From the Assistant Principals...

The importance of the start of the day.

I have noticed that we have many children arriving after the school day has started. At St Mary's, all classrooms begin their day with a very important English block. If children are late they miss the beginning of this lesson and even 10 minutes, adds up to a lot of time over the year. Arriving before the bell also gives your child time to greet their friends before class and this can reduce the possibility of disruptions in the classroom. 

• Late arrivals disrupt the rhythm of a class that is already in progress. Teachers invariably must stop class to welcome the new student and catch her/him up on the lesson in progress.
• Late students are typically rushed, thus their entry to school is accompanied with anxiety and stress – not a great way to begin anyone’s day.
• Students benefit from social time before school which does not exist when they are late. As other students develop morning routines and relationships, chronically late students miss out on those opportunities.

Are these some of the reasons your child is late?

 - Your child won’t go to bed at night or get out of bed in the morning

 -  Your child can’t find their clothes, books, school bag….

 - The school lunches are not ready 

 - Your child is slow to eat breakfast

 - Your child is watching TV or on a device late at night or when they should be getting ready for school.

 - It’s your child’s or someone else’s birthday

 - There is a test or something different happening at school today

 - Your child is screaming or not letting go of you

Things to Try:

 Here are some suggestions based on setting regular routines:

 - Have a set time to go to bed and have a set time to be out of bed 

 - Have uniform and school bag ready the night before

 - Make lunches the night before

 - Have set time for starting and ending breakfast.   

 - Turn the TV on for set times and only if appropriate and limit ipad/device use in the morning

 - Be firm that children must go to school.

 - Give your child lots of positive encouragement and acknowledge they are organised and get to school on time.

 - A birthday does not equal a holiday.

 - On arrival look for some of your child’s friends and encourage your child to go and play with their friends.

 - Once settled leave quickly.

REGULAR ROUTINES ARE IMPORTANT

Louise Reinke

Thursday Touch Football

Please remember that, while several teachers have made themselves available to assist with supervision of the teams, there are a lot of students participating and it would be great if more parents could attend to help with this.  It is also impossible to referee a game and supervise students and I know Mr Lester has had trouble fielding refs for games. So if you are able to assist in any way on a Thursday afternoon, it would be greatly appreciated. 

Louise Reinke