From the  Assistant Principal

Parent Teacher Interviews and Curriculum Day

Monday 10th October will be a Student Free Day. This day will be a half day of Professional Learning (collaboratively working on Inquiry, Science and STEM Scope and Sequence) followed by an early beginning for Parent-Teacher interviews. Information regarding booking appointments will be available next week.

The benefits of fun

I was reading an interesting article recently about the benefits of 'play' for children and adults alike. (You can read the entire article here). The article points out some amazing intrinsic benefits of play for adults including increased motivation, productivity, connectedness and mental health but importantly it goes on to espouse the undeniable benefits of playing alongside children. "Play is essential for developing social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills in children. In fact, far from being a waste of time or just a fun distraction, play is a time when your child is often learning the most..."

Reading the article was a great reminder to me as a parent but also made me reflect upon how lucky we are at Kalinda to have so many staff members who are always willing to bring fun, joy and adventure to school. Recently we have seen so many examples of teachers joining in on 'play' to inspire and motivate our students. We've had fabulous Book Day costumes, pyjamas at work (and even to the local cafe!) on Pyjama day, crazy sporting outfits for Footy Day, teachers and parents in olden day clothing to visit Mont De Lancey and enthusiastic (if not somewhat risky) participation by many staff in Netball and Football games against Grade 6 students. Not only does staff participation in these events spark joy and laughter in learning but increases the sense of connectedness in our community, as well as setting an example of safe risk-taking by showing bravery to turn up at school in an outfit that is out of your comfort zone. (Mr McClare running a staff meeting in a pink onesie is a highlight for me!) Thank you to our amazing staff who never shy away from an opportunity to encourage learning through play.

Boys and screens - Parent Webinar

Dr. Justin Coulson is offering an important webinar next week (at cost to attendees) that we think our community might find very useful. If it is something you are able to consider we would recommend that you look into registering. A description of this informative session is below:

"In the past ten years, screens have completely upended the way we raise our children. Screens are everywhere. All the time. Social media has taken over our lives and the lives of our kids. 97% if kids are gaming. And the Internet has brought new kinds of risks into our children's lives at earlier and earlier ages.

Screens affect our boys and our girls differently. Boys are caught up in gaming industry with hundreds of billions of dollars each year. It keeps them up at night. It creates contention in our home as sleeplessness combines with dishonesty, aggression, competitiveness, and the never-ending desire for "one more game". Boys' online lives are complicated even more by the growth in gambling among tween and teen boys, and the continued rise of pornography. Boys' access to explicit content has never been easier or more common. 

What can we do to help our boys manage their screen time, and manage the content they're exposed to, in safe, healthy ways?

Join Dr. Justin Coulson for the webinar that will answer your questions...

"Please click this link for further information including booking details.

Happy holidays

I hope that you and your family have a holiday that is full of fun, wonder and play (and some definite recharging after a busy term!) Whether you have a holiday or break planned, or you will be working each day and enjoying time together in the evenings, I hope it really fills your bucket. 

Take care, you matter a lot to me. 

Lauren Hopkins

We are kind. We are resilient. We are respectful.