St Leonards Primary School

Building a community that inspires curious, creative and innovative thinkers underpins our philosophy here at St Leonards. We want our learners to be able to think for themselves and to develop their skills in being curious and creative.  Learning is a product of thinking. If we want our students to learn well and develop understanding, we must create cultures of thinking that actively engage students in thinking on an ongoing basis.

One of the unexpected positives of the Covid issue is the independence our learners are now showing when entering the class.  Teachers are reporting that learners are straight into their learning and have become a lot more confident.

All Education Department schools are required to have a site improvement plan.  These plans are developed in consultation with learners, staff, parents and our education team and focussed on data indicating areas our school can improve.  

·        To improve student achievement in writing across the whole site.

·        To increase the number of students in the top levels of achievement in reading.

·       To increase the number of high achieving students in numeracy.

Our three goals are integral to all we do and decisions we make about staffing, resources and support for all of our learners.  Our detailed plan can be seen on our school website

Parking 

Please be careful. Our Kiss and drop Zone is not a parking area. We have been in dialogue with the council about this ongoing issue.  Please, please obey street signage and think about our neighbours.  A number of people have been issued infringements.  The school is working with council on some new designs to improve traffic flow and look after the safety of our learners

Volunteers

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers we have had St Leonards.  We appreciate your time and effort.  You help create this wonderful, unique school community. We know times are a little strange, however we can’t wait for the day that all of you can help us again at school. Please remember that to volunteer, you need to go through the volunteer process at school.  This includes all sports coaches.  This is particularly important as school sport looks to be close to starting up again. For more information on the volunteer process, please see our Volunteering at St Leonards page on our website.

http://www.sleonrdsps.sa.edu.au/parent-information/volunteering-at-st-leonards

Superheros  Dress up Day

Thanks to all our wonderful learners and of course our caregivers. We were able to raise $430 from the day.  We donated the money to the professionals at Flinders Private Hospital.  They certainly enjoyed their beverages. 

Dave Henty-Smith, Principal

Jo Meredith, Deputy Principal

Kathy Baker, Inclusive Education Coordinator

If you have a Reception student commencing school in 2021 and have not let the Office know, please do so by emailing me at Melanie.worden673@schools.sa.edu.au or by  telephoning 8294 9811. Enrolment forms can be sent home with older siblings.

Mel Worden, Enrolment Officer

• Onsite visits from providers eg OT, Speech, Psychology allowed with approval
• No school banking
• Limited volunteers onsite and only with Principal permission
• Kiss and Drop for school drop off and pick up (as much as possible)
• No families on school grounds from 3:15pm
• Before or after school Library has reopened for students only
  
• If you need to collect your child early sign out at the Office and we will collect your child/ren for you
• Canteen has reopened

The SMS number 0427 016 460 is our preferred method for letting us know about any absences.

Messages should include name, room number and reason for absence eg illness or family.

Alternatively, please call the Office on 8294 9811 to leave a message with office staff.

Unfortunately, Facebook messages and emails don't always make it to the Office.

Hi Everyone,

As we say goodbye to another week here at St Leonards, I hope you and your family are really well and not only surviving but thriving as we take another step here in S.A. towards a more familiar state of being.  Isn’t it wonderful to be able to meet for a coffee or a meal if you so desire?  So lovely to see small businesses open back up slowly but surely and to see people moving about in a safe but happy manner! 

How are you going?  How are your children?  All too often we might get caught up in the day to day stresses and tasks (and let’s face it, for some, the overwhelming challenges that life, particularly right now, can bring are extreme) to forget that our precious children might be struggling to process and make sense of everything around them!  We should not lose sight of the fact that whilst it’s business as usual at school now, our children are still having to process a lot of information (even if we are trying to limit the amount of news infiltrating their lives, it would be impossible to think that we can completely protect them from knowing what is happening in our world).  Adding into the mix, it’s Week 5 for what might seem to many as being an extremely long term already … would you agree?  Therefore, it would be reasonable to suggest that your children might be tired, really tired … certainly by the end of each week!  Children can’t always verbalise how they’re feeling (they may not even be able to recognise or realise that their behaviour is a reflection of external forces at play) so, if your children are exhibiting behaviour that is out of the norm (for them at least) please be aware that they may in fact be exhausted, not only physically but also by the end of the week, emotionally exhausted also.  It may be very similar to how you might be feeling yourself!

As we return to a new ‘normal’ and as we all start to gently and carefully become more relaxed with our movements out and about, we might be aware of a level of anxiety we’ve not know before … we have been forced to live and work with limited contact (for some, in complete isolation for some time now) and even though it has brought about many challenges no doubt, it may have afforded you a safe, even comfortable existence (especially the longer the isolation goes on) and now that we are able to embrace life outside of our four walls, it can be with trepidation and certainly caution that we do so.  Our children may be feeling similarly about the current situation, so it may be worthwhile having a conversation to reassure them that moving forward, all measures are in place to ensure everyone’s safety as much as possible in every situation.  We cannot always know what our children are thinking and whether or not they are managing to process all that is happening around them … particularly at an unprecedented time such as this.

Please continue to reach out and remain connected with those within your community … continue to check in with neighbours, friends and family, and as restrictions continue to be lifted, thankfully we are able to do so safely and sensibly, in person more and more.

Continue to be gentle and kind to those you hold dear, particularly keeping watch on your children, which at this time is so very important.

May these coming weeks bring joy and happiness into your life in ways we all may have taken for granted before now.  Look after yourself too please … reach out if you are struggling with the current state of affairs, do not think you have to have all the answers or that you have to have ‘it all together’ … this is a time like no other and we are entering a new phase and whilst exciting for many, can be challenging for others.  If you need to talk, please don’t hesitate contacting myself or Kathy Baker during school hours or a health professional or suitable organisation at any time. 

Have a fabulous weekend … I look forward to seeing your smiling faces very soon!  Take care of yourself and those you love, please!

Karen Marks (Thorogood)

Pastoral care worker

Karen Marks (Thorogood), Pastoral Care worker

LIFELINE   13 11 14  for immediate assistance for anyone in crisis, to speak to a qualified, trained professional 24 hours a day/7 days a week. This service, like many are free of charge to access.

 For the most comprehensive directory to access assistance please go to   https://samentalhealthcommission.com.au/need-help/

 If you or someone you are caring for needs emergency care or assistance please phone either of the following services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week …

for life-threatening emergencies (Police, Fire or Ambulance) Call 000

for Police attendance: Call 131 444