Junior School
Playtime, Downtime and Family
It is clear from research conducted by both Stanford University and the Challenge Success organisation, that primary school aged children need the elements of playtime, downtime and family in their lives every day for optimal health and wellbeing (click here to view an overview of the research). Many reading this information may scoff at the notion of finding time on a regular basis for each of these elements, but I would encourage parents/carers to unpack what you might be able to achieve with just a slight adjustment to your daily routine. At school, we already cover one aspect of this framework given the boys get plenty of opportunity for playtime during breaks. However, the elements of downtime and family time are largely achieved within each household. While recognising that this can indeed be a daily challenge for families, this is not just an ‘if you can fit it in’ type of scenario. This is suggested as vital for optimal health and wellbeing. Given the relationship between strong wellbeing and achievement in a variety of fields, it certainly makes sense to at least try. Perhaps this is a provocation for your family to discuss around the dinner table tonight!
2023 NAPLAN
The annual NAPLAN assessments were conducted last week and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the boys on the mature and sensible manner they showed while completing the various tests. Thank you as well to the many staff involved in ensuring the assessments ran smoothly for the boys. While we now wait for the results to be released later in the year, parents/carers are reminded of the fact that NAPLAN is simply a snapshot of where your son’s skills are aligned at a specific point in time, as all learners grow and develop at different rates.
Each year, I continue to be surprised by new stories I hear of unnecessary pressure and expectation placed on students regarding their NAPLAN performance. Ironically, overwhelming stress experienced by a student is only a recipe for poor performance. In the Junior School, we have a range of timely, valuable and reliable data about your son/s current academic levels across our different subject areas, as well as his identified next steps in his own learning journey. NAPLAN results are simply one small aspect of this collection of data!
Thank you to all of our Junior School parents/carers for the faith that you place in our staff, recognising that we know each student in our care and appropriately provide for the boys to assist them in reaching their potential throughout the year.
College Procedures
I would like to remind all parents and carers that absentee notes are a legal requirement of the College. We ask that if your son is absent from school, you please outline this on Parent Lounge (including any supporting documentation if necessary) on the day of his absence. An absentee note can also be sent to your son’s classroom teacher via email, or it could be in the form of a written letter.
Additionally, if it is necessary for your son to arrive late to school or depart early in the afternoon due to a medical appointment or other event, parents/carers are asked to please ensure that they have sent written communication of this to their son’s classroom teacher at least one day prior to the occurrence. The Junior School teachers thank you in advance for your support with this request.
On another note, a friendly reminder of the process regarding leave applications from school for students. Any leave requests of 1-2 days in length are to be emailed directly to me. However, applications for leave which exceed this duration are to be emailed to the Director of Wellbeing, Mr Robert Simpson (robert.simpson@spc.nsw.edu.au), who will make a determination on the application received before communicating the outcome to parents/carers. Further information, including copies of the relevant leave forms, can be found here on the College website.
Please refer to pages 40 and 41 of the Student Diary for more information about the procedures outlined above.
Finally, parents/carers are asked to please refrain from dropping off belongings (i.e. sports bag or equipment) that have been forgotten and left at home by students on a given day. As I’m sure all parents/carers can appreciate, our staff are working hard to teach students good organisational skills which will serve them well in the future. Sometimes, missing out on an afternoon training session or a particular activity because of an item that has been forgotten at home might be just the impetus a student needs in order to avoid this situation occurring again in the future!
If you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me via email (glenn.stephenson@spc.nsw.edu.au) or phone (8705 9247) and I will endeavour to assist you in any way that I can.
May God bless you,
Glenn Stephenson
Director of Junior School