assistant principal's message

student wellbeing and engagement: prevention

Have you noticed anything?

Have you heard the phrase, “Whole body listening”? Have you seen any the same poster in different classrooms? Have you received our behaviour response plan and signed your child’s classroom agreement? Hopefully you’ve noticed some of our consistent approaches…

This year in our continued efforts to further build shared language and strategies and tools, teachers are implementing the wellbeing start up program. This program was developed by the Student Wellbeing Team last year. It goes across the whole school and has been designed to use evidence based strategies useful when supporting children develop prosocial behaviours, including successful learning behaviours. Already I’m seeing many of the strategies being implanted. Hope you’ll notice them too! For further information please see the attachment. 

attendance and lateness

Many student absences are necessary, and in the case of the concerns around the Coronavirus, we need to be especially careful to follow safe practices including, if unwell, staying home. At all times, DHHS advises that everyone can protect against infections by practising good hand hygiene and respiratory hygiene regularly. Please remember and support your children to:

• cover their mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing with a tissue, or cough into their elbow
• dispose of all tissues into a bin and then wash your hands afterwards
• wash your hands regularly, after using the toilet, and before eating

While keeping these key messages in mind, there are times however when some students have considerable unexplained absenteeism. Just this last week, students were absent for 190 days. While I’m sure that most absences are very reasonable and I’d even say, necessary, there are times however when students may miss school for reasons, which if occurring a lot, may in fact impact their learning and their social and emotional wellbeing.  Please be reassured that if your child is unwell, we will make contact with you, and where necessary ask for your child to go home.

At the upcoming parent teacher interviews, the teacher may discuss your child’s 2019 attendance data. This is an important conversation in which teachers will aim at gaining a deeper understanding of why your child had high absenteeism. It will also be an opportunity to begin setting a possible target for 2020. Post the interview teachers and families will then need to discuss these targets with relevant children. We all want to work together to reduce the impact of significant student absences as well as lateness. For further information on the impact of lateness and absenteeism please see the below attachment. 

Last week 61 children were late to school! That is another equally important conversation, one again that requires further exploration!

parent teacher interviews 

As you all know, and no doubt you have already booked, next week we are having our first parent teacher interviews for the year.

In order to make the most of the ten minutes of each session, please arrive on time and consider any questions you want to ask your child’s teacher or any pertinent information you want to share with them. For instance you may want to consider: what information that you wish to share; any particular highlight or concerns your child has spoken of this year; what has worked well and what goals you may have for your child. Your child’s teacher will be interested in your contributions as it builds the home school partnership.