Dear Families,

Welcome to Term 2. Hopefully you had the opportunity to enjoy the lovely weather over the break. I have heard many happy stories about camping, fishing and time with family. A great deal of my time was spent in Swan Hill having fun with the grandchildren.

BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL SUPERVISION PARENT NOTIFICATION

Student safety at Toolamba P.S. is our highest priority and the safe and appropriate supervision of students is an important element of our duty of care to students. Part of this duty is ensuring parents and students are aware of our student supervision arrangements before and after school.

Before school: School grounds are supervised before school from 8.45am.

After school: School grounds are supervised from 3.15-3.30pm.

Students on school grounds outside these times will not be supervised (unless they are attending a before or after school care program or supervised extracurricular activity).

Parents/carers are requested to ensure that students do not attend school outside of these supervised times unless they are attending before or after school care, or a pre-arranged supervised activity (i.e. sports practice).

Families are encouraged to contact the office on 58265212 for more information about the before and after school care facilities available to our school community or if you would like any further information about our student supervision arrangements.

A copy of our school’s Yard Duty and Supervision Policy is available at the office.

CYBER SAFETY SESSION

Students in Grade 3 to 6 participated in an important cyber safety session yesterday with Constable Brooke Alexander. It was a valuable session for the students on how to manage online activity. Below is a document with useful links on how to get help or to access online resources.

TOOLAMBA PICKLE BALL

Starts : Thursday 23rd April, 7.00pm

Where : Toolamba Community Hall.

Cost : $20 per term or $60 for an annual membership

Register : https://play.tennis.com.au/toolambatennisclub/Membership/JoinContact : toolambatennisclub@gmail.com

Come and give it a try - no experience necessary

FUN IN THE SUN

It was lovely to wander around the yard at recess and see our students enjoying our beautiful weather and the creative play spaces we have. Students were very impressed with the huge zucchini they discovered in the veggie garden. In the Frog Bog, students were very keen to show me their shops and their very creative huts and cubbies.

ANZAC DAY CEREMONY

Tomorrow the school community will come together to commemorate ANZAC Day and show their respect for the people who have served and died in various conflicts.

On Saturday our school captains will attend the service organised by the Lion’s Club. At the service they will read a poem and later in the service, join with several community groups in laying a wreath.

SCHOOL COUNCIL

School Council will be held on Monday night at 6.30pm. The Finance Committee will meet prior to this at 6:00pm.

MOTHER'S DAY STALL

The Parents and Friends are running their Mother's Day Stall at school on Wednesday 6th May. This is a fundraising event that the children love attending, to buy their Mums, Grandmothers or those special to them, a gift for Mother's Day. The P&F are asking for donations to sell at the stall. Donations may include craft, plants, earrings etc. If you are able to, please place your donations in the basket in the foyer.

OPEN DAYS

On Tuesday 5th and 12th May, we will be having our Open Days. Interested people are welcome to book a tour online via the Survey Monkey Link or contact the school to register.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RT7QMZ8

GSSC Tours

Greater Shepparton Secondary College are running tours of the school everyday until the end of next week. They will then run a regular tour every Tuesday morning after that. Bookings are available via the GSSC website. The Family Information Evening will be held on Wednesday 29th April, commencing at 5pm.

MICHAEL GROSE

5 Tools for Authoritative Parenting: How to Build Agency and Resilience in Children

In my work, I meet many exhausted parents, but it isn’t from a lack of good intentions.

It’s from a lack of leadership.

They’ve traded their authority for never-ending negotiations, and the result is a generation of children who feel like they’re in charge of a ship they don’t know how to steer.

Don’t get me wrong, there are times when negotiation is fine.

It can be a good management technique, particularly over non-essential issues - “Should we have tacos or pasta tonight?” or “What movie should we see?”

But important issues like behaviour, safety and values aren’t up for negotiation - this includes bedtimes, wearing safety belts and how we speak to each other.

If you feel like you’re working harder than your child to manage their behaviour, the balance is off.

Stop being the negotiator and start being the firm, authoritative leader.

Authoritative parenting isn’t about getting tough—it’s about being the sturdy lighthouse your child needs to find their way through the fog.

Here are five tools to help you lead the way and avoid negotiating the non-negotiables.

1. Use Declarative Language

Don’t ask your child for permission to lead.

When you frame every instruction as a question, you invite a power struggle that shouldn’t exist.

When giving an instruction, lower your pitch, use fewer words, and state the expectation as a fact. For example, instead of asking, "Can you put your shoes on now?" try stating: "It’s time to put your shoes on. We are leaving in five minutes." This subtle shift establishes you as the person in charge, removing unnecessary friction.

Provide your child with the structure they need to feel secure, rather than seeking consensus on house rules.

Here’s how: “It’s time to pack up. We are leaving in five minutes.” Lower your voice, use fewer words, and state the facts.

2. Be the Thermostat, Not the Thermometer

A child in meltdown is like a fire.

The flames spread quickly.

And you can’t put out a fire with more fire.

If you allow your own frustration to mirror theirs, you lose the ability to guide them back to calm.

Your stability is the anchor they need when their emotions overwhelm them.

Use your physical presence to lower the temperature. Be the mood you want to see in your child.

Here’s how: Stay physically still. Breathe. Move away momentarily if you still can’t calm down. Speak low and slow to reconnect with your child.

(An aside: Practise speaking low and slow in non-stress situations. If you want to be heard when your children are noisy, lower your voice. It’s anti-intuitive, but it works)

3. Remember, “When/Then” is Your Best Friend

I’ve noticed over the years working closely with families that negotiation breeds nagging, while logic breeds responsibility.

Negotiation is hard work, particularly when dealing with young bush lawyers who are adept at turning everything into a deal.

Use logic to break the cycle. (It works gang busters with teens as well.)

By clearly linking a desired activity to a required task, you move from being a “nagger” to being a provider of opportunity.

It places the power—and the consequences—directly in the child’s hands.

Here’s how: “When your shoes are on, then we go to the park.” If the shoes stay off, the car stays in the driveway. No yelling required—reality does the hard work for you.

4. Step Back from the Rescue

Resilience and grit are built in the struggle zone, not in the comfort zone.

Fixing kids’ problems does them few favours.

Every time you swoop in to fix a minor problem, you rob children of a chance to develop their capacities. If you want a child to be resourceful, you need to give them a chance to develop their resources.

True confidence is built on overcoming challenges, not avoiding them.

Here’s how: Wait 20 seconds before intervening. If they’re stuck, offer a “micro-hint” rather than a total takeover. Let them feel the pride of saying, “I did it.”

5. Replace Punishment with Restoration

Arbitrary punishments, such as losing dessert for a messy room, create resentment and sneaky behaviour.

Restoration, however, focuses on the fix rather than the fail, teaching children that mistakes can be mended through effort.

This approach builds a bridge back to the relationship rather than a wall between you.

Here’s how: If they break a rule or hurt a sibling, the question isn’t “Why did you do that?” but “How will you make this right?” If they make a mess, they clean it. If they hurt a feeling, they perform a service.

Finally

Leadership isn’t about intensity; it’s about consistency.

You don’t need to overhaul your entire life by Monday. Pick one area where you’ve become a negotiator, or worse, a nagger. Maybe it’s bedtime, or maybe it’s how they speak to you. Hold that one line today with a calm, firm “no.”

Don’t explain yourself for the tenth time. Just be the firm leader.

Your kids won’t necessarily thank you for the change. Ultimately, they will feel safer and develop greater agency when you replace the mantle of management with the leverage of leadership.

Have a lovely weekend,

Regards,

Filippa & Heather

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