VERITAS 

Principal's Report

Welcome Back

Dear Parents

 

Welcome back to the start of another school term. I hope all the students had a wonderful break, and if parents were fortunate enough to have holidays that they too enjoyed their time off.  It is hard to believe that there is a little over 10 weeks until Christmas!! Term Four is always hectic in schools.  Teachers, staff and students no sooner ‘gear up’ for the term before having to ‘gear down’.  Teaching programs, reports, end of year celebrations, graduation and Christmas all have to be crammed into the next 8 1/2 weeks.  I therefore encourage all students to continue to apply themselves and work hard with their studies this term as it is critical to their transition to the next year level.

 

As parents, we have seen a significant amount of growth over the past three terms in our children. How quickly they seem to be developing and maturing. As the year marches towards the final stages, it is important to take a moment and reflect on our role as the ‘most important persons’ in the lives of our children. Maybe it would benefit us if we had a checklist directed towards our role as parents. We could then can cast an eye over the list from time to time and take encouragement from our successes. Perhaps on occasions we may need to admit that, “Yes, I need to do something about this one.”  I know I do!  See how you go:

  • Fortunate is the child who has someone who believes in him/her and has high hopes for him/her
  • Fortunate is the child who has someone to whom he/she can carry his/her problem unafraid
  • Fortunate is the child who is allowed to pursue his/her curiosity into every worthwhile field of information
  • Fortunate is the child whose efforts to achieve have found encouragement
  • Fortunate is the child who has someone who understands that childhood’s grievances are real and bitter and so call for understanding and sympathy
  • Fortunate is the child who is led gently by the hand along the pathway of life by someone who is guide, companion and inspiration
  • Fortunate is the child who has learnt to be less selfish and more considerate of others
  • Fortunate is the child who is encouraged to look beyond the material things of life and has started to see what he/she has been blessed with each and every day.

At this morning assemblies we spoke to all the students about our focus this term. Our Year 6 students will complete their primary education and student reports will be sent home in the last week of the term.  It is most important that all students strive to do their best and finish off the school year in a very positive and healthy style. I encourage all parents to discuss this with their child/ren.

 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY

On Monday on the staff at Infant Jesus came together for the following:

  • A workshop with staff in area of Whole School Improvement. The day consisted of sharing information and research around High Performing Schools – What they Look Like? What do they do? Staff had an opportunity to reflect on Infant Jesus School in light of the information around High Performing schools.
  • Staff were also given the opportunity to examine the school data to determine future priorities and areas of direction.
  • A session was also held on Digital Technologies for staff

 

SCHOOL UNIFORM POLICY

The beginning of the school term is an opportune time to remind parents and students of our Uniform Policy.  At Infant Jesus School, we wear a school uniform to promote equality and provide a sense of belonging and pride in our school.  Over the past few months, we have noticed items of clothing and certain standards outside the Uniform Policy starting to creep in.  To assist parents in upholding our Uniform Policy, listed below are some common uniform infringements:

  • Children wearing their sport uniform on incorrect days
  • School socks not being worn (plain white socks are NOT a part of the uniform)
  • Mixing of the uniforms (sports jumper worn with school uniform)
  • Sports shoes not predominately white.

Teachers have been asked to check uniforms every morning and Incorrect Uniform notices will be given to children who do not have a note from parents. If the matter is not rectified promptly, parents will be asked to meet with the teachers to discuss the matter.  

 

A copy of the Uniform Policy can be located in the Parent Handbook that was distributed at the beginning of the year.  The policy is also on our website at www.infantjesus.wa.edu.au 

 

Thank you to the many parents who ensure our students wear their uniform with pride. 

BYOD INFORMATION EVENING

In 2013, Infant Jesus School established a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) 1-1 iPad Program with the Year 3-6 classes.  The outcomes have been extremely successful and the iPad has become an educational tool in the child’s toolkit to help meet curriculum requirements alongside (rather than instead of) more traditional tools like text books, pencils and paper.

 

iPads as a tool are fast and automated, interactive and multimodal and they support the rapid communication and representation of knowledge to many audiences and adapt to different contexts. They afford children the opportunity to transform the ways that they think and learn and give them greater control over how, where and when they learn.

 

The BYOD program at Infant Jesus involves children bringing to school their own personal device which has specifications as given by the school.  Please note that while these BYOD program is not compulsory, it is strongly encouraged.

 

To assist parents with this transition the school will hold the BYOD Information Evening for current Year 2 parents. This will be held on Wednesday 2 November. The meeting will commence at 6.00pm in the library. All families with a child currently in Year 2 are expected to attend.

 

FACTION CARNIVAL

The Infant Jesus School Athletics Carnival  will take place on Friday, 21 October  at the    Noranda Sporting Complex Athletics (entry is via Wylde Road). It will commence around 9:15am and should conclude around 2:30pm.  All children are to arrive at school for the usual start time. Buses will leave school at 8:50am at the latest.  This year, the carnival will take on a tabloid format involving a  rotation of team games as well as relay and individual races.             

 

Children are asked to wear a plain tee-shirt in their faction colour. If the tee-shirt has a motif on the front or back, children can wear the tee-shirt turned inside out.  We also encourage them to wear sunscreen because they will be out in the sun for the majority of the day. All items need to be clearly marked with their name. Mascots, hair ribbons and banners are allowed to encourage team spirit; however, NO HAIR DYE OR FACE PAINT will be permitted.

 

Please be aware that it is anticipated that the children will only be sitting in their bays during lunch time and during their designated rest time. On the day, they will need to bring their recess, lunch, hat and a bottle of water. Parents are invited to sit with thier child/children only during the lunch-time break.  As children will be constantly moving to different stations, we invite all parents to follow along and support their children throughout the day. Spectators are allowed to sit in the marked viewing area only. This is to ensure the safety of all competitors. Parents are asked to refrain from standing too close to the finish line or entering staff/student areas at all times. 

 

If parents wish to take their child home at the completion of the carnival, a letter needs to be given to class teachers by Monday 17th October outlining this. Please note, children will not be permitted to go home with other parents or friends. Parents are only permitted to take their child from the Athletic Carnival. Please do not ask on the day as the request will be denied as we have a duty of care and a responsibility of keeping accurate records with regards to children’s attendance.

 

We look forward to seeing many parents and supporters on the day

TERM PLANNER

Included with this newsletter is the Planner for Term 4.  Please take the time to note the more important dates in your diary.

 

GUIDE TO ONLINE SAFETY 

The internet and online technologies, like mobile phones, are incredible tools.  They provide an opportunity to communicate, learn, play and be entertained by content from around the world.

 

For many young people, the internet and mobile phones are their social lifeline.  It’s where they engage with friends out-of-school hours and keep up-to-date.  For some, time away from that network can threaten their sense of connectedness to their social community.

 

Like communicating in the real world, there are risks involved in interacting online.  Cyberbullying, identity, theft, scams and inappropriate content are some of this issues that can pose challenges for young people online.  These challenges exist for all young people from pre-schoolers who may be starting to use a computer to more experienced teens.

 

Knowing how to use online technologies safely is essential to having posi