Principal's Report
Dear families,
There is a real feeling of excitement around the school this week. Our amazing staff are preparing for families to visit their classrooms over the next few weeks. Please touch base with your child’s classroom teacher or contact the office to find out when you are able to come for the classroom visit. Our students have been working very hard this semester on their projects and they are very excited to share this with you.
I have read most student’s reports over the past week and the learning that is happening in our classroom and the level of teaching that is delivered by our staff, has highlighted again what an amazing school community we are. Our school is the place to be! Please take time to read your child’s report when we release these in the last week of school.
Please attend our P&C Meeting on Friday, 10 June at 9:00. Our P&C are going from strength to strength and I am very excited to see as many of our families celebrate the end of term with us.
In this week’s newsletter I want to celebrate difference and in specific, different minds. In Victoria Honeybourne’s book ‘The Neurodiverse classroom’, she starts by writing about flowers. “Daffodils, roses, lilies, daisies, orchids – all different and all beautiful,” she says. “We do not consider any one type of flower superior to any other. We do not try to make the rose more daffodil like because we consider daffodils the best sort of flower. Flowers are not expected to be the same; this natural variation is accepted and celebrated as part of biodiversity.”
Neurodiversity can be defined as “the diversity of human minds, the infinite variation in neurocognitive functioning within our species” (Dr Nick Walker). Neurodevelopmental conditions include ADHD, autism, Tourette’s syndrome, dyslexia and dyspraxia, but anyone experiencing a condition that impacts certain thinking skills can identify as neurodivergent.
There are hundreds of thousands of different flower species and we recognise they all need different environments to thrive. Yet when it comes to education, it’s long been the assumption that all young people will benefit under the same environment and teaching styles. In our school we believe in neurodiversity in that we are all different and we therefore promote that we remove barriers to learning to ensure all of our students get what they need.
I would also like to remind our school community that the state has a focus this term on Domestic and Family Violence Prevention, and the theme for 2022 is All of us, together. Further information, services and support for people impacted by domestic and family violence DFV, can be located on the following website:
Dare I say… Go Maroons 😊
Kind regards,
Dehlia Dawson