A message from David 

Community Connection

It was wonderful to see so many families attend the Welcome Picnic on Tuesday. In response to collective feedback from parents and aligned to our improvement agenda, we extended the opportunity to connect with class teachers through a short information session for each year level. This was designed to provide clarity about your child’s 2024 journey to better understand key programs in support of their learning, engagement and wellbeing. Ains and I have already received lots of positive feedback on this opportunity and you are invited to contribute here.  We were particularly impressed by the preparation of our staff and their collegiate approach with consideration to having five teaching members absent due to illness. Further thanks to the specialist and kinder team for their active involvement and coordination of activities for children, allowing parents time to focus on key messages from classroom teachers. Unfortunately, the animal farm was unable to attend due to car trouble. I have been reassured that the animals are in good health despite the heat.  Thank you to the staff from Camp Australia, providers of our Out of School Hours Care Program, for putting on a free BBQ. 

Next week, you will receive invitation to schedule a face to face session with your child’s teacher. This is the perfect opportunity to elaborate on Tuesday’s information session and hone in specifically on your child’s year ahead. 

Challenging the Status Quo

You may have heard of ‘maths anxiety’ and perhaps even experienced this feeling either personally, or within the family? The pressure and need to ‘perform’ in maths is just one of the top reasons as to why so many adults and students have a fear in this essential subject. I am pleased to witness a positive shift in mathematical perception, application and sheer enjoyment in our classrooms across the school. Our committed focus on maths, supported by purposeful, engaging and relevant learning tasks, is challenging the status quo. As such, students are quickly identifying maths as one of their favourite subjects to learn, embracing the disposition of enduring metal struggle to find multiple ways to solve a variety of tasks, designed to challenge and support their learning progression. Yesterday, I walked past a small focus group, who were in absolute stitches of laughter while working through complex problems in collaboration with their teacher and peers. The energy and belief was inspirational and showcased just how far we have come in such a short period of time. 

I would like to thank the amazing staff of Box Hill North for creating learning environments that allows achievable entry point for all students to readily engage in purposeful tasks. The Hechinger Report is a short read and provides greater context to the importance of breaking down negative stigma of maths.   

Global Education

Providing opportunity for our students to shine is always a priority at Box Hill North. On Monday, two very excited students proudly announced their acceptance to the BRIDGE Summer Camp.  Each year, four students from Australia are invited to travel to Japan and experience its culture and education system, shared with students from across the globe. Knowing that both, Dariah and Emmett will be part of this year’s adventure is a rare feat and we are incredibly proud of their courage to actively seek this opportunity. Emmett is perhaps the only student in the history of primary school who will visit Japan twice in the same year as part of his educational experience! Congratulations to Martin Sensei, who provides an exceptional language program.

Summer Time

As luck would have it, the warmer days have come post holidays. It is advisable for students to apply sun-screen prior to arriving at school and kinder, and bring a labelled drink bottle each day. Teachers encourage students to refill during break times. When the weather is particularly hot, we enact our ‘sweat-day’ timetable, keeping students inside their air-conditioned classrooms.

David