Dear Parents, Families and Community members,

Welcome back

This week we have welcomed back our staff, Prep - 2 and Secondary students with great excitement and I must say with great success!

Our students in Grade 3-6 have continued on with their Remote Learning and we can't wait to have them all returning on 9 June.

A special thanks to our parents, carers and families for preparing the children for returning to school, as they have settled in beautifully. We knew that maintaining positive connections between school staff and students (and families) during Remote Learning via Google Meets was going to be vital and this appears to have also supported students transitioning back to school.

Our staff must also be thanked for the thought and effort put into how to run these first few days at school and to help transition students back to school successfully.

Well done everyone! It has been a fantastic week!

Reconciliation Week

Our school has been celebrating National Reconciliation Week. Our students learnt about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and explored how each of us can contribute to reconciliation in Australia.

Students have been learning how to collectively build relationships, as well as a community that values Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. They have investigated the various histories and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, by engaging in a variety of different cultural experiences.

Students learnt about the Koomurri Aboriginal Smoking Ceremony, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music such as Dan Sultan’s Kimberley Calling. They enjoyed playing traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Games such as Koolchee, Edor and Kolap.

Students listened to the book: ‘I Love Me’, (see below) which is a wonderful reminder that the best thing we can do for ourselves is to embrace who we are. The purpose of the reading this story is to build self-esteem in indigenous and non-indigenous children. They talked about why is it important to be proud and love yourself and reflected on that everybody feels sad sometimes and what they can do to help each other feel better when they are upset.

By having a whole school focus on the National Reconciliation week activities, we promote that reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It has been very timely that this years theme is – In this together – which now resonates in ways we could not have foreseen when it was announced last year. It reminds us that whether in a crisis or in reconciliation, we are all In This Together.

Curriculum Day

A reminder that Friday 5 June is a curriculum day and no students are required at school.

Ride 2 School

As a partner of the Ride to School Network we are happy to introduce their ‘Give it a Go’ program.

The program is encouraging all staff and parents to feel confident in making healthy, safe choices when it comes to having children back at school.

With all children returning to school in a weeks time we believe there is no better time than now for parents to experiment and test out different routes to actively commute to school and then choose a way that works best for them.

The Ride to School Networks hope is that with the huge uptake in bike riding through the remote learning period people will be keen to test it out considering many parents are still working from home.

Attached is a ‘checklist’ document intended to be a stuck on the fridge to tick off the different ways as a family you are travelling to school.

Uniform

It has been identified as somewhat of an increasing trend, that many students are regularly not wearing a full school uniform to school and various forms of other non-uniform items are appearing.

Parents/Carers and students are reminded that uniform is compulsory at ACS and all students are expected to be in uniform every day. We are very understanding that on occasions this may not be possible (for various reasons) and all we expect is an email to your child's home group teacher or a note explaining why and when they will be back in uniform.

If families for any reason are having difficulty with ensuring this expectation is fulfilled, please do contact the office and we will endeavor to support you.

Music Bus

The Music Bus will return in Term 3. We will advise the start date later this term.

Have a great weekend!

Evan Savage

Principal

Dates to Remember

June