A message from Emily

Dear parents and carers

It was wonderful to see so many families join us for last week's assembly. We had a large number of acknowledgements celebrating some of the wonderful children at St John's. During this assembly I raised a couple of reminders for the children and thought I'd also share them here with you too:

•  Tomorrow (FRIDAY 9th JUNE) is a school closure day. The focus of the day is 'Reggio in Context'. The Reggio Emilia approach to learning was initiated by the great Loris Malaguzzi as a response to families and communities living in a post-war environment with the intention to re-build schools. This saw places of education where even the youngest of children were taken seriously and could acquire the skills and values of collaboration and critical thinking within a democratic society. We have the privilege of welcoming Kirsty Liljegren from the Reggio Emilia Australia Information Exchange (REAIE) to facilitate half of the day. Kirsty has recently returned from a Reggio Emilia Study Tour in April as a participant and leader, and will be convening the 'Landscapes of Curiosity and Creativity: In Dialogue with the 100 Languages' conference at the end of June.  Kirsty has played a role in helping us to think, question and wrestle with the cognitive knots of Reggio Emilia's approach to education and how this can be imagined in our St. John's context. We look forward to sharing more about this in the future.
• Monday 12th June is the King's Birthday Public Holiday.
• It is an expectation that all children wear the correct St John's uniform. I am happy for children to wear a summer uniform if it is hot weather or the winter uniform when it's cold or even their sports uniform everyday if that is what you child is most comfortable in for learning and play. I do, however, request that the uniform they are wearing is presentable and free of holes and tears. I am happy for items without the school logo to be purchased from Kmart, Best and Less or Big W providing they are the ink navy in colour. Please see the School Uniform page of this newsletter for more information. 
• A reminder that we encourage children to only drink water at school and energy drinks such as the latest craze, 'Prime', are to be enjoyed outside of school only. Often, when children bring food and drink items that are popular like this, there is a tendency to want to share these items with friends. Our message at school is that we only drink and eat what has been provided from home to ensure that children aren't exposed to items you wish them to avoid and any possible allergic reactions.
• Last Friday we hosted a 'Wear it Yellow for Children's Ground' as part of Reconciliation Week. The children raised $181.25 that will be donated to Children's Ground and the work they do in changing the status quo and uplifting our First Nations knowledge systems. Thank you to everyone who donated to this great cause. To find out more visit their website: https://childrensground.org.au/

It is with great pleasure that I announce Fiona Hill as our newest educator to join the St John's community. Fiona will be replacing Jayka next semester and will be teaching children Visual Arts. Fiona is an artist herself as is passionate about all areas of The Arts. We look forward to learning more about Fiona and the wonderful learning that she will lead with the children during Semester 2.

Next term we will be exploring human development with the senior children and have booked 'The Wonder of Living Program' with Catholic Care to support this learning with the 5/6 children and their parents. The details are as follows. 

• Monday 17th July - 6pm: (Face to Face) Parents only session with the facilitator. SAVE THE DATE
• Tuesday 18th July - 11.45am- 12.45pm: In class session with the facilitator at school - children/staff only 
• Monday 24th July - 11.45am- 12.45pm: In class session with the facilitator at school - children/staff only (including Q&A - wonderings from the previous week). 

We encourage parents of children from 5/6 Hub to take the time to attend this session as it supports you in having important conversations around you child's body and the changes they are or will experience during puberty. 

We appreciate the significant number of parent volunteers who have generously supported our recent excursions. To ensure a successful and respectful experience, volunteers are required to attend an induction briefing in the morning. This briefing clarifies their roles and emphasises the importance of treating every child with dignity.

In unfamiliar environments, children may exhibit unsafe or disrespectful behaviours for various reasons. We rely on volunteers to help address the needs of all children, provide supervision, and ensure a safe environment. Volunteers should kindly remind children about appropriate behaviour, and if the behaviour persists or becomes serious, they should seek assistance from an educator.

If parents witness behaviour that does not meet our expectations, we kindly request that they refrain from discussing it with other parents during the excursion or relaying to the child's parents afterwards. Instead, please bring concerns to the attention of the child's educator respecting the privacy and dignity of each child. Our educators have plans in place to support children requiring additional behaviour assistance and will communicate directly with parents if necessary.

We welcome parents to reach out to us with any concerns. Our goal is to make excursions enjoyable and positive learning experiences for all involved.

In our previous newsletter, I addressed the concern regarding a slight increase in the number of incidents involving physical behaviour. In the past two weeks, we have engaged in conversations with children to understand the reasons behind their behaviour and provided support in finding alternative ways to handle similar situations in the future. When a child has been physical with another child, we have implemented appropriate measures such as spending time off the yard during break time and contacting their parents to discuss the issue.

We remain committed to educating children about managing their emotions and helping them overcome the impulse to react aggressively when they feel frustrated, angry, provoked or threatened. We would like to express our gratitude to parents who have collaborated with us to guide their children in pausing and thinking before acting out.

For the remainder of the term, we will continue to prioritise this focus area. Additionally, we will address the tone and manner in which children communicate with one another and their educators. Our 'Ways of Working' will be consistently promoted throughout the day, reinforcing positive interactions and respectful dialogue among everyone in our school community. 

A reminder that our next newsletter will be in the final week for Term 2. The children finish at 1pm on Friday 23rd June. Student Reports will be available via the parent portal during that week as well as the booking link for Learning Conversations. Semester 1 Learning Conversations will take place on Tuesday 11th July from 3:30 - 7pm and Wednesday 12th July from 3:30 - 5:30pm. Children will be invited to share what they are most proud of from the learning across Semester One.

Warm wishes

Emily