From the 

Acting Assistant Principal

Thank for another wonderful fortnight of happy and safe learning and playing at South Melbourne Park. It continues to be a pleasure every day to see all the smiling faces of students just bouncing into school. There is such a strong sense of wellbeing and mutual care and respect among our student and parent community here. Everyone steps up and puts ‘kids at the heart’ at all times.  

THIS FORTNIGHT'S FOCUS:

LATENESS

We all run late sometimes, life just happens! However chronic lateness can have a significant impact on children’s learning and wellbeing and that of their classmates. A late student can feel unsettled and anxious settling into their spot, even tiptoeing in they may feel very noticeable especially during whole class instruction time and classmates often have to make space for them. Late arrivals also disrupt the instruction time for other students as the teacher may have to pause to welcome the student or explain what they’ve missed. 

Our most critical teaching occurs in the first 10-15 minutes of every lesson. Children regularly arriving late, miss the instruction for the first lesson of each day. Reading is the most common lesson occurring in the mornings. Here’s a little calculation I’ve done to show the percentage of explicit instruction time in reading that a child could miss over a year. For example, a child who is 10 minutes late 3 times a week, every week could therefore have missed 60% of their reading instruction by the end of the year.

ATTENDANCE

In case you missed it! A reminder that family holidays during term time need to be approved by school Principals, it is a DET requirement, so please notify Nicole via the school email/Compass and please also notify your child’s classroom teacher a minimum of 2 weeks in advance so that an absence learning plan can be put in place. Crucial foundational learning can be missed during the absence and it is important to do our best to provide opportunities for children to be engaged with the key topics they are missing whilst away. When children are away because of longer term illnesses, we can provide more in depth support sensitive to your child’s needs and capacity during their recovery period. Please discuss with your child’s teacher to work out what is best.

BYSTANDER BEHAVIOUR

We often quote the phrase, ‘behaviour ignored is behaviour rewarded’. Speaking up when we see others behaving in a potentially unsafe way is a fantastic way to build a sense of safety and support across the school and wider community. Please discuss appropriate positive bystander or ‘Upstander’ behaviour with your child as a way of contributing to a safe community. Being an Upstander does not mean putting yourself in harm’s way, staying calm and being a positive influence is super important. You may like to discuss this Be an Upstander video and frame it in an age-appropriate way for your child or take a look at this article: https://www.esafety.gov.au/young-people/be-an-upstander  

HATS

We are continuing to have a number of children at school without their hats, this restricts their play significantly and means they are not protected when out on excursions. Please help your child look for a missing hat and we strongly encourage them to be left at school overnight. Once a week, check that the name inside is still up to date and visible. 

Also, speaking of hats! Two weeks ago for World Teachers’ Day, we made some ‘Hats off to Teachers’ gifs using the World Teachers’ Day site. Take a look at some of these stunning hat models as a way to positively encourage bringing hats to school!! Ok, so maybe some weren’t hats, but hopefully the message will still come across!

Patricia Wan

Acting Assistant Principal