Principal's Report
Dear EHPS Parents and Carers,
What a fun and interesting two weeks we've had celebrating National Science Week, Indonesian Day and Book Week. You will find reports and photos throughout this newsletter of the many activities the children have been engaged in.
Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey
Every year the school in conjunction with the Department of Education conducts a survey to seek family feedback about their perceptions of the school. The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement.
185 families were chosen at random by computer received a link which would enable them to complete the survey. If you received that email, can I please encourage you to complete the survey. Your responses are confidential and anonymous.
Your opinions are important to us and will contribute to identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies. The Department will use the results from the survey for research purposes and to improve outcomes for students.
The survey is being conducted online and should take not longer than 20 minutes to complete. It can be completed on any internet enabled device (desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone) and is compatible with most browsers.
The Department of Education have advised that the Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey response date will be extended to the end of Term 3, Friday 20 September 2024. Please schedule time to complete the survey if you have been invited to complete it.
CyberSafety
Year 5 and 6 students had a presentation on Friday from the police related to online safety. The children were presented with an overview of the key things they should be aware of when it comes to cybersafety. We hope that this presentation and the ongoing discussion of our teachers educates our students about the best way to use social media and at the same time being safe and respectful.
This is also a very important issue which all families need to understand. Online presence is a given in our modern society however it is open to abuse and risks. Following a School Council discussion I am providing some resources that could help to have meaningful conversations at home, and advise that in the near future we hope to be able to conduct a parent information forum on this important topic.
My source of most of this information is from the eSafety Commissioner website - https://www.esafety.gov.au. On this site there is specific advice for parents on many eSafety issues, e.g. Screen time, Cyberbullying, Parental Controls, Gaming etc.
I have selected a few to share with you but I urge you to visit the site and see the most relevant for your family.
Good habits start young
Parents and carers play an important role in helping children to develop digital intelligence — the social, emotional and practical skills needed to successfully navigate the digital world.
Even for preschool children, it is never too early to instil good habits, and as your child gets older it is useful to keep reminding them of these basic digital intelligence principles: respect, empathy, critical thinking, responsible behaviour and resilience. These are also principles you can emphasise with your child when things go wrong.
Promote respectful communication
- Encourage your child to use the same positive manners and behaviour they would use offline, understanding that others may have different cultures, backgrounds or points of view. If it is not OK to say or do something face to face, it is not OK online.
- Remind them to avoid responding to negative messages and to tell you or another trusted adult if they receive them. Tell them it is OK to report others who are not being nice.
- Emphasise the positives. For example, ‘I know what a kind and respectful person you are, and it makes me so proud to see you acting the same way when you're online. You are such a great friend — I can see how much everyone looks up to you at school.’
Encourage empathy
- Help your child to imagine being in someone else’s shoes, so they can relate to diverse opinions and understand what might make people behave in different ways.
- For example, you might say something like: ‘I noticed that Sam seemed a bit sad when she came over yesterday. Have you noticed anything? What do you think is wrong? Would that make you sad? What can we do to help?’
Teach them to question
- Encourage your child to think critically about what they see online. Teach them to ask questions so they can identify content or messages that may be misleading or exploitative.
- Talk to them about ‘fake news’, or false information that is designed to look like a trustworthy news report, and how quickly it can spread on social media. Teach them to fact check news sources and do their own independent searches on issues, so they can see the variety of opinions on a particular issue and make up their own mind.
- Remind them to be careful when making new friends online as people may not be who they say they are. We are increasingly seeing ‘Finstas’ (fake Instagram accounts) and other impersonation accounts. So it is important to question whether what they are seeing online from their friends is real or not. If it seems out of character, it could be from a fake account.
- Alert your child to the dangers of meeting someone in person that they have been talking to online. Advise them to never arrange to meet an online friend unless a trusted adult is with them and it is during the day in a public space.
- Refer to our advice on avoiding grooming and unwanted contact.
Encourage safe and responsible behaviour
- Work on achieving a healthy balance in your child’s online and offline activities and set boundaries for digital device use in your home. Find out how in screen time.
- Remind your child of the importance of safeguarding personal information that can be used to identify or locate them.
- Explain why they should be suspicious of unsolicited messages and emails, and avoid clicking on pop-up ads on websites. Some pop-ups that seem safe can lead to inappropriate sites or ask for personal or financial information. Find out more in parental controls.
- Help them configure the strongest privacy settings on all the social media apps and sites they use. It is best that only their circle of friends can view their information, tag them in a photo or share posts. And get them to check their settings regularly as updates can sometimes change them back to the default. Read more about privacy settings in The eSafety Guide.
- Ensure your child uses strong passwords on devices and accounts, and explain the importance of not sharing passwords, even with friends. See identity theft for advice on setting strong passwords.
- Find more advice in privacy and your child.
Help them build resilience
- Keep your cool if your child experiences a negative experience online. Remember, the choices they make as they navigate difficult situations can help them learn. Our 2017 ‘State of Play’ research shows round six in ten young people were able to identify some positive impacts from a negative online experience.
- Remind your child that they can screen who they accept as online ‘friends’.
- Make sure they know how to block and report users or pages on the sites they use.
- If they have a negative online experience, find out how they are feeling about it, offer support and encourage them to keep things in perspective at the same time.
- For example, you might say: ‘What that person has done is not OK. They must be feeling pretty bad about themselves to treat you like this. How are you feeling? Let's block them to stop their messages coming through.’
- Build your child’s confidence and encourage positive ways of thinking — looking on the bright side, thinking rationally, understanding that difficult times are a part of life but there is help and support available.
Resources
Webinars for families
Join a free webinar for parents and carers:
- Consent and Online Boundaries: how to support your primary aged child - 11 September
- Understanding how to support your child with online gaming - 3 September
- An introduction to online safety and emerging technologies - 5 September
Please note that you must register for these webinars by following the link above.
Nesting Birds
Spring is nearly here, and we have a pair of birds who have returned again this year and created their nest to raise their chicks in one of the Magnolias next to the path into the Office. Please be aware of this if coming into the School Office, as they sometimes swoop in defence of their nest. We also encourage you to have a conversation with your child about this, and the importance of keeping away from the tree with the nest while they are raising their chicks.
Traffic & Car Parking
I unfortunately continue to observe and receive reports of road rules not being followed, parking areas not being used correctly, children not entering the school grounds safely, and behaviour that is not consistent with the patience and respect for other road users, and members of our schol community and neighbours, that is expected of the EHPS community. In particular, I remind EHPS families that:
- The Kiss & Go zone in Essex Road at the front of the school is limited to a two minute stay only without leaving your vehicle between 8.30am and 9.30am and 3.00pm and 4.00pm on school days.
- No U turns across the solid white line in Essex Road. This will incur a fine if traffic management officers are in attendance.
- The Staff & Permit Car Park (entry on Essex Road)
- is not to be used by parents at any time or in any circumstances;
- children are not to be walked through this car park into or out of the school grounds; entry/exit to the school grounds is through the front gate in Essex Road opposite the Office only. Access through this car park was only permitted when we had special arrangements in place during COVID restrictions. Please do not walk through or direct your children through the car park for the safety of all.
- Follow the safe road crossing procedure – STOP, LOOK, LISTEN and THINK:
- STOP one step back from the kerb, or shoulder of the road if there is no footpath.
- LOOK in all directions for approaching traffic.
- LISTEN in all directions for approaching traffic.
- THINK about whether it is safe to cross the road – when the road is clear or all traffic has stopped. When crossing, walk straight across the road. Keep LOOKING and LISTENING for traffic while crossing.
Let's work together to ensure all members of our school community and neighbourhood, and especially our children, are safe around our school, and all areas are used safely and correctly.
Focus on Sleep
Sleep Health Week was held recently (5 to 9 August). This is timely as we’ve noticed a significant increase lately with late arrivals at school because children are tired and sleeping in. Research tells us that tired children do not learn effectively and that it also has implication for their compliance and behaviour. Please read the following article excerpt that gives good and useful tips regarding sleep:
“Effective learning at school requires children to be well rested and for their brains to be active and alert. Well rested children engage in learning activities better, are able to think clearly and then apply it to their learning. Also, children that have had the appropriate amount of sleep are happy at school and do not get tired as the day progresses.
Good sleep is critical in children’s growth and development. Research tells us that children who do not get enough sleep on a consistent basis are more likely to have problems at school and develop more slowly than others that are getting enough sleep.
Children between 3-5 years need about 12 hours sleep and from 5-12 year about 11 hours. Therefore, if your child in Prep needs to wake up at 7.30am to get ready for school, the child needs to be in bed by 7.30pm to get the right amount of sleep to help their development.
I know that we may all have different routines at home for our children but I urge you to seriously consider the need for your children to have more sleep. Even if you believe that your children are doing well at school and they are managing even though they go to bed late, imagine how well they could be doing at school if they received the appropriate amount of sleep.
Here are some useful tips:
- Have a bedtime routine
- Have a light snack
- Take a bath.
- Put on pyjamas.
- Brush teeth.
- Read a story.
- Make sure the room is quiet and at a comfortable temperature.
- Put your child to bed.
- Say goodnight and leave.
- Make bedtime the same time every night.
- Make bedtime a positive and relaxing experience without TV or videos. According to one recent study, TV viewing prior to bed can lead to difficulty falling and staying asleep. Save your child’s favourite relaxing, non-stimulating activities until last and have them occur in the child’s bedroom.
- Keep the bedtime environment (e.g. light, temperature) the same all night long.”
Welcome
We welcome the following student to the EHPS community:
- Mia Z (PGD)
I look forward to seeing you around school.
Kindest regards,
George Perini
Principal