the Nor'Wester

assistant principal's message

dear families

Welcome back to term 4! I trust that you all had a wonderful holiday and were able to spend some lovely family time. I personally had a brilliant holiday, 3 weeks in Italy and 2 in Croatia. Simply stunning parts of the world! Happy to share photos if interested.

 

Urgent reminder - Family information night, next week.

No doubt as you have already seen on Sentral, we have one of our final family sessions for the year. The topic “Being the big kid” will be facilitated by Kristy Elliot, Director of Restorative Pathways. During this evening program, Kristy will help families support your children to navigate life’s challenges, resolve problems and have the tools to repair relationships along the way.

Over the course of this year, the staff have continued to learn more about Restorative Justice, ensuring that we are supporting children to repair relationships while solving problems. This session will provide additional information and strategies so that we are all aligned and will complement the Tuning Into Teens / Kids program that a lot of families have engaged with.

 

Talking Tuning Into Teens / Kids, here are some wonderful words (feedback) from families who participated. As this was anonymous, no names have been included.

 

“Thank you Deb and the team for taking the time to provide us with these learning platforms. We are very grateful to be a part if our school community, and to have amongst us the calibre of teachers and leaders to support our family.”

 

“Thanks for providing sessions like this and for asking us for input.”

 

“It's great the BNWPS arranges these session - a great initiative.”

 

“Thanks so much for organising this. You don't know how much this means to us. It is so hard to find these kinds of programs at a time and place we can get to them. These TIT sessions were amazing and the educator was incredible. I didn't find the resilience night as practical (we need skills not just info) but TIT was amazing and we're really trying to use it. The sessions have also built my sense of community with other parents - we learn from each other more afterwards in the school yard as we discuss. I feel less alone with the struggle since attending the course. Please, please don't make sessions only during school hours. So many parents working and we couldn't get there. We don't even get a chance to see each other at school much. It gets harder and harder to remain connected at school as kids get older unless in evening. 6.15pm or 6.30pm start could be good for 1.5 hrs max, then we could use the child care (couldn't use it this time because it was finishing too late for our littler one to stay up). 7pm also ok, but prefer finishing not too late. So great that childcare can be offered! Once again, thank you so much. This kind of stuff is what makes our school remarkable and amazing. I really, really appreciate the extra effort you are making to arrange programs.”

 

Thanks to those families who provided feedback. Your suggestions regarding topics and timing will be considered for 2020.  I’ve already been in contact with Christiane Kehoe (Tuning Into Teens) and she has agreed to work with us next year.

 

In relation to Tuning into Kids, please refer to the Information letter included in this newsletter. I know of one family who participated in this research program this year and LOVED IT! Please chat to me further if you have any questions or concerns.

 

Transition.

 

It is that time of year when our grade 6 students and families are well and truly thinking about next year and the excitement and possible challenges of going into year 7 and to another school.

 

By now all students know where they are going and I’m sure that the secondary college has provided information. It is essential that if your child has any health issues or specific needs, that you communicate these as early as possible. Provide staff with as much information as they need to build their understanding of your child and strong relationships from the off. Some schools will do additional transition sessions where need be. Chat to your child’s classroom teacher or myself if you’d like some support in this area. I know many secondary schools have already made contact with our staff here.

 

Below is an extract from a from https://www.theschoolrun.com/6-of-the-best-ways-to-get-off-to-a-great-start-at-secondary-school. I think it outlines some practical ideas. Happy Reading!

 

Secondary transition: 6 of the best ways parents can help their children…

  1. Support them in becoming more independent. My son’s rite of passage went from solo trips to the letter box to the successful acquisition of the family supper from the local fish and chip shop.
  2. Show that you have confidence in them. Not every child will be worry free, so find the right time to talk anything through with them and agree that you will step in only if they need support.
  3. Practise the travelling-to-school drills. Many children will have to negotiate buses and trains on their own for the first time. Talking through some of the scenarios they may face, reminding them of how to keep safe and taking them on some dummy runs over the summer holidays is strongly advised. The strategic use of mobile phones can be particularly helpful here!
  4. Make time to support learning at home. Homework in Year 7 is a big step up so be on hand with some calm support. Be prepared to lend a hand on the infamous ‘build a model of…’ type tasks. Timely and gentle support from parents undoubtedly helps kids learn and flourish.
  5. Be patient and prepared for a few tears. Your pre-teen may be a bit tired and emotional at times, so they will need you to be at your most understanding and unruffled. They will also need you to provide a fully-stocked fridge!
  6. Create a homework station. Make sure your child can easily access a computer (and ideally a printer), digital camera and craft materials. After-school homework clubs can help kids get into the homework habit and provide helpful resources. Organise a space at home specifically for your child to focus on study and store their not-inconsiderable number of books.

Secondary Transition: 6 of the best ways parents can help themselves…

  1. Take a deep breath and let go! More often than not your child will stroll into their new school without a backward glance and as if they own the place!
  2. Build your new social network. Go to all the new-parent events to chat with your child’s form tutor, meet members of the parent association and swap notes with other parents. Their phone numbers and email addresses may come in handy when faced with homework confusion or lost property over the coming months. See if children going to the same school can meet during the holidays, to make friends and line up some everyday travel companions.
  3. Play your part in life at your new school. Being visible in school shows your child that you see education as important. Participating in a parent body such as the Parent Teacher Association is a way of meeting people, deepening your understanding of school life and making things better for your child and her peers.
  4. Build a bond with your child’s new school. Keep in touch online and take part in school consul

important safety messages

We interrupt this week’s newsletter with two very important safety announcements that potentially concerns all our students.

Earlier this week, we heard the exceptionally sad news of the three-year-old who was hit and killed by a car in a childcare car park. This is a strong reminder to all community members of the importance of road safety. It is everybody’s duty to maintain road safety, especially around schools. We know our school has a current traffic congestion issue, which we are trying to remedy in a number of ways, in the meantime we thank you for your cooperation in observing the following rules:

Please always drive within the speed limit at all times, but especially around schools.

Please never double-park on the road, as this creates more congestion and confusion.

Please observe the parking restrictions, including the timed areas and the no-parking zones.

Please try to be extremely cautious when entering and leaving car parks, we have heard of a number of scrapes occurring in our car parks this year.

Please talk with your child about road safety and the expectations you have for their age, awareness- and skill-levels. This includes all students, not just the students who take themselves home.

Earlier this week a student from one of our Foundation classes was playing on the play equipment and fell from the monkey bars. The student was wearing her school hat, which became caught in the monkey bars and under her chin. The attached picture demonstrates the bruising and grazing that was caused by this incident. After a visit to her doctor, we are extremely glad to hear that our Foundie is safe and well, but this also highlights an important safety message for our school community.

The injured Foundie was wearing one of our school hats, which has a ‘quick release’ connection on the hat cord. In this instance, the quick-release worked exactly as it should have, and prevented more serious injuries including damaging the internal workings of her throat and her spinal cord. However, I know that many of our students may have had a different outcome with their hats.

As we do not have a compulsory school uniform, students are able to wear any hat they wish, as long as it is SunSmart. We ask that you please check your child’s hat for a quick release function and if there is no such release, please consider if another hat is an option (or else some families are choosing to remove the cord entirely).

Another frequent observation by school staff is that many of our students with school hats like to tie knots in their cords (particularly for chewing). If your child likes to tie knots in their hat cords, we ask that you check where these knots are and ensure the knots do not prevent the proper functioning of the quick release safety mechanism.