From the Principal
Student Wellbeing
At Langy Park Primary the wellbeing of our students is always at the centre of our thinking. We are very fortunate to have a very broad school wellbeing team that provides a wide range of supports to our students and families.
Recently at our curriculum day, our staff undertook the third day of Berry St training. This training is providing all our staff with the skills and strategies to best support student wellbeing and particularly with the management and regulation of different emotions. Everyday classroom teachers are engaging with different Berry St strategies, that focuses on students entering and leaving the classroom with a positive mindset to start and finish the day. The THRIVE student diary is also a valuable tool that teachers use to assist students' with their wellbeing.
Teaching and Learning
As I have previously shared in our newsletter, in our school's Annual Implementation Plan, our teaching and learning priority this year is improve our student outcomes in Numeracy. We are allocating our human, financial and physical resources in this area. Mrs Jo Smith is out of the classroom fulltime running Numeracy Intervention across the school. She is also working with our grade level teams to support their Numeracy planning. At the moment we are particularly focusing on numeracy assessment and using this to carefully plan sequences of learning. Professional learning is also highly important and our classroom teachers are regularly reflecting upon their impact in the classroom and engaging in professional discussions to refine their practice.
Photography Policy
I encourage everyone to the read the attached policy. This is very relevant at this moment in time and it is important is clear on the expectations regarding the taking of photos at school events.
Mobile Phone Policy
If a student chooses to bring a mobile phone to school, they are required to hand it into their teacher at the start of the day. This will then be returned to them at the end of the day.
I have had a number of enquires regarding 'smart watches' (ability to send and receive messages/make and receive phone calls). If the watch contains a SIM card and has a mobile network, it also needs to be handed to your child's teacher. If it does not contain a SIM card and only has blue tooth capabilities, this does not fall under the current policy and is OK for your child to wear.
This policy will be reviewed by our school council Education committee this month. I will keep you updated with any changes.
Peninsula Principal Conference
On Thursday and Friday this week, Deb, Kym and I attended a 2 day Peninsula Principal conference. There was a strong focus on student attendance. The Department of Education and Training (DET) at the moment has a system priority on improving student attendance rates. I am stating the obvious that the more days of school a student misses, the greater impact it will have on their learning. Our school wellbeing team is very well set up to support families in this area and we will always work closely with our families when there is a concern around student attendance.
We are now half through Term 1 and I have been so impressed with establishing important routines in and out of the classroom.
Let's keep up the great work in the second half of the term.
I thank you all for your continued support and positive approach to your child's learning.
Cheers,
Richard