Henley Beach Primary School Newsletter

Staff Training and Development

Earlier this week all Henley Beach staff participated in a professional development day. For teaching staff, the focus was on the moderation of student learning in literacy and numeracy. The format of the day involved our teachers meeting with teachers from other schools in the Western Adelaide Partnership to discuss and analyse samples of student work with the intention of identifying if it was below, at or above standard in relation to the Australian Curriculum achievement standards. The benefits of teachers engaging in this work are several:

·        Collaborative moderation has been identified in current research as a practice that is significant in driving intentional, responsive learning and assessment design.

·        Moderation aims to build consistency and confidence in teacher judgement through developing a shared understanding of the achievement standard and therefore providing an effective platform for the determination of A-E grades.

·        Moderation provides the opportunity for teachers to reflect on and share practice, and deepen their professional knowledge to ensure high expectations and learning growth occurs for every student.

Our SSO staff also had the opportunity to participate in an information session facilitated by Dr Donna Nitschke, our school’s Student Wellbeing Leader. Key topics covered during this session included the importance of executive function and fostering emotional development within students. At Henley Beach, alongside student learning in each curriculum area, a key priority is for all children to develop positive skills and dispositions that enable them to engage and take control of their learning. Donna has provided some further information about this area in this week’s newsletter which we hope you will find of interest.

Student Safety Information

Morning arrival time: Over the past few weeks it has become increasingly noticeable that some students have been arriving at school very early. 8.30am is the designated time for when students should arrive at school as this coincides with yard supervision commences.

Burford Road pedestrians: Families will have noticed that the pedestrian crossings on this road are now being supervised by staff and the school has commenced a process to have SAPOL train our senior students to act as crossing monitors. Currently some students cross Burford Rd in areas beyond the designated crossings and we request families speak to their child/ren about safe pedestrian habits, including making use of the appropriate zones. Children who are riding bikes/scooters to school are required to walk their bike across these crossings.

Sports Day

Our school sports day will be held on Friday, 18 September. This week students have started practising their team chants which will no doubt build their excitement ahead of the day. Sports Day will officially commence with an opening ceremony and school warm up that will be held on the Metcalfe Lawn in the morning. As has been previously communicated, families will not be allowed to come onto the school grounds during the day.

Kiwanis Terrific Kids Award

At our school assembly in week 6 several of our students were presented with a Kiwanis Terrific Kids Award. Congratulations to the following students:

Katelyn K             Year 7

Haris J                  Year 7

Harper M            Year 1

Acis K                   Year 3

Parent engagement survey

A parent engagement survey was made available, via an SMS or email link, to families earlier this week. The survey, which is being coordinated centrally by the Department for Education, is an important part of our school’s improvement processes and is a great opportunity to get valuable insights from our families. All families are encouraged to complete the survey.

As has been mentioned in previous correspondence (including SAPOL advice) we encourage the reporting of suspicious behaviour. This can be done by contacting SAPOL directly or the school. All reports are taken seriously and we encourage families to continue to talk to their child/ren about staying safe in public places. This could include making it clear to your child who within your circle of family and friends is a trusted adult and establishing plans for school drop off and pick up. Upon leaving school, if students are feeling vulnerable, the advice is to go back to school, to a place of business or to make contact with a trusted adult. Teachers will continue to reinforce these messages with their class.

Please don’t hesitate to give me a call if you have any questions about this matter. If your child discloses that they have had a concerning experience with an unknown member of the community, please make contact with the police and let me know.  

District Athletics is fast approaching, this is an opportunity for students to represent our school, and potentially Airport District in Athletics.  The process will work in the following way:

 ·        Students will trial for a place in the Henley team, which will compete at District Day for a place in the Airport team which will compete at the State Championships.

·        All students born in 2010, 2009, 2008 or 2007 and 2006 are eligible.  Events are 100m, 200m, 800m, Long Jump, Shot Put, Discus and Relay.

·        Age eligible students in each class who place 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th in each of Long Jump, Discus, Shot Put, Marathon and Sprints in Sports Day will be given the opportunity to try out for the Henley Team.

·        Usually the student who places first in trials will go on to represent the school, however at times second place will be put in the team due to Wildcards or limits on the number of events students can compete in.

·        School trials will be held on Tuesday the 22nd September (weather permitting) and will be managed by school staff with experience in Athletics.

·        Events such as the 800m where we have limited entries across the school will be decided based on speed, but where there are more children with good times than can be accommodated in the team, preference will be given to students who meet Little Athletics SIC Qualifying Standards.

·        High jump will be available only to students with recorded times in High Jump from a Little Athletics club for the 2019/2020 season.  This is due to safety, the application of start heights, potential jump limits and flop and scissor requirements at varying age groups.  Where more than one child can provide recorded times, a jump off will be held at school.

·        The District Day date is Thursday October 29th - Term 4 - Week 3

·        We do not, as yet have a date for the State Championships.

Emotional Literacy

 When we talk about emotional literacy, we are talking about our ability to ‘read’ and understand feelings in ourselves and in others.  We are also talking about knowing how to manage our feelings and how to behave in different situations.  So, developing social skills is part of emotional literacy.  Developing values is another part.  In this newsletter, I am going to talk a bit about a third part of emotional literacy—self-regulation (also known as inhibition).

 Self-regulation is something that comes with both time and experience.  You don’t automatically develop self-regulation.  It’s another one of those things that we have to train our brains to do and then practise.  Young children learn self-regulation because they have had realistic boundaries set for them.  If we, as parents and teachers, are consistent in our behaviour, children learn that the best way to make things happen is by using socially acceptable behaviours.  Of course, there are times when children (and adults) become so over tired, over excited, angry, sad or nervous that they just ‘lose it’.  However, for children who have lots of experience of boundaries and being in control, when they lose control they usually feel bad or upset and don’t want to have that feeling.  As a result, these children try to avoid getting out of control.  They LEARN from their experience and try to do things differently.  For children who have little experience with feeling in control, ‘losing it’ is just how it goes sometimes.  So, there is little push for them to think about what they could do differently next time.  Their brains get into patterns which are not socially helpful or useful for becoming the best learner (or person) possible.  They also learn to expect that things go wrong and people get cross with them before things blow over. However, these children don’t make the link that they could change things in the future by changing what they do or maybe how they do something. 

The people who study brains and behaviour (neuroscientists, psychologists, etc) have found that the best indicator for success as an adult, both academically and socially, is NOT intelligence.  It’s the ability to regulation impulses....to wait for something you really want, to finish something that is a bit boring but important, to have one chocolate and then stop, to take turns, to save up enough money to buy something great instead of spending money on the first thing that comes along, etc.  Intelligence helps too, of course.  But there are many very intelligent people who have not done well because they have not been good at managing their feelings and delaying gratification.

Learning to be in control of ourselves takes time.  It also takes experience of boundaries that are consistent and understandable.  Having good role models around us is another big help!  When children see adults self-regulate and manage their excitement or anger or fear, they learn that we adults can practise what we preach.  They also notice some of the things we do to help us manage, like talking out loud to ourselves or finding a distraction or setting a target and then working towards it.  

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE RESEARCH ON IMPULSE CONTROL:

·      https://www.theottoolbox.com/how-to-teach-kids-impulse-control/

·       google the MARSHMALLOW TEST

·       https://www.verywellfamily.com/ways-to-teach-children-impulse-control-1095035

Good news at last! Though we can not attend Arbury Park in 2020 we have booked it for 2021.  Not only will 2021’s year 4s be able to attend, but also this years group of year 4s who missed out because of COVID 19 will be able to attend as year 5s. Our school has booked the week May 17th – 21st and one class level will go Monday to Wednesday morning and the other will go Wednesday afternoon until Friday.  Further information will be available as we get closer to the date.  Arbury Park Outdoor School is an excellent facility in the Adelaide Hills that focuses on environmental studies and sustainability.  There are also great benefits for the children developing independence and team building skills.  The camp is catered and there are dorms for accommodation. Visit the Arbury Park website for more information. 

Thanks Isobel Roberts and Craig Johnston. 

It is Department for Education policy that the guidelines below are followed. Thank you in anticipation of your support with this area.

• If your child has flu like symptoms or is sick please keep them at home.
• If your child has/had vomited and/or diarrhea they must not come to school for 24 hrs.
• If a child presents to class with these symptoms you will be called to pick your child up and take home.
  

Sick Certificate & COVID testing

If your child is absent for 3 days you must provide the school with a sick certificate from a doctor.

If your child has had a COVID test please provide the school with a copy of the COVID negative result to clear your child back to school.

Thank you to all the families who have paid their school fees for 2020.  A reminder to all families that school fees are a legally recoverable debt and are now overdue. If you think you may be eligible for school card assistance please make sure you have completed the online application form. A new application is required each year. If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact me to arrange a payment plan.

Niina Marni (Hi, how are you?)

Indigenous Literacy Day

Last Wednesday, 2 September, was Indigenous Literacy Day. This event is held every year by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) and raises money for books for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Only 36% of Indigenous Year 5 students in very remote areas are at, or above, national minimum reading standards, compared to 96% for non-Indigenous students in major cities. The situation is improving but there is still a long way to go and the challenges are immense. 

Apart from the historical, health, social, and educational disadvantage issues, many remote communities don’t have many, if any, books. Most of the remote communities that the ILF work with report there are fewer than five books in family homes. Their approach to raising literacy levels starts at a community level. Appropriate quality books are gifted to organisations operating in remote communities. They also have a community literacy program where they write books in Aboriginal languages. For more information go to www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au

 Nukkun (see ya)

We are very excited to have won two prizes in competitions this week!! The first competition was the Bunnings Spring Garden Competition. Eliana, Sadie, Issy and Holly from year 6 made a mural using materials donated by Bunnings Adelaide Airport. The result was a stunning piece of artwork which we hope to display in our garden. Well done girls for winning the school a fruit tree! A massive thank you to Bunnings and dedicated volunteer Leah Jeffries for organizing this activity with her Grub Club class.

We have also won 60 upcycled toothbrush pens from Terracycle as part of the Colgate Spring Gardens Competition! Thank you to our whole community for their efforts collecting oral care waste for recycling. Please continue to bring in all your old toothbrushes, empty toothbrush tubes and floss containers. There is a collection box in the STEM area near the green library door. The EcoWarriors look forward to testing the upcycled toothbrush pens!

Bookings on 0401 121 087 or tammyhbpsoshc@yahoo.com.au

Sports Day

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered via Sign Up, we are now full.

We will be serving over the counter fresh, fruity, icy Slams in sports day colours (the kids, love them!), Veggie Slice, Freshly Popped Popcorn, Banana Bread, Popcorn Chicken with Veggie Sticks. 

Bring your gold coins.

Hot dogs, Donuts and limited numbers of Brekky for Lunch available to order via QKR only.

Italian Day

Orders are still being taken for Italian Day up until 15 September.  If you have previously paid for Italian Day, please return your childs order form to the lunch bag.  If you would like to order please use QKR. Spirali Bolognaise or Spinach & Ricotta Canneloni.

We are now looking for volunteers for Italian Day. Please use the Sign Up link to volunteer for Italian Day. 

https://signup.com/go/KyJsvRR