Dear families,

Her Majesty The Queen 1926 – 2022 

To acknowledge the passing of Her Majesty and as a sign of respect, the South Australian Government is supporting several observances.

From Friday 9 September 2022 to Thursday 22 September 2022, our school flags will be lowered to half-mast.

On the National Day of Mourning, 22nd September, there will be no school as it has been declared a Public Holiday. (Please note that there will be no OSHC service on this day.)

Other Events

This week we have the year 4’s going on camp to Sheoak Run. We wish them all the very best on their camp. Because of Covid, we have been unable to have camps and it is great to see them happening again.  Year 5 and Year 6 will be having their camp in week nine, going to the Flinders ranges which is a great experience.

In both camps there is an indigenous focus as part of the itinerary. The Australian Curriculum has a strong component that includes perspectives of indigenous people.

Building Update

This Tuesday 13th September I meet with the Project Control Group who oversee the project. Last Friday I met with the builder and site manager who are going to be proceeding with building within the next few weeks. One of the things that will impact all of us, is that most of our staff car park for the duration of the building program will be used by the builders. While we will have a number of cars still able to be parked on school grounds, there will be the unfortunate necessity for some staff to park on roads adjacent to the school.

Please note this when doing your drop-offs and pick ups, and perhaps arrange to make adjustments to your timing in order to avoid the peak periods. Particularly for older children, they are quite able to walk and meet you rather than being picked up directly at the pick up zone on Edward Beck Drive.

It is exciting to finally see the beginning of what will be approximately a 12 month building program, with outstanding benefits for all of our students from reception right through to year six. Coinciding with this, is the redevelopment of the middle school playground area that has been planned by the Student Representative Council. This is due to be completed near to the end of this school term, in readiness for term four.

Good School Attendance is Important

During 2020 and 2021, we had significant absences due to Covid and respiratory illnesses. While in 2022, we obviously still have students who are genuinely ill, the absence rate has dropped dramatically. If a child is well, there is no reason why they cannot be at school, arriving prior to the 8:55 am bell, and remaining right through to 3:05 pm. We have quite a number of students who arrive shortly after the bell or in some cases right up to recess time, who are missing out on the preparatory work that introduces what they are doing that day and often reviews work that had been done previously.

Please ensure that your child arrives at school on time each school day. Our new Education Minister, Blair Boyer, has announced that he will be following up families whose children are absent for more than a total of 10 school days and possibly instituting legal action. These absences can be accumulated over the year, and his concern is because we know from research, that children who are either late to school or absent from school too often (other than illness), have far fewer opportunities later in life when it comes to work choices. This does not include those absences where families have sought permission to go on holidays.

Managing Friendship Concerns

Sometimes, children need to experience failure firsthand. Recovering from failure provides children with opportunities to discover how they can do things differently in the future. This includes when their interactions with other children sometimes don’t go the way that they would like them to go. Where friendships become an issue, teachers are present to guide students as they learn the intricacies of social interaction, particularly making and maintaining friendships.

This includes our leadership team who spend many hours working with individual and small groups of students on issues that arise during class-time and play-time with classmates and/or close friends. Please trust that the teachers have your child’s best interest at heart, and are trained to do this complex and often delicate work. Because of confidentiality, many things cannot be shared with any other parent other than the direct parent/caregiver of that child. Hence you may not see the actions that have been taken, but please be assured that the work in this area goes on constantly.

When we do need to make contact with parents/caregivers we certainly appreciate the way we are supported in this education process.

Kind regards,

Steve Freeman

Principal