Scoresby PS Whole-school Newsletter

From Our School Leaders

Curriculum Day On Tuesday 

Three main things were covered for all staff on our Curriculum Day this week:

1. Emergency Management Procedures – updated our new staff and went through our expectations for evacuation. 

2. First Aid Review - CPR and Anaphylaxis

3. Friendology - an introduction to our new Social Emotional Learning program, UR Strong - Friendology

 

We will be rolling the Friendology program out in Term 2. Our Curriculum Day was building our staff’s knowledge around the concepts and language of Friendology. 

 

 

URSTRONG - Friendology

Friendology is a whole-school friendship strategy designed to improve the  social climate in schools around the world, connecting over a million kids, parents and teachers with a common language of friendship. 

 

As part of our learning on Tuesday, we learnt about the 4 Friendship Facts and how important it is for our students to know what to expect in their friendships, so that it makes it much easier to understand and accept the ups and downs of their friendships.

 

The 4 Friendship Facts were developed because it was noticed that children weren’t sure what was “normal” or common in their friendships. These 4 Friendship Facts are the foundation of a healthy, respectful friendship and apply to relationships throughout life.

 

If you are interested in learning more about this program, you are welcome to  take advantage of a FREE Parent Membership to access hundreds of resources – including an 8-session video series. This will allow you to learn the same language and strategies being taught in the classroom through the Friendology 101 curriculum. We hope that, as a URSTRONG family, you will reinforce the important messages of empowerment, self-compassion and kindness at home.

 

As a next step, we would recommend:

  • Click here to view an overview of URSTRONG.
  • Activate your FREE Parent Membership and explore all the resources available to your family.
  • Explore the hundreds of resources available to you!

We believe that empowering our students with these skills will create a culture of kindness at our school and we hope that, together, we can support your children to have healthy, feel-good friendships.

 

Working Bee And Holiday Works

We had a very enthusiastic bunch join us last Sunday fortnight for a very successful Working Bee. The gardens adjacent to the carpark were cleared, and plans for a tyre garden to replace it are well under way.  Each grade has painted four or five tyres and they will be placed in the cleared garden beds and planted out next term when the weather settles down. 

 

A big thank you goes to members of the following families for volunteering their time and energy for the morning: 

Murphy family, Emery family, Williams family, Gardini family, Herath family, Parkin family, Leggate family, Kunst family, Rheumer family and Hartley family. 

 

We very much appreciate your help in improving our school grounds. 

 

Over the school holidays we have planned works to replace the shade sail over the seating/eating area near the junior playground.  The shade sail is coming apart and the poles are bent and loose. We are also tidying up the back gate entrance, near the veggie garden, by making a proper access road and planting out the sides of the new access road with plants and mulch. It will all look terrific once the works are completed!

 

Harmony Week 

Next week we will be celebrating Harmony Week. The theme for this year is 'Everyone Belongs'. It is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.

 

Harmony Week is a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism, and the successful integration of migrants into our community. Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world and we should celebrate this and work to maintain it. 

 

Did you know?

  • Nearly half (49%) of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was.
  • We identify with over 300 ancestries.
  • Since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia. 
  • 85% of Australians agree multiculturalism has been good for Australia.
  • Apart from English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Tagalog/Filipino, Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi.
  • More than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia.

Scoresby Primary School will be celebrating Harmony Week on Friday 22nd March with a Harmony Week Breakfast Club (including orange pancakes) and a Free Dress Day.  Students are encouraged to come either in their cultural dress or dressed in orange to celebrate how everyone belongs at Scoresby Primary School.

 

School Fees

A friendly reminder to pay your school fees please.

 

It’s the time of the year when we ask parents to contribute to their annual school fees, please.  Scoresby PS has affordable fees and delivers a wonderful engaging program for all of our Scoresby Superstars. We are happy to assist you in making payments plans, if needed, as we understand there is an economic crisis around us. We don’t want to nag and pester, however we have to provide an education to the children in our care. Our costs have gone up significantly as well. 

 

We have decided, in conjunction with School Council, to offer an incentive to families who have paid - or set up a payment plan to pay - their school fees. We will draw out 2 names - one at the end of Term 1 and one at the end of Term 2 - as a reward for paying your school fees. If your name is drawn out, you will have your 2024 school fees refunded or credited towards other school events.

 

Long Service Leave 

There will be a bit of a change in leaders for Scoresby PS in Term 2. Sue Hartley will be taking Long Service Leave for the term. Nicole Rheumer will be taking the reins and steering the school through Term 2 as Acting Principal. Nicole is experienced in all school activities and decision-making processes, and has been an integral part of School Council and our School Improvement Team for the past 5 years. Nic is looking forward to the opportunity, and Sue is looking forward to catching up with family overseas. 

 

Kellie Symons will be stepping up as Acting Assistant Principal for the term. This is a wonderful opportunity for her. Kate Fox will be covering the days when Kellie is working in her leadership role, which will keep routines and programs running successfully for the students.

 

 

SUE HARTLEY AND NICOLE RHEUMER

Scoresby Primary School Leaders