Junior School News

 From the Head of Junior School

It has been wonderful to welcome all of our students and families back for the new school year. Last week we welcomed 87 new students and 50 new families into the Junior School with another 2 students and families confirming that they will start next week. Thank you to those students and families who have already reached out to welcome our newest Girtonians. Thank you also to our staff for welcoming those families who could make it to our Meet The Teachers evening on Thursday.

Last week we were very fortunate to have psychologist and author Dr Judith Locke present a workshop for our staff on Monday night and then to our Preparatory parents on Tuesday night. This is the second year we have had Dr Locke present to our school and the first time we have been able to have her present face to face in Junior School. She provided some excellent advice to our parents about how we can best equip our children to be confident and capable learners. Dr Locke has a website and facebook page with excellent advice and articles for parents. She also writes a regular column in The Sunday Mail that is usually reproduced on her pages. https://confidentandcapable.com/  https://www.facebook.com/confidentandcapable

Junior School also has some copies of Dr Locke’s books, The Bonsai Child and The Bonsai Student that parents can book out to read. 

Dr Locke also reminded us that our parents have access to a wonderful free resource through Independent Schools Victoria that contains articles from leading experts such as herself, Dr Andrew Fuller, Caroline Ellen and many more. The website provides access to Webinars, articles and e-books. I recommend all parents have a look to see what is available.

https://theparentswebsite.com.au/

Timetable

This year we will have introduced a new timetable for Junior School. The school start and finish times will remain the same but there has been an adjustment to the morning and afternoon sessions to allow for more uninterrupted time in the morning blocks. The main changes are that Recess has moved from 10.25 am-10.45 am to 10.55 am-11.15 am, and Lunch has moved from 12.15 pm-1 pm to 12:45 pm-1.30 pm. I am pleased to say that the new timetable introduction has been very smooth.

Mr Donald Thompson

Head of Junior School

House Captain and Vice House Captain Inductions

Today we inducted our House Captains and Vice Captains for 2023 who will join Archer and Norah as our 2023 Student Leadership group. While it is an exciting time for those who were voted into roles and inducted today, it can also be a time when other students are upset or despondent at not receiving a role. We should take nothing away from those students who were elected. They are thoroughly deserving and were elected by their peers who recognise their potential as leaders. There are however many more students who would also be wonderful leaders in our school but who, due to limited numbers of roles, do not get a position. Each year I speak with our Year 6 students about what it means to lead. Any of our students can lead in their everyday interactions around the school. They can lead by example, doing what needs to be done not because they are asked or are elected to a position, but because it is the right thing to do. 

As parents we have all been in a situation where our child is disappointed at not receiving a role or recognition. It is important in these situations to acknowledge their feelings as being legitimate and normal. It is ok to be disappointed. It is also important to discuss with them that we appreciate their character and that they are showing good leadership, not for a badge but because they know it is the right thing to do to make our school, our community, and our society in general the best that it can be for everyone.

Photographing Students

As we have parents back onsite, attending events and helping out at various events, we remind everyone of our Parent Code of Conduct when taking photos.  Parents must not take or post photographs of other students without the express consent of the other child and the child's parents.

Nut Allergies

As the new School year begins it is an appropriate time to remind parents that we have children in Junior School who will suffer from a severe allergic reaction if they come into contact with peanuts or other nut-based products, which can be fatal. They are also allergic to other nuts and a variety of other foods and need to have all contact with food closely monitored as some are even susceptible to reactions from skin contact with the foods. Consequently, we ask parents to assist us by being aware of this when sending food to school. 

Please note that we cannot possibly check food items that are brought into the School or on buses or to other events. Parents of susceptible children need to understand this and to educate their child in the risks. 

Specifically, we ask that children do not bring to school the following:

• Peanuts or any sort of other mixed nuts
•  Peanut butter/ Nutella
• Yoghurt with nuts
•  Peanut butter Muesli / Fruit bars
•  Cakes, muffins or cookies containing nuts
• Tahini

We ask the children to wash their hands carefully after eating at recess, lunch, and cooking sessions. Parents can assist us greatly by discussing this with your child and supporting us to keep all our students safe at School.

All of the teachers in the School are aware of these students' conditions, and, along with their parents, we have established appropriate procedures. Naturally, we are keen for their life to be as normal as possible, just as it should be for every child.

Wellbeing Puppy: Murphy

It has been a busy start to the term for Murphy, the Junior School wellbeing pup.  Murphy has been busy assisting to transition students from home to school, and his mornings are quite busy.  During the day, Murphy has been assisting with testing and working in HQ at lunchtimes. Like many of our students, Murphy was quite tired after the first week back and so is requiring early nights and small healthy snacks to keep him going!

Message from Parking Services of City of Greater Bendigo

Parking Services from the City of Greater Bendigo have contacted our school and requested that the following information be conveyed to our school community.

The illegal parking of vehicles adjacent to our school poses a safety concern to children, pedestrians and other road users.  Parents are reminded that it is essential to comply with parking restrictions when dropping off and collecting children from school.

Motorists must not stop in no-stopping areas, even briefly, with or without the motor running. They must not stop next to a continuous yellow edge line, on nature strips, too close to school crossings, park over driveways or double park.  A number of schools have short-term time restricted areas, such as 2-minute pick up drop off. These parking areas are in place to allow for ease of access close to schools and these restrictions must be adhered to.  Drivers should also be aware that they cannot perform a U-turn over an unbroken or continuous dividing line.

With regard to children’s crossings, the law requires that a driver approaching a children’s crossing must drive at a speed at which the driver can, if necessary stop safely before the crossing.  Please slow down and take extra care when driving in school zones.

City of Greater Bendigo Parking Officers and Bendigo Police do conduct random patrols throughout the school year at various locations to ensure that motorists are adhering to the Road Rules. 

Starting the year right

By Dr Justin Coulson

Dr Justin Coulson is a dad to 6 daughters. He is the parenting expert and co-host of Channel 9’s Parental Guidance, and he and his wife host Australia’s #1 podcast for parents and family: The Happy Families podcast. He has written 6 books about families and parenting. For further details visit www.happyfamilies.com.au.

If you’re like most parents, you really wanted to start things off well, but it’s been a little rocky. Getting back into a routine, being on time, sorting out school lunches… it’s a bit tricky. Best laid plans haven’t quite been as smooth as you might have liked. To dial in your morning and evening routines, I’m going to suggest a few principles to help.

1. Get clear on what ‘getting it right’ actually means.

You might know what you want the morning to look like. But is it clear to you? Can you write it down? Can you put it on the fridge? Can you explain it to your kids and help them to buy into why it matters? Clearly explaining what you want and why is going to be a critical first step.

2. Set up a system.

Author, James Clear, says that “you do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” So what does your system look like for making things happen? Can you create a system that will facilitate a smooth morning for every member of the family?

3. Workshop it.

Setting up a system when you’re a parent is pretty easy. But bringing the family along can be trickier. By having a meeting and developing the system with input from your kids, you get to be clear, establish the system, and create buy-in. Ask your children to make suggestions and design the morning based on their ideas. Fashion it with your expert knowledge. And watch the results improve because your children have been part of it. Involvement is a central success pillar when it comes to developing a system that works in any family.

4. Curate competence.

The real secret to successful routines is helping the kids become self-sufficient. It takes time, but teaching them to toast their bread or crumpets, fry or scramble some egg, or organise their cereal or yogurt, or even blend a smoothie means that there is less friction with your routine. They feel good about doing what needs to be done because they know how to do it. And while it’s slow at first, it becomes wonderfully efficient over time.

5. Support autonomy.

Kids love to have choices. They appreciate being able to make their own decisions. Support them in that while ensuring they know what the guidelines and boundaries are for making things happen well.

Here are the golden rules of a magic morning (from a dad of six who has talked with thousands of parents about getting this right):

1. Your morning begins the night before. Get the prep done for tomorrow at bedtime so uniforms are ready, bags are packed, and library books or sports gear is sorted.
2. Create margin by waking up a little early, and getting the kids up (gently) a little early too. Room to breathe makes everything work better.
3. Create the structure so everyone knows what needs to be done.
4. Keep the kids accountable in a supportive way.

In spite of your best efforts, things will go pear-shaped now and then. When this happens, stay calm (remember: emotions are contagious), don’t sweat the small stuff, be flexible for the morning… but get it back on track the next day by having a calm conversation in the evening, reinforcing the system, and working together on making it work.

Whether it’s magic mornings or excellent evenings, the process is the same. Work as a team, and watch the magic happen… at least sometimes.