St Leonards Primary School

We miss you all.  We are hoping our COVID restrictions ease soon so that we can have you all back on site.  Please be patient with us.  In the meantime , it has been terrific catching up with you all in the yard and the surrounding streets.

Reports

On Thursday of Week 10 you will receive the mid-year report for your child / children. This report is a summary of where our learners are at, at this time of the year. This year these reports have been impacted by the COVID 19 situation significantly and you will notice that they will look a little different

As a Partnership of Schools, we have jointly reformatted our reports this semester so that we are all on the same page.  This was done via consultation with teachers and leadership, ensuring we adhere to our departments policy. Kelly Peterson has also spent many hours formatting the reports for use with our computer system. Our teachers have spent many hours writing these reports.  Please take the time to go through this with your child, looking at areas of improvement and also areas of strength.  At St Leonards, we are a community of learners.  Learning certainly doesn't just happen at school. Parents and guardians have a major role to play. 

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that all learners don't learn at the same rate, nor at the same time. Comparing learners against other learners isn't always a wise thing to do. Learning is a life long journey, so please support and encourage your child but remind them learning is hard, should be hard and that you need to show grit when things get tough. 

We hope that with the easing of our COVID restrictions that during Term 3 we may be able to schedule our three way conferences.

School Uniform Reminder  

It is an expectation that school uniform is to be worn at all times. This can occasionally be an issue. We have a number of spare uniforms available from the Uniform Shop if needed. Please speak to your child’s class teacher or Office staff if you need to access these.

Parking

We have been working hard with the Holdfast Council and have come up with a draft proposal that we will take to our Week 8 Governing Council meeting.  We will have a look at this during the meeting then present to our wider community.  I must admit that our community has been a lot better at setting examples for our learners in regards to safety. 

Dave Henty-Smith, Principal

Jo Meredith, Deputy Principal

Kathy Baker, Inclusive Education Coordinator

We continue to comply with directions from the Department to ensure safety of our community in the wake of COVID-19. We respectfully ask you to please remember;

Parent Access

Parents/visitors are not allowed to enter the school buildings beyond the front office. In extenuating circumstances, written authorisation may be provided by the Principal and those visitors must sign in and wear their identification badge.

Pickup and Drop off

Thank you for maintaining social distancing in the yard and around the perimeter of the grounds before and after school. Please continue to ‘kiss and drop’ your child at the gate in the morning. In the afternoons, we are reducing congestion on the footpath by encouraging parents to wait on the courts or the oval. Please avoid moving amongst the school building spaces as this can cause congestion. We ask that all children and their families leave the grounds by 3:15pm as directed by the Department for Education.

Illnesses & Hygiene

Please keep your child home if they are unwell. We continue to support good hygiene practices with regular hand washing and increased cleaning services of our indoor and outdoor facilities.

School Sport

Outdoor school sports (netball and soccer) will begin in Term 3, with training commencing soon.

Volunteers

Unfortunately we are still unable to accommodate volunteers to support learning in classrooms. We miss our valued volunteers terribly, and look forward to welcoming them back when the Department authorises this.  

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,

How are you?  As always, I hope that this note finds you all really well as we get back to a normal routine (albeit possibly a new and slightly unfamiliar routine for many!) 

Well Jack Frost has certainly been busy this week … blankets of frost on garden lawns and ovals and for the first time that I can remember, thick ice on my car windscreen and windows each morning!    It almost looks like a winter wonderland as we make our way to school in the mornings!  And then, just like magic, the frost dissipates and we are left with cold but clear, sunny days … a bit like a payoff for the discomfort of the bitterly cold mornings!   Speaking of payoffs … after having a conversation this morning, it was pointed out that whilst it’s unfortunate that during the Covid-19 times things have changed somewhat within our school grounds, a perhaps surprising observation is that the children are for the greatest part, doing a wonderful job of preparing themselves for learning, showing great organisational skills and co-operation as they ready themselves to have a really successful day!  I know how hard it is to wave goodbye to your children at the school gate each morning and leave them to get themselves organised as they disappear from sight, to make their way into their classrooms … but please be assured that your children are stepping up and showing great leadership qualities as they organise themselves and assisting their peers to do the same … be very proud of your children, as always!

Now more than ever, it’s so beneficial to have conversations with your children at the end of the school day about how their day was!  If I may offer a suggestion, perhaps don’t bombard them with questions as soon as you see them or as they get into the car or walk through the door … imagine yourself and how you would best communicate about your day, perhaps it wouldn’t be the moment you arrive home … for me, I like just a moment or two (or an hour or three to relax … just joking, that’s wishful thinking, right?!!)  before I debrief about my day to those around me … our kids are the same (unless yours are ones who can’t wait to share every little detail with you, without drawing breath!) they might need time to process things that happened before verbalising or they might fit somewhere in between … you know your children better than anyone and know what works best for them! 

I would just say that if you would like to encourage conversations with your children, open questions are far more effective to foster discussions than ones that only require a yes/no answer (or for those with older children, possibly a grunt or eye roll!)   Asking your child to tell you one or two highlights of their day (hopefully the answer won’t just be recess and lunch!!) might lead to a valuable exchange between you both … just as important as a highlight is asking about a disappointment … It’s really great if you can allow your child space to process the good and not so good moments of their day and if they have a disappointment, please take the time to really listen (it might seem trivial to us, but to a child, their ‘issue’ might be a huge challenge) … we don’t always have to listen with the intention of solving their problem or challenge (obviously there are instances where it is necessary to step in and help solve the problem, but often, to listen and allow your child to come up with solutions and therefore giving them credit that they might well have ideas re problem solving, could be far more beneficial for them in the long run).  Please note … I am referring to general ‘disappointments’ and  challenges, not important topics that affect your child’s wellbeing and mental health.

To give your child your undivided attention for a few minutes at the end of their day, to really listen to them without distractions if possible, is so very important to their overall wellbeing … to be heard, no matter our age, is something we all need.  And when you have someone willing and able to really listen to what we’re saying … not to necessarily try to solve our problems but just to sit with us and listen (the beautiful phrase, to hold space for someone comes to my mind) can make a real difference … think back to a time when you felt really listened to … how did it make you feel?  Our children crave that same feeling, it’s so important to our child’s development to know that they are heard … it may only take 5 minutes each day or at various times during the day, but those 5 minutes may make all the difference to your relationship with your child and build a strong, healthy relationship for you both (I can probably guarantee you that at bedtime, those conversations and need to be heard may well take up hours if we allow it … you know what I’m talking about I’m sure!)  So definitely pick the moments when you have time to block out distractions and really listen to what your child has to say … if you do this, you will benefit just as much as your child will, no doubt about it!  And in closing (something I have to remind myself many times)  please learn to listen without the intention of formulating a reply … it’s a skill to be mastered no doubt … many times we listen with the intent to reply and it changes the whole dynamic of the conversation … try it and see what you think!  You can thank me later lol!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend (and whilst the weather might not co-operate sadly) hope you have time to relax, enjoy time with those you love and care for, and if possible, take some moments for yourself … you deserve it!

Here’s to wonderful conversations, pauses in routines and the busyness of daily life … here’s to listening to those around us … who knows what we might learn!!  And if it’s your ‘thing’ … here’s to the return of Footy!!

Take care!

Karen Marks, Pastoral care worker.