This fortnight at the Springs...

It's been another busy fortnight at the Springs, with our learning programs in full swing and students producing some fantastic results! We have a lot of assessments happening at the moment, as we approach Report writing time. This is a reminder that in Term 2, Semester reports are published on Compass on the last day of the term. While reports provide a snapshot of where a student is at, at a particular point in time, they do not replace regular open communication between our staff and families. Please touch base with the classroom teacher if you have any queries at any time, or just to get an update on the learning your child is doing. Strong school-family connections are vital for strong and effective student learning outcomes.

Uniform & Cold Weather

It feels like we blinked and suddenly winter is upon us! The mornings are getting quite chilly, so please send your child to school wearing a jumper or jacket (labeled). Our school beanies can be purchased from the office at any time ($18.00) and we ask that external jackets/coats are in school colours, or black, as much as possible.

This helps us to maintain our focus on showing pride in our uniform and representing PSPS in a consistent manner. Please make sure that any jackets, coats, hats, etc are clearly named so that they can be returned to their rightful owner if they should happen to get misplaced.

School Dog Program

Our school dog Maggie has begun her visits to M22, enjoying time reading with students and supporting them in their social, emotional, and academic programs.

We remind families that Maggie will be coming into M22 on Wednesdays and Thursdays for the rest of this term and will only be with M22 at this stage.

All other students are asked to respect Maggie's space if they do see her walking around the yard with Mrs. Bucknell - they should not approach or try to pat her at the moment.

Please note that this does not change our school rule of 'no dogs on site'. There is a specific School Dog Policy that relates to Maggie (a copy can be requested from the office if required).

Supervision before school

Students are not to arrive at school until 8:30 am on school mornings. Staff do not begin their workday until this time, and there is insufficient supervision available in the mornings. Any student arriving before 8:30 am will be asked to sit at the office and wait. We ask for your support in this matter. Likewise, under no circumstances are students allowed to leave the school grounds in the morning and go across to the shops. Not only is this incredibly unsafe, with them crossing the busy Heritage BLVD road unsupervised, but a small number of students are also coming back having purchased items inappropriate for the school day. Please contact OSHClub if you need to organise care and supervision for your child/ren outside of 8:30am-3:30pm.

Respectful Relationships Education

In 2017 Respectful Relationships Education (RRE) became a core component of the Victorian curriculum. The program was born from the Royal Commission after the tragic death of Luke Batty in 2014. It was a recommendation that all schools teach Respectful Relationships Education through a Whole School Approach, to support students to recognise and regulate emotions, develop empathy for others and establish and build a framework for positive relationships.

During Week 6 (next week) a survey will be sent to all families to help us collect some baseline data for our Respectful Relationships Education program. This anonymous survey provides an opportunity for the school to hear the voices and opinions of parents and carers to assist them in the ongoing implementation of the whole school approach to the Respectful Relationships initiative. We encourage all community members to take the time to fill in this survey and help us make our school as safe, supportive and inclusive as we possibly can.

Online

A really common concern we have within our parent/family community is 'How can we help our children reduce their amount of screen time'? This is a really difficult issue to navigate, particularly as our children near their teen years. Dr. Andrew Fuller has written a fantastic article as part of The Parents Website titled 'Wean your teen off the screen'.

It discusses the reasons why screens are so addictive, common mistakes parents make, and some handy tips about how to go about encouraging your child/ren to spend less time in the online world. Although written during the lockdown times, it is full of great information that I hope you find useful.

Dr Fuller uses the approach of RESOLVE to tackle this important issue:

R espond with respect

E ngage

S eek understanding

O bserve feelings

L ower the tone

V alue add

E mpower

The full article can be found at:

Wean your teen off the screen - Andrew Fuller (theparentswebsite.com.au)

Swimming

The swimming program for students in years 1-4 has now been completed and deemed a big success! We had great reports from the staff at Splash's and also the bus company, about the responsible and respectful behaviour of our students at all times. This makes me incredibly proud of our students, and of our staff for organising and delivering a complex program with fantastic results. Thank you to all families for being so responsive to calls for forgotten bathers, and for making the effort to have everything packed and ready for each day of swimming. You're all legends!

We'd love any feedback you'd like to give us about our swimming program

Feel free to email it to... renee.cotterell@education.vic.gov.au

Yr 5 camp

Thanks to the Victorian Government Positive Start Program, this year we were able to send our Year 5 students on an overnight camp to Lyrebird Park camp in Yellingbo. Students completed activities including damper cooking, slingshot, archery, and rock climbing. At night, they explored the camp via torchlight and were extremely responsible when it came to bedtime. Again, the behaviour of our students is something we all can be proud of - they represent the Springers community beautifully! A massive thank you goes to our staff and parent helpers for giving up their valuable family time to ensure opportunities like this are able to run for our students.

National Simultaneous Storytime

On Wednesday, the Springs participated in the National Simultaneous Storytime Book Read which is an annual event where a book is chosen to be read at the same time across Australia. This year's book was The Speedy Sloth, written by Rebecca Young, and illustrated by Heath McKenzie. We had some of our current Library Leaders read the book and turn it into a video for everyone to watch. Enjoy...

Enrolment 2024

It's hard to believe that we're already looking ahead to our 2024 enrolment period! We will be holding our Information Evening for prospective Prep parents on Monday 29th May, 6.00pm - 7.00pm, with our Preps In Action sessions running on Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th June 2023.

Any existing family wishing to enrol a younger sibling for 2024 is now invited to complete and return the 'Enrolment 2024 Expression of Interest' form which has been distributed.

Enjoy the fortnight ahead Springers!

The PSPS Leadership Team

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