Dear Parents

As we enter Winter and the flu season, please remind your children of the importance to continue to sanitise as they enter the school and their classroom. Also, we ask that parents are mindful of the COVID-19 symptoms and to keep their child at home if they are presenting any of them. Whilst we keep the flu season in mind it is interesting to read how school non-attendance can quickly add up and have a significant impact on a child’s education. However, please be safe as you travel over the next few days with the impending weather forecast.

On time, every day

(Parenting Ideas by Michael Grose)

During the current COVID-19 pandemic parents are rightfully urged to take a cautious approach and keep children and young people at home if they show symptoms of the virus. It’s a balancing act if you’re a parent as one the most important things you can do to ensure your child has a bright future is to make sure he or she goes to school every day and gets there on time. It sounds simple, but it’s true.

The correlation between school attendance and children’s achievement levels is well established. The more time kids spend at school, the more likely they are to experience school success. Of course, most people know this intuitively, yet school absenteeism is a huge problem in Australian schools. According to a report by the Australian Curriculum and Assessment authority nearly 13 per cent of Australian students are missing at least one year of schooling by the time they reach year 10.

In today’s highly competitive world, this rate of absenteeism is alarming, putting our kids at a distinct disadvantage. Current research shows that mornings for most children are the most productive time of the day, with 10.00am the peak period for productivity. When children arrive late and take time to settle as they inevitably do, valuable learning time is lost.

It’s reassuring to know that you can maximise their chances of future success just by making sure they turn up to school every day. And, of course, regular school attendance also helps kids prepare for the workforce, where it will be expected that they turn up each day work-ready. The real world is unforgiving of those who stay away with no excuse.

As a parent:

● Commit to sending kids to school every day;

● Make sure kids arrive at school and class on time;

● Inform the school when they are away, sending medical certificates and other evidence of genuine absence;

● Follow current COVID-19 health guidelines and recommendations;

● Consider catching-up on missed work; and

● Make kids who are away stay in their bedroom, which is where unwell kids should be!

If your child misses …	That equals	Which is	And over 13 years of schooling that’s
1 Day per month	10 days per year	2 weeks per year	Nearly ¾ of a year
1 Day per fortnight	20 days per year	4 weeks per year	Nearly 1.5 years
1 Day per week	40 Days per year	8 Weeks per year	Over 2 ½ years

Extract from Sydney Morning Herald:

https://www.smh.com.au/education/13-per-cent-of-australian-students-missing-a-year-of-school-by-year-10-20190301-p5117i.html"....

Students are missing at least one day of school a fortnight, they're at least a month behind per year and by the time they get to year 10, they've missed about a year of schooling," said Megan O'Connell, an honorary senior fellow at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education.

"That's a huge amount of content you're missing if you're missing a month of school every year and they fall further and further behind because that keeps adding up.”

“They're less likely to meet literacy and numeracy benchmarks, more likely to disengage in secondary years, less likely to finish school and, if they make it through, they'll find it harder to get a job because they haven't been at school long enough to develop the literacy and numeracy skills and competencies needed in the workforce."

GALA DAY

Unfortunately, Gala Day has been rescheduled. Everyone should have received a push notification/email with the letter from the Armidale Diocesan Primary Sports Council and Heidi Hardaker {Coordinator Sport (K-6) & CAPA (K-12)}. Please check for this if you have not yet seen this.

Library News

Messages from our Librarian - Mrs Adams