Parent Helpers

Kate Nancarrow will run parent helper sessions at school next term. To be a parent helper, you must attend a session with Kate Nancarrow (or have attended one of these sessions in the past few years), have a valid Working with Children Check, and sign our Child Safe Code of Conduct. Parent helper information sessions will be held at 2:30pm Thursday 27 April or 9:00am on Friday 28t April in the conference centre. Please register your attendance via the office.

Congratulations

Congratulations Zenith L, Henry S, Sid D and Charlie E who represented Solway at the Regional swimming event on Friday 24 March. It was amazing to have so many students represent our district in the regional swimming event. We are so proud of their great achievement and the effort they put into their training.

Year 5/6 Camp

What an amazing time our year 5/6 students and staff had on camp last week. Thank you so much to the 7 staff and 7 parents who attended and made the experience possible. These adults all volunteered to accompany the students, giving up their work, personal and family commitments for the week. Thank you so much!

Harmony Day

Today Solway celebrated Harmony Day. It was great to see so many students dressed up to celebrate the day and take part in some special activities.

End of Term – School Holidays

How quickly the end of term arrives! It has been a very busy one, so it is no surprise that our students and staff are tiring and looking forward to a well-earned break.

Over school holiday breaks, parents can struggle to keep their children occupied and grapple with the guilt of trying to ensure their children are not bored. I encourage you to welcome this feeling, to let your children find some time to engage their brain in boredom. In Brene Brown’s book: Atlas of the Heart, she discusses boredom and explains that when her children were young and bored, once the “I’m soooo bored” was over, often she would find them doing something really important, like daydreaming or creating.

Boredom allows our children to find their own things to do and, as Brene mentions, allows them an opportunity to create. I have heard a child psychologist recently discussing a therapy for teenagers on how to be bored. Our children live in a world of instant and constant gratification. They are no longer given time to be bored. If waiting for a train or bus, most people reach for their phone and scroll. When I went to school, we had to look around, engage and chat with other students and make connections or create. I encourage you to look for opportunities to allow your children this time to be bored and see where it takes them once they get passed the initial complaining!

‘Children need time to themselves – to switch off from the bombardment of the outside world, to daydream, pursue their own thoughts and occupations, and discover personal interests and gifts.’

And it doesn’t matter if your child doesn’t have any apparent personal interests or hobbies that they can pursue independently.

‘Just letting the mind wander from time to time is important… for everybody’s mental wellbeing and functioning.’

‘A study has even shown that, if we can engage in some low-key, undemanding activity… the wandering mind is more likely to come up with imaginative ideas and solutions to problems.’

https://www.melbournechildpsychology.com.au/blog/the-benefits-of-boredom/

Please note that school finishes on Thursday 6 April at 2:30pm for the end of term. There is no school on Friday due to Good Friday Public Holiday. We wish our families a safe and happy Term One and Easter break.

Lyn Rodda

Principal

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