Principal's Report

Dear Parents,

Hanging Rock Bike Ride

Tomorrow is our annual year 5/6 Hanging Rock bike ride.  The ride is always a highlight in my calendar and is always a fantastic day out.  I wish all the 5/6 students attending all the very best.  I will be joining them for the day and look forward to getting out on my bike.

Class Placements

We have started our Step-Up process, whereby students move to different teachers in the older age groups to complete literacy and numeracy activities over the next three weeks.  This is part of our transition process to support the smooth movement between the year groups.  The students will typically move with their 2023 class and experience the new setting and different expectations.

One of the aims of this is to support the students to experience a change of class in a supportive way.  This helps to decrease the uncertainty for students and reduce anxiety. Inevitably, this movement and the prospect of having a new teacher can be unsettling for some students, and you may see increased worries at home.  Parents and carers play an important role in supporting their child to make this transition a smooth and calm process.

If your child comes home anxious or worried about the prospect of the changes in 2024, I encourage you to support your child to frame their thinking about the change in a positive light.  The new year brings new opportunities to make new friends, connect with a new trusted adult and learn in a new environment.  Feelings of worry or anxiety are very common and a normal part of navigating any change. It’s important to remind our children and ourselves these feelings are also transient.  Whatever has the nature to arise, will also dissipate and pass us by as well.  Sharing a story with your child of where you were once nervous and overcame your fears to make a work presentation, change jobs or meet new people could support you to role-model a productive approach to processing worries.

If you feel like you need additional support with this process, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s classroom teacher and seek support for these changes.

Kind regards and Sampai jumpa (until next time),

Matt