Principal Report
It’s been nice having a quieter week this week after our last few jam-packed weeks, however it’s hard to believe there are only 3 school weeks left in 2024. Our students’ behaviour, focus and commitment to their learning has remained outstanding.
Our 2025 Prep students are currently completing their last Leap into Learning sessions this week. The Leap into Learning sessions provides our 2025 Preps with opportunities to learn the routines of school and become familiar with the surroundings in readiness for next year. We look forward to them being a part of our school community in 2025.
Our Grade Six cohort are enjoying their last few weeks as students at Oatlands and have begun their end of primary school celebrations. Last week they enjoyed an incursion led by Coach Approach and had great fun participating in hip hop, European handball, lacrosse, taekwondo, hockey and touch football. Their sewing skills have been put to the test making their graduation bear and the final 8 teams are competing to be champions in their ultimate frisbee competition. They still have bowling, a visit to Casey Arc, graduation and graduation lunch to look forward to in the coming weeks.
As we edge closer to the end of another school year there are a range of emotions our students may be experiencing related to 2025. It is important to arm our students with the tools they require to approach their 2025 school year with confidence and enthusiasm. Students may be curious as to which classmates they will be with, who their teacher will be, where their 2025 classroom will be located, etc.
To assist with a smooth transition from one year level to the next, we provide our students with a Social Story after they have met their 2025 teacher and classmates. This allows our students to familiarise themselves with their 2025 classroom teacher/s, the location of their classroom, play areas and other staff in the same year level. Social stories benefit children in many ways, including:
- Promoting Self-Regulation Skills. A child’s ability to manage their emotions and behaviour is tied to stronger academic performance, fewer behavioural difficulties, and higher resilience.
- Improved Social-Emotional Skills. Explicitly talking about emotions can help children better understand how their actions affect others.
Other ways you can help are by building your child/ren’s resilience with some positive talk about the importance of developing friendships with new people and exciting things to look forward to in their new year level in 2025.
Deanne Morgan – Assistant Principal