the end of August. If you know anyone who is intending on enrolling their child please remind them to complete their forms and return to the school office as soon as possible.

Parent Opinion Survey

Our Parent Opinion Survey is open until the end of August and parents are encouraged to log on and complete the survey.  Log on details have been emailed to all families via COMPASS.

Loch Primary School Roma's Op Shop is calling for volunteers and donations. If you are interested in assisting with the OP Shop in any way please let us know via the office.

Arts Showcase

This year our Arts Showcase will be held in Term 3 on Wednesday 5th September. This annual event is always a delight with visual art displays and student performances.  Kids are already excited and getting themselves sorted.

Whole School Musical

Our end of year musical is confirmed for  Friday 14th December. Mark this date in your calendars as it will be a fabulous night that you will not want to miss!  This evening will also involve the presentation of end of year awards and will replace our Celebration Evening event.

War on Waste: A letter from Clancy Jelbart

I received an outstanding letter from one of our Year Three students this week. Clancy is very passionate about our environment and being sustainable. He has captured the issues with waste in his writing and is on a mission to make a difference starting with the Loch Primary School community. Look out for some new initiatives and be prepared for some interesting discussions to be happening over the dinner table.  

Provocation

Ms Tracey King

Principal