From the Principal cont...

IMPROVEMENTS AROUND THE SCHOOL

New backboards have been installed at the basketball court at the rear of our school. Thank you to the PFA for supporting this improvement.
The building permit for a shade sail on the large prep building veranda has been approved which means the organisation of this can now proceed to the next stage.
Mrs Langson, our Discovery Team leader has organised the installation of a third flagpole so we can also fly the Torres Strait Island flag. This project aligns with our school’s Cultural Understanding and Safety Training that staff completed in term 1. We received a small grant after completing the training and our PFA are also contributing to this project.
The tender process for quotes to upgrade our old student toilets is being undertaken by the Victorian School Building Authority. As you may remember, we were successful in receiving $330 000 late last year. There are still many steps along the way but it is pleasing to know that the project has progressed to the next stage. In our submission, we requested gender-neutral toilets to be constructed which will very much compliment our ethos of inclusion. The existing toilets in our prep building and learning centre are already gender neutral. When the plans progress to the next stage, we will share these further with families. It will be absolutely fantastic to have these new, safe, purpose-built toilets, sinks and drinking taps.

ADDRESSING LATENESS

Mrs Bentata-Grimm and I are consistent in asking children to come to the office for a “Late Pass” when arriving after the 9am bell. We would prefer not to have to do this but we do feel we need to set the consistent expectation that school and learning commences at 9am.

What impact does being late have on the student?

Students who are late miss a lot of instructions and information about what is happening, not to mention important learning sessions. This means that they must catch up somehow. Students also miss out on catching up with their friends in the classroom in the 15 minutes before school. Students can feel unsettled, disorganised and unhappy for the rest of the day and it can take them some time to complete and understand the work that they have missed. It is similar to being late to see a movie and not being able to understand what’s happening because you have missed out on who the characters are and what the plot is.

How does it affect the other students in the class?

Students who are late have an unsettling effect on the rest of the class. Because not all late students arrive at once, the interruptions go on until the last student is settled. Students who are late often have things that need to be done prior to them joining the class and this causes even more disruption. Sometimes other students have to wait to get the teacher’s attention and important issues can be forgotten.

Why does student lateness cause difficulties for the teacher?

The teacher has a certain amount of material and activities to cover each lesson. Also, organisational issues are usually dealt with at the beginning of the day. Teachers can become increasingly frustrated when late students continually and repeatedly interrupt their planned routines, as they then have to stop teaching to deal with the issues involved.

We are all human. Cars can break down and unexpected situations can occur. We know that family morning routines are not always straightforward. If you are experiencing problems, speak to us, as we may be able to offer suggestions to help. We are happy to accept that students will be late on the odd occasion because of unforeseen circumstances. However, arriving late on a regular basis is not acceptable

WORDS OF WISDOM

By Linda Jones & Karen Bentata-Grimm