Principal's Report

Dear Families,

Life is always busy at Galilee and this term has been no exception with with many highlights such as: our first eLearning Day, the popular Grandparents Day and Mass,  Italian Day, Book Week, Father’s Day Breakfast and Footy Colours Day, Excursions, Incursions and this week the Day of Action for children to raise money for chosen charities. Thank you to all staff and parents who have contributed to events like these that make Galilee a great school.

Year Five Photography Exhibition

On Tuesday the Year Five students held a Photography Exhibition based upon a recent excursion to the city. The students published some outstanding photographs with clever explanations. It was a pleasure to visit, along with a number of parents, to see not only the quality of work but the pride that the students showed in their learning. I recommend that you take the time to look at the photos below. Thanks to Mrs Ford and Miss Otte for excellent teaching pedagogy that has allowed for 'student voice', when each student is able to demonstrate their own learning and understandings.

Communication

It's been wonderful to see so many parents attending recent events at Galilee. On Wednesday, we saw a record number of parents for the Year Six assembly and they were not disappointed to see the Amazing Circus. A large number of parents also attended this week the Year Five Photography Exhibition, again seeing outstanding quality of work. 

Next term, a Grievance Policy for parents will be released which will outline clear procedures for communicating concerns that occur at school. Concerns should always be communicated in mutually respectful manner. Parents already have access on Caremonkey to the Parents, Visitors & Volunteers Policy that provides current expectations of behaviour and modes of communication. The needs of the students will always come first but teachers also have the right to feel safe. We understand that parents can sometimes become emotional about their own children but this is never an excuse to approach staff in a way that makes them feel unsafe or contravenes our policies. We are in an environment in which it is critical for us to be thorough but to demonstrate calm and respectful methods of interacting. Children model the way that they see adults resolve differences. Most parents communicate in a calm and respectful manner when working  with the school to resolve issues. Please remember, that what your child tells you (about an incident at school) is very important but be aware that you may not be always hearing all of the facts. As a school we are compelled to investigate thoroughly and fairly any incident. Please work with your children to develop resilience when necessary and to report incidents to the classroom teacher first before approaching a leadership team member. More information can be found in the Parents, Visitors and Volunteers Policy. 

Building Self-Control & Resilience

See the video below with children being asked to show self-control when being tempted and left alone with a marshmallow. 

It began in the early 1960s at Stanford University’s Bing Nursery School, where Walter Mischel and his graduate students gave children the choice between one reward (like a marshmallow, pretzel, or mint) they could eat immediately, and a larger reward (two marshmallows) for which they would have to wait alone, for up to 20 minutes. Years later, Mischel and his team followed up with the Bing preschoolers and found that children who had waited for the second marshmallow generally fared better in life. 30 years after their initial Marshmallow Test, studies showed that a child’s ability to delay eating the first treat achieved higher academic results. Although it is not wise to base a parenting style on one study there are some valuable lessons. There are benefits in teaching your child:

• to make their own decisions,
• independence and responsibility for their actions,
• resilience (help them to solve their own disputes within reason as they will have to develop these skills to flourish as adults) &
• to accept that they cannot have everything they want (saying NO to your child when it is warranted is a part of growing up).

One of our most important roles in life is the way we parent our children. The skills listed above are critically important for your child's development. When we look at our child's good and inappropriate behaviour, we also need to look at our parenting as there is usually a close association. 

Term Four

We will begin Term 4 on Monday October 9 (staff and children). 

Children may begin to wear their summer uniform from the beginning of Term Four but may wear either summer or winter uniform until Cup Weekend, after which they are expected to wear their summer uniform. Hats are compulsory in Term Four. 

Please read the School Uniform Policy if you have not already done so. This term, we have introduced some minor changes to the uniform and letters have been sent home to families if your child is in incorrect uniform (without a note). Families have now had time to adjust and as of the beginning of next term, students in incorrect uniform (without a note) will receive a consequence as per the policy. Overall, I thank the families for the efforts they have made to wear the uniform correctly. 

We have a busy start to the term with children visiting the Life Ed Van and learning in class with Family Life Victoria and our school review.

Prep - Year 2 will begin swimming lessons at MSAC in Week 4. 

We're all looking forward to an exciting last term.

World Teachers Day

The official date of World Teachers Day is October 5th. As this falls during school holidays, Galilee will celebrate on Wednesday October 11. 

Our teachers work very hard to ensure that our students have the opportunities to learn academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually. Teachers do not know everything and focus on imparting the skills for our students to find the answers to their own inquiries. Although there are many official holidays given to teachers, their working day often extends late into the evening. It is often described as a vocation, as it requires dedication, hard work and care. A teacher should always endeavour to put the learning and needs of their students before all else. Thankyou for the care the teachers at Galilee show to our students.

School Review

Catholic Education Melbourne and the VRQA conduct a thorough external Review of schools every four years. I thank everyone who has contributed towards the completion of documents, especially the Deputy Principals (Mrs Burns & Mrs Gerecke). Throughout this process we have created and reviewed a number of policies that can be accessed through our school website. Today we submitted a Self Reflection Report on the last four years at Galilee in the following spheres:

• Education in Faith
• Leadership and Management
• Learning & Teaching
• Student Wellbeing
• School Community

October 10 - Day One and meeting with panels consisting of students, parents & staff

October 13 - Day Two and the Reviewer meets with a panel of staff & parents discuss future directions

November 14 - Reviewer reports back to Staff and School Education Board (the report will be shared with the community in following weeks)

December 1 - School Closure Day for staff to meet with Catholic Education Melbourne to plan  goals in response to the Review

Staffing Term 4

We welcome back Mrs Kayla Flindt-Petersen (Hart) next term who's been having a magnificent time overseas with her husband Kris. Thank you to Mrs Anna Reilly for teaching 6H this term in Kayla's absence. 

Laura Cox (1C) will be on leave for Week 1 and 2 and will be replaced by  Anna Reilly. Enjoy your time at home in Ireland Laura.

* TERM 3 FINISHES TOMORROW 1.30PM 

I wish you all a safe and happy holiday and look forward to seeing you all in Term Four.

Simon Millar