Thank you for all your resilience as we muddle through the gift that keeps on giving - the AGP! Students have been getting excited and really curious about all the changes appearing day by day.

Next week NAPLAN begins and some students have a changed timetable to allow all Year 3s and 5s to be able to complete testing which will be Weds 15th to Mon 20th March inclusive. Your child’s teacher should let you know if specialists (PE especially) days or times change. Thanks everyone for your flexibility in ensuring our students have the best environment to set them up for success during what can sometimes be a stressful period for them. Please have a chat to your children to remind them to be extra quiet and respectful as they move around the school on those mornings.

For those of you who have Year 3 and 5 students – students thrive when they know that ‘success’ is all about trying their best and having a growth mindset. These tests are just a moment in time and do not dictate the rest of their lives – “no matter what happens, you’ll be ok” is my mantra. As let’s face it – life works itself out! See below for Growth Mindset tips.

This morning we had the 3-6 Cross Country and we couldn’t be more proud of the positive engagement of all our students. They helped each other along, they paced themselves if they started to get a bit puffed out. Most importantly, all students displayed a growth mindset – whether or not running was their thing, (let’s face it – some of you, like me, may have residual nightmares from your school days), everyone had a go with a positive attitude and just enjoyed the experience. This speaks volumes about our staff and families, who are clearly modelling this approach to challenging tasks, and allowing our young people to take safe risks and move out of their comfort zone without any expectations.

Here's some tips about growth mindsets at home:

How parents can instil a growth mindset at home – I love the simple ‘say this, not that’ examples
Growth Mindset Parenting article from the Growth Mindset Institute– 3 great simple tips
Growth mindset toolkit – for those of you who like a deep dive

We love seeing all those lovely pets that are part of our students’ lives. Pets are an unbelievably good support for our emotional wellbeing – I am an ex dog mum and a cat mother of 2– whether I’m crazy or not who knows?! We would like to really come back to being a very dog-safe environment and prioritise the safety of our young people. Please could we leave all dogs outside school grounds. All animals may be unpredictable and easily overwhelmed by our inquisitive kids, there may also be students with allergies who just can’t resist a pat. I promise that we will give any dogs securely left at the gates some TLC, but please be certain your dog will be safe and confident to be left alone, otherwise it may be best to hold onto them and wave goodbye to our little ones at the gate.

This is a great opportunity for all of us to have a chat with our children about dog safety too. Here’s some great resources:

Dogs and children: preventing injuries article
Responsible Pet Ownership booklet for those of you with pre-school age children at home

Friendship Tree’s Term 1 jacket!!

Thanks so much to our wonderful parent Anna Barden who knits a new jacket for our tree every term!

For those of our families that are unaware, the Friendship Tree is a place for our students to go if they do not have anyone to play with or are feeling a bit blue or yellow zone. Our students all know to invite any students sitting at the tree to a game and to check in on them, and our teachers keep a particularly watchful eye on the tree as well. Please encourage your child to not only use the tree, but to check in on anyone who is there as well.

This is another wonderful way in which our students build that sense of community that SMPPS is so known for.

Trish Wan

Assistant Principal

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