Dear Families,
Last week we celebrated 200 Years of Catholic Education in Australia and this week we celebrate National Reconciliation Week. Hopefully your children would have spoken to you about both of these significant events. "Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples". I invite each one of us to do our part in achieving reconciliation in Australia.
On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week I have spent time in our beautiful Barossa Valley for our annual South Australian Catholic Primary Principal's Association (SACPPA) Conference. This has been a time of learning, collegiality and frosty mornings! Unfortunately some speakers were unable to attend due to the situation in Melbourne. Thank you to Rita Campbell for ensuring things run smoothly in my absence.
I mentioned in a previous newsletter that enrolments for our Term 3 Reception intake have exceeded our expectations and it means that we will require a separate class for these students, rather than slot them into our two existing classes. I have appointed Kelly Stevens as the classroom teacher for the new Receptions. She will be released from her teaching duties in 1/2 Red (Thursdays and Fridays) and her place will be taken by Gina Margush. Gina will continue to teach in Year 3/4 Brown from Monday to Wednesday each week. Kelly will also be released from her Wednesday in Year 2 Green and her place will be taken by Daniela Larritt, one of our regular relief teachers. Daniela is well known to the children in Year 2 Green and is an excellent teacher. I am sure you will join me in congratulating Kelly, Gina and Daniela on their respective appointments.
Our 'Little Wonders' Transition Program started on Wednesday of this week. Our new students will visit from 9am to 11am each Wednesday for a 5 week program. The smiles on their faces say it all!
Last year the Parents and Friends put on an Italian Pasta Day and it was a great success. The children (and staff) loved the event and are excited that it will be offered again this year on Wednesday 16 June. Please check your emails for information from the P&F about ordering (via the QKR app).
We are in the process of offering an evidence based social and emotional literacy program called "What's the Buzz?" This program was developed here in South Australia by Madhavi Nawana Parker and Mark Le Messurier. Teachers are currently identifying students that may benefit from this program and may be in contact with you. We are looking at running this program on an ongoing basis (as needed).
Our Well Being Coordinator, Courtney Quigley, has organised a guest speaker (Sylvia Habel) to facilitate a couple of sessions for parents to share ideas and strategies about raising today's kids, building happier families and becoming more confident with parenting. Many of you might remember Sylvia as a former teacher at Tenison Woods, or as one of the Directors at a company called 'Leading Potential'. She is an excellent presenter with a wealth of knowledge. One session is this coming Monday 7th June from 9am to 10:30am and then Tuesday 8th June from 7pm to 8:30pm at the school. I encourage you to join us for one of these sessions. Please see the flyer in this newsletter for details of how to register.
I would like to remind parents of the importance of being vigilant when it comes to your children accessing the internet. Cyber Safety is of utmost importance and nothing is more important that supervising and knowing clearly what it is your children are doing online. While we can educate children about being safe, even adults get caught out by scam emails or dangerous links in emails or on web sites. There are some excellent online web sites and resources and I strongly recommend you explore the eSafety Commission one and the Carly Ryan parent page as a starting point. With so many children now having laptops, tablets and smart phones we, as parents, need to be monitoring everything and preferably be the 'administrator' of each device that they have. The worrying thing is that the children often know more than we do about information on the net and adults need to keep up to speed!
Just a reminder about upcoming Pupil Free Days. One is Monday 19 July (first day of Term 3) for us to continue on our Visible Learning journey with Lyn Coote from Corwin. The second is on Monday 11 October (first day of Term 4) for the annual Staff Reflection day. Please mark these in your diary if you have not already done so.
Have a fabulous weekend.
Peter Mercer
Principal