Principal's News
Dear Parents and Carers,
Now that we are all over the shock of reality that the first week of school brings, I am happy to report that both staff and students are settling beautifully into the routines of daily school life. Routines that bring consistency and predictability are a great support for our students and everyone else in a community of this size.
For those who are new to our school community these routines become something that we rely on. They bring a level of comfort and help to calm our anxiety about the kids and allow us to get on with our own day.
One of the aspects of school life that can cause concern for parents is the issue of conflict with other children. With kids this age - it will happen from time to time and it’s usually not such a big deal. They can’t help it - remember not that long ago they were babies who were the centre of the universe to their parents, where all of their needs were met as quickly and efficiently as possible. Now they are growing, we hope, into mature,caring adults who can defer their own gratification in order to care for others before themselves, for this is what their parents did for them!
This kind of growth doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time and practise.
As part of this practise our role, at school, is to work with parents to help children to learn that, to make lots of friends and enjoy school (& all other social situations) then we need to learn to treat others with kindness and respect.
Individuals who can work effectively and positively with others are highly valued in any workplace and in any social setting. So how do we learn to do this? Practise, practise, practise, some guidance from experts and then more practise.
I have written before in our newsletter that our kids need us, their parents/carers and teachers to be the Wise Elders of the tribe. They need us to listen when they have problems, but they don’t necessarily need us to solve every problem for them - this will rob them of the opportunity for PRACTISE. It’s more helpful to ask “What have you done to solve this problem already?” “Did it work?” “If not, why not do you think?” “What do you think you could try next?” “Do you need my help?”
Where parents are worried about conflict at school or bullying and your child has asked you to help, you should contact your child’s class teacher for assistance a.s.a.p. That’s what we’re here for.
It is never a good idea to contact the parents of another student about conflict between students at school. - Trust me. NEVER. As parents we have a strong instinct to protect our children. As parents we can’t help being emotionally involved and guess what? There are ALWAYS two sides to every story!
At school we are in the privileged position of NOT being emotionally involved and we get to hear BOTH sides of the story.
Remember one of our key tasks is to teach children to treat others with kindness and respect.
END OF DAY ROUTINES Next Monday our Foundation students will begin staying until 3:15pm each day. This will mean as many as 54 new students all learning our routines to ensure their safe dismissal each day.
Only families with a student in Foundation may park in Hart Street in front of our school. Parents of Foundation students should observe the No Standing restrictions between 3:00pm and 4:00pm across the road from school, along Hart Street.
All other families who collect children from school are asked to choose either “Crossing 1” which relates to the area along both sides of Hart Street but north of Pound Road. This is particularly convenient for families who have older siblings being dismissed from Trinity College.
Otherwise parents may choose to collect their children from our Gym Gate and so should park along Pound Road.
This plan is designed to ensure the safety of all children.
SCHOOL CLOSURE Could all parents please note that our school will be closed on the following two days this term: Friday, February 17th and on Thursday, March 2nd. Our staff will be undertaking professional development on this day in accordance with recommendations from last year’s School Review. My apologies for any inconvenience that this will cause for parents, however it is vital that our school continue to keep working to improve ourselves as professionals so that we might be the very best school we can be.
MOBILE DEVICES AT SCHOOL A reminder to all parents that our school has a policy concerning the use of mobile devices at school. This policy is in line with a Directive from Victoria’s Education Minister that simply says that mobile phones and devices are not permitted at school.
“The school has established processes for receiving and passing on important information to parents and to students. All parents and students are expected to respect and follow these processes so that the school maintains order and to ensure the safety of all of our students.”
“The school also holds concerns about the misuse of mobile phones in a school environment e.g. bullying, interruptions in class, distraction, children substituting phones for real life interactions with their school friends, inappropriate photography etc.”
Sacred Heart School Mobile Phone & Personal Device Policy 2020
Parents can access this policy via the school’s website or via this link: Mobile Phone and Personal Device Policy