Principal

Aaron Cox 

Principal

What a smooth start to the year we have had. Children have settled in very well and we could not have asked for a better start to the year. Teachers have been given permission to slow down and focus on developing authentic relationships with their students before powering into curriculum. The Year 4s started this year with an aptly named unit of inquiry called “Community”. Children took ownership of their learning spaces and developed norms and protocols about these spaces. This has proven to be a great example of student agency and voice. 

Unfortunately, we are experiencing issues with less-than-desirable people coming onto school grounds on a regular basis at night, defacing school property, using illegal substances and having zero respect for public property. We are currently spending large sums of money to repair damaged property. If you see anything suspicious please call the police. We have sought advice from the Department and police and we are currently investigating the installation of high-quality security cameras to identify these people. It is a real shame that in Dingley today we have people who do not care about or respect their community resources. 

Bianca Tondo, Kingswood parent, and I had a meeting with Mr. Martin Paluka MP, about Kingswood’s desire to see the school be able to comfortably meet the needs of education moving forward for the people of Dingley. We were encouraged by Martin’s suggestions and we are working on making these ideas a reality in the future. School Council has reported on the progress of their social media campaign and I presented the proposed master plan. Kingswood continues to positively support all government schools across the state, on social media, when they are fortunate enough to receive funding to improve their facilities or programs. Your support in clicking ‘like’, cannot be under estimated in this world where social media has as much or more power than traditional forms of communication.

Thank you to everyone who attended last week’s Drinks on the Green. Parent Club were fantastic in supporting this event. It was great to have that opportunity to mingle with parents, have a chat and a good laugh. The weather was on our side and the attendance of parents and teachers was reflective of our value of being ‘connected to the community’. I hope this becomes a yearly event on the school calendar and replaces the Term 1 Q&A with  the Principal Class.

My observation of society this week is based on the perception I am developing from all forms of media, that blind belief in something trumps truth, reality and science. This is a dangerous state of affairs for us to encourage or embrace. Alternative reality or alternative facts do not exist in the real world. No matter how hard someone may try, reality is reality is reality. We are becoming so adapt at having our opinions entrenched by social media algorithms that seek out an audience to support that belief or opinion. This is not healthy. It develops a sense of infallibility, arrogance, significantly reducing resilience and contributes to a perpetual state of being offended by others if an alternative opinion is voiced. Healthy debate and conversation help develop a child’s ability to form judgments but also allows students to change their minds when presented with further information. Isn’t that what we all strive to do? Make judgments based on facts? If I know everything, why do I need to listen to you? Empathy is also developed when you can put yourself in the shoes of others. As parents, make sure you model this ability to be prepared to honestly listen to what others have to say. It is not a case of waiting for a pause to further hammer your opinion or beliefs. When actively listening to others, common ground can be found if you are prepared to negotiate. Being ideologically driven serves no-one and helps no-one. Model negotiation and compromise for the benefit of the greater good. Challenge respectfully, actively listen and embrace diversity of thinking and then model these behaviours to your children.

Thank you everyone for helping support our great start to the year.