Assistant Principal's Welcome Message
Dear Parents, Carers and the St Joseph’s Community,
It is hard to believe that we are halfway through our second week of the 2020 school year. It has been a fantastic start to the year, and it is wonderful to see the fruition of many ideas, planning and consultation from last year being implemented across the school.
Sand Pit Fun!
As the saying goes, it never rains it pours and I am so happy that in this case, it is not only the weather but also with regards to building works that are happening around the school. Yesterday we were thrilled to see fences erected and sandstone and logs delivered as we start construction of our sandpits, the first step in our Nature Playground. Did you know that sand is an excellent tool that offers children not only hours of fun but has many educational benefits as well? Children can benefit from playing with sand by developing a range of skills such as:
- Development of fine motor skills
- Hand and eye coordination
- Creativity and imagination
- Sensory development of the sense of touch
- Socialisation – a sandpit is a great gathering place that encourages children to communicate, work together, share, be creative and witness other children being creative
- Language development – playing with sand is a social activity
- Overcoming challenges – problem-solving
School Rules
Last year, I worked with the Kids Committee and a teacher working party to develop new school rules that align with our Seeds of Growth. Working with the students allowed us (the teachers) to understand what is important to students and how we can ensure they feel safe and equipped to be the best ‘Joey’ possible. I feel it is important to note that the ‘words’ used in the new school rules come directly from the students and that the teachers simply put them into ‘sentences’ to enable them to be accessible to all students:
Seed of Creating
A Joey is excited by exploring, experiencing and experimenting.
Seed of Learning
A Joey inquires, takes risks and perseveres.
Seed of Collaborating
A Joey is inclusive, shares and cooperates.
Seed of Being
A Joey makes safe choices, listens and is respectful.
Social and Emotional Learning
This year I will be going into each class once a fortnight to implement strategies that I recently learnt at a 4-day professional development course on the Berry Street Education Model. The Berry Street Education Model utilises wellbeing strategies that enable students’ academic and personal growth. Each fortnight I will share with you the focus for the week in the hope that you may like to discuss the ideas and strategies with your children in the home setting.
This week and in the coming week my focus is on teaching the students the importance of being Present, Centred and Grounded (ready to learn).
- This is a form of physical mindfulness
- We can become centred by drawing all our available energy and conscious awareness into the present moment by grounding ourselves at the core of our body
- Everything happens in the present – we need to stop worrying about the past and the future and focus on the present
- We cannot always alter our external circumstances but by giving our mind something to focus on in the present time we can calm our emotions and find a focus
- This strategy requires a conscious effort to be mindful of how we feel and think and to let go of our judgments, rationalisation and denial
Our aim is that by establishing a classroom and schoolwide expectation that students are Present, Centred and Grounded we will help generate more confidence, less emotional reactivity, better relationships, improved concentration and engagement in our students.
You might also like to ask your children to share with you some of the Brain Breaks they have been doing in the classroom!
Parent Information Night
We look forward to seeing many of you at our Parent Information Night tomorrow evening. The night will commence with open classrooms from 5:30 pm, followed by a whole school information session in the hall at 6:00 pm and concluding with a social gathering from 6:30 pm. We will be offering supervision for school-age children from 6:00 to 6:30 pm. In the event of wet weather, we ask that children are not brought to the evening as we will not be able to offer care.
I hope you have an enjoyable end to the week.
Yours in Christ,
Amy Doszpot
Assistant Principal