Junior School news

As a professional community we have been talking a lot about doing things to the best of our ability and at times, this means, doing less, for the same gains. The return to school may provide a timely opportunity to apply a similar lens at home – Do less. Do it well. Reap reward.

It is common for all students (and parents, teachers alike) to feel fatigued with the new term. To assist with a harmonious family and overall positive well-being, I encourage us to consider where we can create some change.

A starting space (although a challenge for many of us) is to be realistic with the pressures you are already facing, and to identify where you can buy yourself back some time to do the most desired things well.

We are faced with so many choices and pulled in so many directions. Burn out is real. Fatigue is real. This term I encourage you to be tactical in the choices you make for your family and remember it is okay to do less, do the things you want to do well and celebrate the rewards – sometimes less really is best.

Our students are tremendous, they are resilient, they are capable, they are durable. But sometimes, they too need less and with this comes the opportunity to learn that it is okay to focus on one thing at a time and do that thing well, master it, live it, embrace it, be successful within it.  

The perfect way To Make A Positive Impact 😊

Shelley Parkes

Deputy Principal - Professional Culture and Junior School

Welcome back! Once again we are enjoying the buzz of the new school year. Prior to the return of the students, our Junior School educators were synergising to set up welcoming learning environments for each class.  Teachers have been collaborating to develop exciting and enriching learning tasks with a particular focus on integrating even more hands-on materials into our maths lessons. 

I am hopeful by now you have had the opportunity to engage in our Continuous Reporting.  You will now be able to view the first snapshots of real time feedback and samples of your child/children’s learning on the XUNO platform.  I encourage you to ask questions and talk to your child about how they like to learn, what they see as their goals and importantly, in celebrating the successes they are having. 

Continuous Reporting will compliment our Term 1 parent teacher interviews and we look forward to these later in the term.

It was a pleasure to see so many parents at our information sessions.  A highlight is always our students and I’d like to share again the Habits Snapshots as written by our School Captain Iliana, and Vice-Captain Kyana.

• Preps have been bucket filling to show kindness
• Year 1 have been putting first things first as they show their independence in unpacking their school bag to start the day.
• Year 2 have begun with the end in mind as they discuss the leadership roles required to have positive impact in their classroom.
• Year 3 have used Habit 7 - Sharpen The Saw to talk about balance as they transition back to school from the holidays.
• Year 4 have been using Habit 1 - Be Proactive to set up their term with a Wildly Important Goal
• Year 5 have been synergising and using the habit Think Win-Win as they plan and discuss camp activities.

Sarah Caffrey

Head of Curriculum-Junior School