Newsletter: Term 2, Week 8

School Dates:

End of Term Two:

As this will be the last newsletter before the end of Term Two, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for supporting the school staff in their efforts to educate your children. I want to thank our highly professional and committed staff. They have demonstrated outstanding skills in adapting and changing to any given situation and still keep the focus on ensuring growth and development in the learning journey.

I want to highlight the work of Karen Williams, our new school admin officer, who has worked tirelessly with professionalism and just a hint of humour to adjust to the needs of our school and a new system.

Also, a huge thank you to the school leadership for their efforts across the term, Jess Reynolds, Assistant Principal and RE Coordinator, Louise Morris, Curriculum Coordinator and Learning Diversity, Celly Csorba, Learning Diversity Leader and Angelique Greene, Wellbeing.

Throughout the year, we provide a comprehensive snapshot of your child's learning through various platforms, including a formal report, learning conversations and Seesaw learning pieces. We celebrate and reflect on your child's learning strengths and areas of need through these platforms. 

Early next term, you will have the opportunity to discuss your child's learning in the parent teacher conference. 

The formal school report will be ready at the end of the school day on Friday 24^th June.

School Reports:

Student reports bring mixed feelings for parents. They can range from pleasure and pride if your child is performing well and considerable angst when your child is not progressing as you hoped. Reports can mean anxious times for students too. 'Will my parents be disappointed or proud?' 'Will they over-react, or will they be level-headed?' 'Will they look at the negatives or focus on the positives first?'

Children take their cues from the respected adults in their lives, so how you see your child's report affects how they see themselves as learners. Your reaction and attitude to your child's report will go a long way in developing their attitude as a learner.

It is essential that, as parents, you are in the right frame of mind before you look at your child's report. 

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Before opening your child's report, conduct a self-check
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Check on your expectations. Are they in line with your child's abilities and interests? Expectations are tricky. If they are too high, children can be turned off from learning. Too low, and there is nothing to strive for. Pitch your expectations in line with your child's abilities.

Do you believe that children learn at different rates? You must understand that children do indeed learn at different rates. There are early developers and late bloomers in every classroom. As a parent, it is therefore important to avoid comparing your child to siblings or peers. Do not use these as a benchmark, instead, look for individual progress. 

Take a broad view of your child's progress. You mustn't just look at the academic results but consider the social development, their attitudes to learning, behaviour, and how they fit into the community.

Be positive and encouraging. Self-confidence is a prerequisite for learning, so be prepared to be as optimistic as possible. 

Once you have opened the report

Here are four tips to help deliver feedback to your child about the content of their report, regardless of their age:
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Be mindful of confidence levels. Confidence is a vital part of learning. It is imperative to give feedback and reveal the report's content without dampening their confidence. When reading your child's school report, do you first look for strengths or weaknesses? The challenge is to focus on strengths.

Be honest. Make sure you are honest with the feedback you give your child. Your feedback needs to be effective as a parent, so honesty is paramount. Let your child know if there are areas for improvement.

Be constructive. How can your child improve? Make a plan for future learning. It is essential to ensure that this plan is manageable.

Be inclusive. Include your child in the whole conversation about how they can improve, what they are doing well and how they can continue with their learning journey.

Finishing the conversation with your child on a positive note is important. Build a platform for your child so that they can improve on their learning. Building confidence and a positive platform will help to achieve this.

(Taken from Learning Matters)

Reading at Home:

There is a no more important activity for preparing your child to succeed as a reader than reading aloud together. Fill your story times with a variety of books. Be consistent, be patient, and watch the magic work.

It's no secret that activities at home are an essential supplement to the classroom, but there's more to it. There are things that parents can give children at home that the classrooms cannot provide.

An infant can look at pictures at just a few months of age, listen to your voice, and point to objects on cardboard pages. Children learn to love the sound of language before they even notice the existence of printed words on a page. Reading books aloud stimulates children's imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word. When the rhythm and melody of language become a part of a child's life, learning to read will be as natural as learning to walk and talk.

Even after children learn to read by themselves, it's still important for you to read aloud together. By reading stories that are on their interest level, but beyond their reading level, you can stretch young readers' understanding and motivate them to improve their skills.

Some tips for home reading

Establish a home reading routine. Read aloud with your children daily, ten minutes for each child around a book of their choice. If English is your second language, read in your home language. 

The reader holds the book! There is a lot of power and control in the world of reading. The reader needs to have the power.

During home reading time, turn off electronic devices and give each child ten minutes of your undivided attention.

Reading time is only ten minutes so do some of the following: Keep the introduction short – one minute is enough. Read the blurb and talk about the author, talk about any unusual words, read a page here and there as your child flicks through the book, discuss the characters. Talk about the illustrations and the title. 

Find a reading time that works for your family. Limit the time and set the timer if reading in the past has always been difficult. It is better to have an enjoyable 10 minutes than a laborious 30 minutes where everyone is left feeling frustrated.

At the end of the 10 minutes, ask questions that encourage discussion, for example: What was your favourite part? Tell me about the characters. What do you think will happen next? What did you feel about that setting? What do you like/ dislike about this book? Make it a conversation as you would in a book club.

Encourage your child to read independently. A bedside light is one of the best enticements for your child to read before going to sleep. After the 10 minutes of reading with you, the child can elect to continue reading independently.

Avoid judging your child's reading with words such as 'good', 'excellent' or 'getting better'. Instead, say things about your child's strategies when reading, such as: 'I like how you read on when you came to that difficult word.' 'I like how you changed your voice to be the voice of the character in the story'. 'I noticed you reread the bit that did not make sense.'

Visit the local library — make it a family ritual on a set day every week. Let your children select their books while you choose books you are interested in reading. Not every book has to be read cover to cover. Your child might choose books based on illustrations or factual information about an exciting topic.

Independent readers pick and choose what they read. They are entitled to read some and reject others. They are entitled to not complete books because they are boring. Readers make choices.

Model what it means to be an enthusiastic reader. Create a home of readers where everyone reads – It is just what we do in this house! Talk about what you have read. Read aloud what makes you laugh and share it with your child.

Source - https://www.petaa.edu.au/w/Teaching_Resources/Parents_guide.aspx/#tips

Junior School Expo:

It is great to be able to once again welcome parents, carers and family into our schools to celebrate what we do. Today our Foundation to year two students shared their learning with their families in an Expo, which showcased the learning that has happened across the term. Once again, the rooms were full of sharing, pride and the joy of being able to take the time to say to families what I am proud of and am glad to be able to share with you. A huge thank you to all that took the time to attend today. Your children were very proud of you. Well done to our junior school staff for making this time such a huge success.

My New Gallery:

Wellbeing:

Parent Place:

Damascus College:

Holiday Program Workshop: