Principal's Messages
It has been great to see our children adapting back into the normalities of school life during the first week back. They have done a terrific job getting back into the routines and have come back full of enthusiasm. I have been impressed with the amount of children who adapted in a positive manner to Remote Learning the second time around. So many teachers have shared stories of children in their grades who have grown in both maturity and resilience during remote learning. I am proud of each and every one of you.
As a learning community, we are mindful that many of you will need time to transition back into the norms of day-to-day schooling. If you see a schoolmate struggling at school, make sure you help them out. If you see someone left out and lonely, make sure you bring them into your group. Make them feel included and connected.
We have one term of learning for the year and a lot to get through. I am very conscious of children staying focused with their learning and trying hard not to disrupt or distract other children from their learning. If you are finding it difficult to engage or get motivated with your learning, please speak with your teacher who will help and guide you back on track with your learning.
It is also vitally important that we continue to follow strict hygiene conditions and requirements relating to the Covid-19 virus. Whilst our classrooms, toilets and play areas will be sanitized daily, we must also remember to apply correct social distancing norms, washing our hands and sanitizing regularly and bringing our personal drink bottles to school each day.
A reminder that our school finish time is back to the normal time of 3.20pm. Parents please remember to social distance where possible if walking up to the Admin gate whilst waiting to pick up your children after school.
Keep up the great work and continue to look after and support each other at school.
Water bottles required daily
SENDING STUDENTS TO SCHOOL WHEN THEY ARE SICK
Over the last two week’s we have had a number of children presenting to sickbay with gastro like symptoms. When talking to the children about how they are feeling, we always ask if they let mum and dad know they were feeling unwell. On many occasions, the response is, “yes, I told them, but they said I had to go to school”. Could I please ask all parents to be vigilant in making sure children stay at home if they are feeling un-well. Please keep your child at home if they are running a fever, have colds or flu or if they are displaying any signs of gastro. Please keep them at home until the illness has cleared for at least 24 hours. Now more than ever, it is important that we work together to keep everyone in our learning community safe and free from illness during this Covid phase of return to school.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS & SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY
This term the school will be closed on the Grand Final Day Eve Public Holiday & the Melbourne Cup Day Public Holiday as well as a school closure day for report writing on Monday 2nd November, the day prior to Melbourne Cup Day. Students do not attend school on these days as the school will be closed.
STUDENT AWARDS FROM GOOGLE ASSEMBLY
Congratulations to all our students who received awards at last week’s Google Assembly. The video of the Google Assembly has been posted on our school website for parents to view. Our award winners are outlined below.
STUDENT OF THE WEEK AWARDS
Olivia Jinks: Grade 5/6M
Lola Proctor: Grade 1G
Oscar Walton: Grade 1G
Caleb Kleeven: Grade 5/6A
Remy Butler: Grade 4L
SPORTS AWARD
Elijah Robinson: Grade 2S/B
LIBRARY AWARDS
Mischa Crimmins: Grade 3N
Nick Parkyn: Grade 3O
Sophie Gooley: Grade 4M
Aidan Noonan: Grade 4M
Holly Perry: Grade 4L
All of Foundation Ablett / Noonan
MANAGING YOUR CHILD’S TRANSITION BACK TO SCHOOL
With schools returning to on-site learning, Professor Brett McDermott, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, provides advice for parents and carers on how to best support their child through the transition, with a focus on those caring for primary school-aged children.
As a parent, it’s natural to feel apprehensive about how well your child is going to transition after spending so much time at home. Many children will have enjoyed remote learning, and some will be feeling anxious about returning to school.
McDermott says it’s important to keep in mind that it’s natural for children to be unsettled by the thought of another big change.
“Feelings of anxiety and sadness are completely normal right now. For many children, it’s like the first day of school all over again. They’ve also just had all this time at home with mum and dad (or caregivers), so it’s tough for that to come to an end,” says McDermott.
AVOID OVERSHARING WITH YOUR CHILDREN
To help lower your child’s feelings of anxiety around going back to school, McDermott says “parents need to try and remember that anxiety can be contagious. Understandably, parental anxiety is high right now, but children need to be shielded from their parent’s worries as much as possible. So, save adult conversations for adult time.”
According to McDermott, children aged between 10-13 years-old are the most anxious after things such as a natural disaster, primarily because they tend to be – albeit unwittingly – exposed to too much information.
“Little ones tend to be protected from things as parents will avoid talking about important issues in front of them. By those middle years this often changes. Not only to they tend to be more exposed to the news, social media, and adults chatting more openly in their presence, they also have very good imaginations, so they can envisage bad outcomes.”
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
Fortunately, there’s plenty parents and carers can do to help their children feel less anxious about going back to school.
Discuss plans as early as possible. McDermott suggests openly discussing the return to school early on, including why and how it might feel different to normal. In doing so, he advises you to be upbeat but matter of fact.
“Getting across that it’s business as usual and modelling this with positive words and behaviour will help set the tone,” says McDermott.
Get back into the usual routine. When you have a return date set, planning to get back into your usual school routine as swiftly as possible is likely to help.
If your child is not already back at school, McDermott recommends starting getting ready for normal school days anyway, including setting the alarm, eating breakfast together, dressing in school uniform or doing whatever you would normally do.
Use incentives and highlight the positives of returning to the school grounds. For example, you might organise for a school friend to come by in the morning on the first day back so they can go in together, or arrange a playdate after school with their best friend/s.
Tell them you’re confident in them.
Remind your child that they’ve already shown great resilience and adaptability during this challenging time, and that you have full confidence in their ability to do it again.
Regularly check in with your child
Ask them how they’re feeling, what they’re enjoying, and what might not be working so well. Help your child find solutions to any issues they might be having. Supporting your child in becoming confident in problem-solving will help them build resilience.
Schools and educators are there to help
Remember that the school and its educators are there to support your child’s transition.
“Linking up closely with your child’s school and talking to their teacher is a great idea. They may also have a school counsellor or psychologist, as well as many other wonderful resources,” he says, adding that if your child needs further help to overcome their anxiety, to contact your GP.
To assist with their confidence, ensure your child knows who to go to at school if they need support, and encourage them to recognise and name their feelings.
Children with existing mental health conditions
Adjusting to ‘normal’ life once school has resumed may be particularly challenging if your child has an existing mental health condition. Staying at home may have been a safe bubble for them, and they may understandably, feel very reluctant to leave it.
In this case, McDermott suggests paying close attention to them during the transition back to school.
“Whether they need to see their counsellor or psychologist regularly during this time, or go back and talk to their GP to establish next steps, the key thing is to avoid a relapse or the worsening of an existing condition.”
This content is proudly funded by one of Beyond Blue’s Major Partners, Future Generation Global Investment Company.