Dear Parents and Carers,

There has been a lot happening at TRPS over the past few weeks. Teachers have been busy finalising reports, which will be sent out at the end of the term. The grade six children had a fabulous gala sports day this week, experiencing lots of fun and a lot of success. And the grade four children have had excursions to Narana Aboriginal Cultural Centre. The feedback from staff at Narana was positive, commenting on the children’s knowledge, excellent manners and behaviour. The staff were so impressed by our children that they gave the school a didgeridoo as a token of their appreciation.

We extend a warm welcome to the following children and their families and to the following staff:

Year Foundation: Kimarie-Ann

Year 1: Sulayman

Year 3: Rehan

Year 5: Safwan

Staff: Miss Priscilla Koueik in Prep E

We look forward to getting to know you all and we hope you enjoy your time here at Tarneit Rise Primary School 😊

Social media and Online Behaviours: be respectful and be kind

Lately we have been made aware of children engaging with others in a very disrespectful and unsafe manner using online platforms such Discord, Snapchat, WhatsApp and TikTok. We understand this has been happening at home, and on personal devices. As such this responsibility ultimately falls to parents/guardians, but we are still concerned about the wellbeing and safety of all children at TRPS. These online platforms require children to be 13 years or over and we encourage parents/guardians to provide safe boundaries for their children’s safety online.

How we interact with others online is the same as the way we should interact with people face to face. Building positive and respectful relationships is a very important life skill. I would ask parents to read this carefully so we can work together to support, our children to be respectful and safe.

There are many positive aspects of social media, because it helps children build positive connections outside of school hours with friends from school. If children are being unkind or disrespectful, then it's time for parents to intervene. Saying ‘no’ is an important boundary setting safety strategy parents are responsible for.

There may also be negatives outcomes for children growing up with social media. It creates an increasing pressure to be ‘liked’ and validated, because this validation has become such a public affair.

Children often judge themselves and others based on how many 'likes' they get or 'followers' they have, which gives them the impression that other people’s opinions should dictate how they feel about themselves.

It’s also easy to look at social media and think that other people have perfect lives because that is what they are posting. This is no one's reality. This can lead to children feeling negatively about themselves, especially as they reach adolescence and begin comparing themselves to others even more. It’s also common for children to feel negatively about the way they look, because it’s hard for them to conceptualise that what they see in airbrushed images is not reality. Another negative impact of social media is that it creates a constant source of distraction which makes it harder for children to know what they feel and what they care about.

TIPS FOR HELPING YOUR CHILD USE SOCIAL MEDIA POSITIVELY:

1. ESTABLISH TIMES AT HOME WHEN NO ONE IS ON A DEVICE

Have a daily check-in where you are giving your child your undivided attention and focusing on their world, thoughts, and interests. For instance, you could all sit at the dinner table for the evening meal, or play a game that doesn’t involve a screen, or do something together outside. This helps them learn to value this personal connection, so they are less impacted by the forms of connection and validation they experience on social media.

2. SHOW AN INTEREST IN WHY THEY LIKE SOCIAL MEDIA

Get curious by saying: “Tell me about that game - what do you like about it?” or “are you talking to friends on social media?” Primary aged students should not be talking to people they have not met. They should not be on chat rooms until the age of 13. They should not be talking to their peers. Showing your curiosity, not your judgement, will help your child feel safe to share their online experiences. As a parent you should be guiding them with their interactions. If your child has a negative experience online, help them brainstorm ways that they would like to respond, so it can become a learning experience in setting boundaries.

3. ASK YOUR CHILD HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACTS THEM

You can say: “When you are on a device for a long time, I notice you can become a bit aggressive. I wonder what you’re feeling that makes you act that way? I get how important technology is to you, and I also really care about you, and I want to make sure you are OK, so if it is impacting you negatively, we need to discuss cutting back or using it differently until it doesn’t have that impact any more.

4. CHECK Devices

As a parent of a children under the age of 13 years you have a right to check their devices and at night, they are left stored in a family cupboard away from bedrooms. This is about ensuring your child is being safe online and respectful.

How can I follow up with my child if I am concerned with their online behaviour?

Holding them accountable for their actions online.
Treating cyberbullying as seriously as bullying in the playground. If you see your child participating in cyberbullying, ‘roasting’, or other anti-social behaviour online, talk to them face to face about their actions, and the impact this has on others.
If your child is being bullied online, show them how to block the individual and report it offline, with their school or the police.
If you are friends with your children online, bring up things you have seen them engage with in the online space, to remind them that their online actions impact people in the real world too.
Have a conversation with them about how easy it is to link a profile back to an individual person, even if a fake name is being used.
There are some great resources available for parents/guardians on the eSafety website

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

Buildings and Grounds

TRPS children are a resilient bunch! Our children have navigated temporary fencing and building works for the past six years. This has impacted on their play spaces and access to their classrooms. But our children seem to cope with this exceptionally well. We are very happy to say building works are due for completion this term. Last week we had hand over of another double storey classroom and expect handover of the second classroom next week. Classrooms were removed from the netball courts last weekend, freeing up some much-needed play space. Over the holidays we are getting some playground upgrades, including the completion of our ‘inclusion playground’, new basketball rings, some new climbing ‘boulders’, new sandpit toys and buildings for imaginative play, we are replacing the soft fall bark with rubber matting and having turf installed outside Pod one. The netball courts will be resealed, and new netball/basketball rings installed and well as cricket nets (term 3 and 4). These new additions will be amazing assets and we know the children will love playing with their friends on the playground. Once the playgrounds are finished, we will finish off landscaping and our electrical upgrade. We are so very excited to have all buildings and landscaping works completed by the end of the year and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding.

Winter & Illness

It is coming to that time of year when we start seeing more coughs and colds in the community. We do want children at school every day, but if they are unwell, home is the best place for them to recover. We appreciate that it is difficult to leave work or your other commitments to pick up your child from school or stay home with them when they are unwell, however, we all need to do our bit to protect others.

School Photos

Our school photographer has let us know; we can expect our school photos in the next two weeks.

Have a wonderful week.

Nadia Bettio

Principal

Gemma Skeen, Adam Oliver, Lauren Avdyl, Stephen Zhang, Melissa Kloss, Sarah Narres, Alana Stathoulis

Assistant Principals

Big Childcare