Dear families,

MOTHER'S DAY STALL

A huge thank you to those who donated items for the Mother’s Day Stall. Students had a great array of gifts to choose from. Thank you also to those who came along to help with the set up and sale of the items. It was wonderful to have so many parents in the school. It was an extremely successful fundraiser, with $1870 being raised!

CURRICULUM DAY/NO SCHOOL

Next Wednesday 17th May, staff will be attending a professional learning day with Bron Ryrie Jones.

Bron supports teachers, instructional coaches and school leaders to:

embed explicit and responsive teaching techniques in classrooms.

apply principles of responsive instruction in lesson design and delivery
develop strong assessment practices.
think rigorously about assessment task design.

MOTHER'S DAY BREAKFAST

Currently we have seventy-six adults and one hundred and one children booked in for breakfast in the morning. Breakfast commences at 8am. A coffee van will be available if people would like to purchase a hot drink. Once again, a huge thank you to Juanita for organising the catering for the day. Thank you also to Nic Pogue, Tash Jennings, Jo Miller and Kasey Cook for volunteering to help with the food preparation on Thursday and her team of helpers for all the setting up.

SCHOOL COUNCIL

This month, we will have our School Council Meeting via WebEx. We realise it has been difficult for some members to attend in person. An invitation has been sent to School Council members.

OPEN MORNING

On Friday 19th May, we will be holding our Open Morning. Tours will take place at 9.30am and 11.30am. Families are encouraged to take this opportunity to have a tour of our school.

JUNCTION HOTEL LUNCH ORDERS

Lunch orders from the Junction Hotel will commence on Friday 26th May. Orders are required to be sent to school in a brown paper bag with the order written on the front. The bag needs your child's name, their class and the correct money inside.

Menu

Salad roll $5
- Add chicken, ham, or salami $1
Warm chicken wrap $6
Quiche $3.5
Toasted Sandwich $4 (chicken or ham)
Fresh Fruit cups with Greek yogurt $3
Mac and cheese $6
Spaghetti bolognaise $5
Homemade pie $4
Baked potato $5 (sour cream, cheese, and bacon)
Beef Burrito $6

CROSS COUNTRY

Tomorrow we have 14 students representing our school at the Division Cross Country. We wish them all the best. Parents are responsible for getting their children to and from the event. Mr Thompson will be the teacher attending the event.

BRAVEHEARTS

On Monday, students from Foundation to Grade 3 will participate in the Ditto Show from 11.30-12.15pm. Parents are welcome to come along and view the show.

Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Show is aimed at children aged 3 to 8 and is delivered in early learning centres and lower primary schools to children of all abilities. This fun and interactive personal safety program has reached hundreds of thousands of Australian children since its inception in 2006.

Delivered by experienced facilitators, the show duration is 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the age group (shorter show for younger children). Independent evaluation of the Ditto Show suggests the principles of personal safety embedded in the program can help to increase resilience, and reduce the risk of child sexual assault, as well as other forms of abuse including family violence and bullying.

What will children learn?

Following is an overview of the Ditto show content. (Please note that some of the content described below is omitted from the Early Years (i.e. childcare) version of the show to ensure age-appropriateness and brevity for a young audience.) Both the Early Years and lower primary school versions of the Ditto show are underpinned by the following six principles of personal safety:

Differentiating ‘yes’ and ‘no’ feelings
Recognising the bodies ‘warning signs’
Body ownership
Helping children identify language and feelings associated with secrets
Reinforcing that there is no secret that children cannot tell someone
What to do if you feel unsafe or unsure

We aim to teach children these essential principles through songs such as ‘Run and Tell (someone you can trust)’ and ‘Private Parts (they belong to me)’.

Children also learn ‘Ditto’s 3 Rules’, which are:

We all have the right to feel safe with people.
It’s ok to say NO if you feel unsafe or unsure.
Nothing is so yucky that you can’t tell someone about it.

As part of the program, children are each given a Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Activity Booklet to take home (primary school program only). We encourage parents and/or teachers to look at the booklet with the children, using the activities to help cement the personal safety messages from the show.

Have a lovely Mother’s Day

Regards Heather

GSSC