Principal and Assistant Principal's Page

Principal's Report

What a busy fortnight it has been! We’ve had some beautiful weather and events!

Undokai

What a wonderful night Undokai was! It was fabulous bringing the community together- current families, staff and past students, for the first time in three years. There was lot of fun had by students and families connecting with one another. Congratulations to the red team for the overall win on the night! Thank you to our student leaders for hosting the event. A HUGE thank you to Eiji Nishikubo who organised the event with support from Nick Tolliday and the rest of the staff.

Please read a detailed report from the night by some of our Year 6 students. We are encouraging our students to share more about school events in the newsletter.

Parents as Partners Feedback

Thank you to all the families who attended the ‘Parents as Partners’ night on 27 February. The school would like feedback about the night from parents in Years 1-6. Please follow the link to complete this short survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VGB56DK

Asian Pacific Children’s Convention (AAPC) in Fukuoka, 2023

Each year we put forward one of our students to apply for the APPC which will be held in Fukuoka this year. After a close and rigorous school-based selection process we put forward Abby (6A). On March 5, Abby attended the Victorian selection process with 15 other students from all over the state. Abby participated in 1:1 interview and participated in a number of group activities. Although Abby was not ultimately selected as one of the students she said it was a wonderful experience completing the application and meeting new people. 

Division Swimming

Patrick and Lea competed in the division swimming competition this week. Both students performed their personal best, but unfortunately did not make it through to the next round. Patrick and Lea said the competition was very strong. Patrick swam his personal best time, which is a great achievement!

Cultural Diversity Week

Cultural Diversity is celebrated from the 12 to the 21 March. It is a special week at Huntingdale to celebrate the cultural diversity in our school community.

We will have a special assembly on Monday 20th March starting at 9.10am, with special guest Mr Junji Shimada (Consul-General of Japan in Melbourne). We will have performances from:

• Taiko Group 
• Grade 6 Ukulele Club
• Grade 5 Ukulele Club
• Junior Choir
• Senior Choir
• Lilia - Guzheng (Chinese Zither)

Students are invited to wear their cultural dress or wear orange for the day.

During the week parents are invited to visit their child’s classroom to share a story, memento, dance or music from their family’s cultural background. Please discuss this with your child’s teachers.

Student Attendance

We have had a look at the student attendance for the month of February. Please read a copy of the results which is attached.

One area we have identified to improve is students arriving to school on time. Routinely each day we have many students late.  This means they miss vital learning instructions at the beginning of the day, and this can interrupt the flow of teaching and learning for themselves and the class. 

We understand that since the pandemic the traffic has become more hectic on the roads, so we ask families to wake up that bit earlier and allow for some extra travel time. Some other strategies to help make mornings a bit smoother are:

• Setting a regular alarm
• Preparing lunch the night before
• Students packing their bag the night before as much as possible
• Complete homework tasks in the evenings rather than mornings when it is busy
• Laying out school uniform ready for the morning
• Minimising television and device time in the morning 

Let’s all work together to improve our punctuality at school!

Annual Implementation Plan

The Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) is a document which outlines the one-year goals and strategies of the school. It is created using the goals in the 4-Year Strategic Plan. This fortnight I will summarise Key Improvement Strategy #1- To develop and implement a common language, understanding and practice of student voice and agency in learning in the bilingual learning environment.

At Huntingdale we will:

-Devise a school-wide understanding/framework of what student voice and agency is at our school-Implement a refreshed student leadership program within the school using ‘Our House Spirit’-Implement more student led activities within the school

We will also consolidate our approach to student learning goals and choice in learning through our inquiry units.

As part of the Creating Our Learning Community unit, all classes completed an activity about how they have voice and choice in their learning. We are collating these ideas to present back to students. 

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day, March 8, is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It is also a day to mark action for equality for women.

This year’s theme was #EmbraceEquity. Equity isn't just a nice-to-have, it's a must-have.

It's critical to understand the difference between equity and equality. 

The aim of the IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity campaign theme is to get the world talking about Why equal opportunities aren't enough. People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action. 

IWD originated from labour movements in North America and Europe during the early 20th century. The earliest version was a "Women's Day" organized in New York City February 28, 1909.

Today, International Women's Day is commemorated in a variety of ways worldwide; it is a public holiday in several countries and observed socially or locally in others. The United Nations observes the holiday in connection with a particular issue, campaign, or theme in women's rights. In many countries it is a celebration of womanhood, and the difference women make to our lives.

On the day I asked students and staff to reflect on the achievements of women in the world and also to think about the women in our own lives that help us to support and grow and also inspire us- mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, friends, teachers, doctors ……the list goes on!

It is not a day to ‘put down’ men or boys. Many men and boys help support women to achieve great things in their lives and I’m sure they can think of the women in their lives and how they make a difference.

Historically, purple was a colour that denoted justice and dignity, and now it is used to represent women. Green is a symbol of hope. Today, purple is the colour of International Women's Day, and combined with green represents the feminist movement.

For more information on International Women’s Day, please see https://www.internationalwomensday.com/

Ride to School Day

National Ride2School Day on Friday 24 March 2023.

National Ride2School Day is the perfect opportunity to establish new healthy habits and promote the many benefits of active travel.

On Friday 24 March, we encourage all students and their families to leave the car at home and give riding, walking, scooting or skating to school a go.

We have a bike rack where students can safely store their bike and it is locked by our Year 6 leaders. 

The Importance of Sleep

While we know sleep is essential for good health, research shows that many children and young people are not getting enough sleep on school nights. This can affect thinking, concentration, memory, reaction times and mood.

Research shows about 12% of primary school-aged children, a quarter of 12- to 15-year-olds and half of 16- to 17-year-olds don’t get enough sleep on school nights. The recommended amount of time to sleep for primary school-aged children is 9 to 11 hours. For teenagers, it’s 8 to 10 hours.

Signs that your child is not getting enough sleep can include:

• low mood and irritability during social interactions
• reluctance or arguing about getting off devices and going to bed
• falling asleep during the day
• difficulties waking up for school and sleeping in late on weekends to catch up
• changes to communicating or interacting at home.

You can help your child to improve their sleep by:

• establishing a regular sleep pattern and consistent bedtime routine
• supporting them to avoid using electronic devices such as smartphones before going to bed and in bed
• encouraging your child to exercise and spend time outside in daylight, steering clear of vigorous activity in the hour before sleep
• encouraging them to wind down and relax before going to bed.

If your child is still having trouble sleeping, has persistent problems with low mood, excessive daytime sleepiness, restlessness in bed, severe snoring or wakening unrefreshed, despite getting adequate length sleep, they should see a doctor. 

For more information on sleep health, you can refer to:

• Sleep tips for children and Facts about sleep for parents and school staff, from the Sleep Health Foundation
• Why sleep is so important, from the Kids Helpline’s
• Sleep explained, from the Better Health Channel.

Respectful Relationships

This year at Huntingdale, we are implementing the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program. 

This wellbeing program is research-based and designed to improve students’ social, emotional, and positive relationship skills. 

Developing students social and emotional skills and positive gender norms has been shown to improve health related outcomes and wellbeing. It also reduces antisocial behaviours including engagement in gender-related violence.

The Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) learning materials cover eight topics of Social and Emotional Learning across all levels of primary school that is age appropriate.

This term students have been learning about Topic 1: EMOTIONAL LITERACY

Emotional literacy can be defined as the ability to understand ourselves and other people. It includes the ability to

understand, express and manage our own emotions, build empathy, and to respond appropriately to the emotions

of others. Building a large vocabulary for emotions helps to increase emotional literacy and build self-awareness and

empathy for others.

Happy St Patrick’s Day

On 17 March it is St Patrick’s Day.  St Patrick's Day observes the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The holiday has evolved into a celebration of Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, drinking and a whole lot of green! We wish all families who mark St Patrick’s Day a fabulous day of celebrations.

Huntingdale Annual General Meeting

Each year the school completes an annual report. On 21 March at 7.00pm in the school library, this is presented to the school council and any interested community members. If you would like to attend, please leave your name at the school office with Gill. The annual report will be available on the school website once it has been approved by the Department of Education.

I hope you had a lovely long weekend!

Have a great fortnight!

Ruth Biddle

Principal

Assistant Principal's Report

It’s getting toward the end of Term. Grade 6 leaders are becoming more confident standing up in front of our school and are trying hard to be good role models as well as looking after new Foundation students. We are celebrating Cultural Diversity week this week and next week. If you speak another language other than English, you are welcome to come and read a book to children in another language. Please speak to your class teacher about it. 

Visits from Tokyo Gakugei University

20 students from Tokyo Gakugei University came on 6th and  8th March. They expressed this was such a  valuable opportunity for them and they found the importance of having a “students voice” in our school. Some of them came to help out the Undokai during their free time. They had a great experience of various cultures and unity in our school community. Our students also enjoyed the lessons by the Gakugei University students.

Library Sessions

We have Library session in lunch time this year. 

Tuesday-Grade 3-6

Wednesday-Grade Foundation-2

Please encourage your children to attend the library session once a week to borrow books from Library.

School Uniform

During my sessions on yard duty I have been reminding students about wearing school uniform. Students who have been wearing items that are not school colours have been asked to remove them and not wear them at school. On the whole, students’uniforms has been looking very good, with most students wearing school colours with pride.

We understand from time to time children may not be in school uniform. If this happens, please write a note in your child’s diary explaining this. 

Student Support

One of my main roles in the school is to coordinate the student support services in the school - academic, social and behaviour services. This includes programs we offer ‘in house’ as well as external services provided by the Department of Education and other external agencies.

Generally the process happens in the following way:

1. A teacher may have a concern with your child and will discuss it with you or you as a parent may have concerns about your child which you discuss with the teacher.
2. These concerns are then usually discussed with me so a decision can be made on which service can be accessed and is the most appropriate for your child. Permission forms are then signed.
3. Contact is made to the service provider who will then discuss the referral with parents and/or the teacher.
4. A decision will be made on what sort of support the child will need. This could be an assessment, therapy, home program, referral to another agency or in school support.

This process is confidential with only the key stakeholders - myself, the classroom teacher/s and service providers.

Often parents will have concerns about other children in the school. We as a school cannot discuss the educational, academic or social circumstances of other children who are not your own or detail support services they may be accessing. This is confidential.  Please be assured that all efforts are made to support students in the school as much as possible.

Medical Alerts

Many students at our school have health plans and medical alerts. The school needs to have up to date and correct information about your child’s health needs so we can plan and act accordingly for a range of school activities. It is the parent’s responsibility to:

• Provide up to date health/medical plans to the school for your child
• Provide in date medication such as epipens and asthma medication
• Ensure that if you child needs to take medication at school that this is signed off at the school office
• Alert the school if your child’s health needs change

We thank everyone for their cooperation with this.

Have a lovely fortnight

Naomi Mori-Hanazono

Assistant Principal