Assistant Principal's Report Katrina Spicer - Wellbeing

5th June, 2020

RETURN TO SCHOOL

Many staff have been commenting about how lovely it is to have the P-2 students back at school. The sounds of learning and laughter remind us what is important, and why we all enjoy teaching and working in such a wonderful school. In particular I have enjoyed seeing students’ smiling faces as they say goodbye to mum or dad and run to their classroom. Their enthusiasm for school is palpable. We sincerely thank the P-2 parents for encouraging independence in their children as they drop them off at the gate, allowing their children to walk in to school on their own. Many families may consider this as a permanent arrangement.

Despite the fact that we are still in the middle of a pandemic, as a school we are taking the time to take note of the positives that have come out of our experiences during Remote Learning. A common thread amongst feedback from our teachers is our increased capacity in using ICT for teaching and learning. We have seen enormous growth in the effective use of ICT in our teachers and our students, and we thank our parent community for their support as we implemented new platforms and new ways of doing things. Over the coming months, our staff will be examining what worked, what didn’t work, what we should keep and what we should discard. Parents are most welcome to contribute their ideas by completing the Parent Survey which was sent out by Michael Ramsey earlier this week.

The middle and senior school teachers are eagerly awaiting the return of students in years 3 – 6 next Tuesday. In fact, I think there is a bit of childish excitement amongst the teachers, after all it has been 12 weeks since the yrs 3-6 students attended school. This will truly be a time to remember.

PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Our Parent/Teacher Interviews which were scheduled for the end of Term 1 unfortunately had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With students now back at school, we invite parents to meet with their child's teacher for an interview via Webex. Unfortunately we are unable to conduct face-to-face interviews.

Interviews will take place on Monday 22nd, Tuesday 23rd and Wednesday 24th June.

The focus of these interviews will be your child's progress during remote learning and to discuss your child's report.

Bookings will open on Tuesday, 9th June.

Please book your interview time in the usual way by going to 'Conferences' under the people tab on Compass and selecting your time. Your child's teacher will contact you with information on how to meet via Webex. 

If none of the available times are suitable, please contact your child's teacher to arrange an alternative time.

Parents wishing to speak to specialist teachers should contact them directly via email. All teachers are able to be contacted via email on Compass.

Parents of students who are on an IEP will NOT require an extended interview time. Teachers will contact parents regarding IEPs early in Term 3.

Bookings for these interviews will close on Friday, 19th June at 5.00pm

Katrina Spicer

Assistant Principal -  Wellbeing

PARENTING IDEAS ARTICLE

FREE PARENTING IDEAS WEBINAR: UNDERSTANDING TECHNO TANTRUMS

Presented by Dr Kristy Goodwin

In this digital era, chances are we've all experienced our children throwing a techno-tantrum. Techno-tantrums are completely normal and often a result of the neurobiological changes that occur when kids use technology. But this doesn't mean that we have to simply accept that they're part of our modern parenting reality. In this webinar Dr Kristy Goodwin helps parents and carers understand why children and teens emotionally combust when they digitally disconnect, and how to establish new, healthy technology habits.

Key learning and discussion points include:

• The science behind why kids and teens have techno-tantrums and find it challenging to switch off screens
• How to establish and enforce firm guidelines and boundaries
• How to be the pilot of the digital plane
• Research based, realistic strategies to help develop healthy digital behaviours so that screen time doesn't always end in 'scream time'