NAPLAN

Congratulations to our Year 3 and 5 students for the great effort they have put into NAPLAN so far. Our students have completed NAPLAN Writing, Reading and Conventions of Language and will be completing the final assessment, Numeracy, on Monday.

If your child has been absent from school this week, there will be opportunities next week for them to complete catch up assessments in all assessments except for Year 3 writing which needs to be finalised by this Friday 13^th May.

Mother’s Day Breakfast

It was fantastic to see many mums/special guests brave the cold last Friday morning to attend our Mother’s Day breakfast and warm up with an egg and bacon roll. Thank you to our P&F for putting on this breakfast. A particular thank you to Monique G for ordering and collecting all the food and to Woolworths Keysborough South for providing a $50 gift voucher which was used to help purchase food for the morning.

Thank you also to the following parents for getting up early to help: Archie M, Brett M, Jenny F, to Lauren V and Kate D for help packing up and a big thank you to all our staff who attended and helped out. 

Farmers’ Market

Thank you to our Prep families for volunteering your time on Mother’s Day to help out at the Farmers’ Market last Sunday. We had 890 adults through the gates.

Thankyou to the following parents: Jason T, Daniel S, Jessica E, Brendan E, Ester V, Brett S, Kate, Matt M, Belinda L, Mandy M, Kelly O, Brett A, Sarah J, Kate D, Claire D, Jon C, Anita P, Jody SC, Amy D.

Students: Brigitte R, Jacques R, Charlotte S

Staff: Kate S

Our June Market will be held on Sunday 12^th June. Our Year 5/6 team will be coordinating volunteers for this market and our Pre-school will be running the egg and bacon BBQ.

If you are available to help out with set up, pack up or on the gates, please complete the Google form - https://forms.gle/pMRNs5n5NXWYa3rYA

Professional Practice Day

As recommended by the Department, there will be a whole school Professional Practice Day on Monday 6^th June.

Students are not required to attend school on that day.

If you need your child supervised on that day, please contact TheirCare to register for their program.

School Photos

We have heard from National School Photography, the company that has undertaken the school photos this year.

They do apologise for the delay in the delivery of photo orders but they, like many other businesses, are experiencing staff shortages due to COVID.

Anxious kids? Teach them to take off their anxiety goggles

by Dr Jodi Richardson

Do you find it hard to focus on the present?

There’s always so much to do and plan for as parents. It’s no wonder our minds wander so much. But to think that we spend nearly half of our lives thinking about things other than what we are doing means there’s an awful lot we’re missing out on.

When we’re fully engaged with what’s happening , there’s so much to experience. Bringing our thoughts back to the present moment can be like landing them on a calm, quiet, relaxed island in the midst of stormy seas.

When our minds wander to troubling thoughts, we end up experiencing pain and suffering at times when we’re often warm and dry, fed and watered, safe and secure. Like when we’re in bed. Snug and relaxed in our comfy beds, our doona keeping us warm (or a sheet to keep us cool), with a lovely soft place to lay our heads. Could we be more content in that moment? If only our minds would stay with us!

It’s the same with our kids. It’s often at the end of the day when they’re no longer engaged in activities that they begin to think and worry.

Their minds are far away from the reality of being safe in their rooms with loving family close by but they are sick with worry about future events.

Sometimes thoughts are so ‘sticky’ it’s hard to let go

It’s hard being a wandering minds back to the present when we’re so swept up in our worries. It takes practice to notice a wandering mind, gently ‘unhook’ from the thought and return our attention to the present moment. That’s the practice of mindfulness. Notice, unhook, return, repeat.

Put your head where your hands are

A lovely woman at one of my retreats told me her grandma’s favourite saying was “put your head where your hands are” meaning think about what it is you’re doing while you’re doing it. That’s smart!

Noticing our thoughts are wandering and bringing our attention back to what we’re actually doing is a skill, which gets easier with practice. It’s a powerful skill to teach kids as it to gives them perspective and importantly, the space they need for positive change.

Viewing the world through anxiety goggles

When our kids feel anxious they look at what’s happening around them through ‘anxiety goggles’. It’s like when you look through a pair of glasses with red lenses and everything looks red. Take them off and all is clear again. What if we could help our kids to take off their anxiety goggles and learn to look at their thoughts rather than from them? It would bring them such relief.

Creating a lovely space between our kids and what they’re thinking

We can help our kids do this by developing their metacognition (thought-noticing) skills. That way, when their minds wander to their worries and troubles they can notice they’re actually ‘lost in thought’ and not really experiencing the events they are thinking about. It would help them to ‘unhook’ from their daydreaming and importantly, bring their minds back to the present moment.

Thought-noticing

This is a wonderful skillset which helps our kids to manage their mental health. When kids tune into their thinking, they immediately distance themselves from it. Rather than being lost in the thoughts that are making them feel anxious, they can mentally step back and see the thought for what it is. Just another thought that comes and goes like all the ones before and all the ones to come.

Teaching thought-noticing to kids

There are many ways to teach thought noticing to kids. Look at these ideas like a ‘Choose your own adventure’. Start where you like and go in any direction that feels right for you and your family. If the idea you try isn’t quite the right fit, choose another!

Do you hear what I hear?

Lay down comfortably side by side and spend 2 minutes listening for any sounds you can hear, near or far. When you’re finished, compare what you heard and open a discussion about how our minds often wander away with our thoughts. Kids will know this as ‘daydreaming’. Share how your mind wandered and invite your child to do the same.

Tell me more

Day-to-day conversations are great for thought noticing. It’s about asking the right questions. Here are some examples to get the thought noticing conversation started: “Can you tell me more about why you think that? Why do you think you got so upset when we had to go straight home? Why do you think you’re putting off doing your homework? How will you know when your painting is complete?”

Name your mind

If we get our kids to give their minds a name, we open up opportunities to ask them different questions. For instance, if your child name’s his/her mind Sam. You can ask your child what Sam is thinking. This encourages your child to step back and take a helicopter view of him or herself.

Post-meltdown reflection

In the aftermath of a meltdown or outburst, when calm has returned and your child or teen has moved on, take some time to ask why he/she got so upset over what happened? Ask questions like “what did your mind say to make you feel upset?” for younger children or “can you tell me what you were thinking that made you feel so angry, frustrated, disappointed etc.?” for older kids.

Developing metacognition or ‘thinking about thinking’ skills fosters self-regulation among children. As contributing to children’s mental health and happiness, metacognition helps kids be more successful, more resilient and be able to problem-solve because they are less likely to get caught up in their worries.

And remember, your GP is a great place to start if you have any issues with your kids that you’d like reassurance or advice on. Make time for a chat.

regards

Ken & Lisa

In Term Two there are some interesting and exciting activities in Performing Arts across the whole school.

 The Prep students will be learning about different styles of music and expressing what they enjoy about each style and why.  They will learn about the instruments, culture, and dance that is associated with the style of music. The students will also begin preparations for the Grade P-2 Production that will be taking place in Term Three. They will be learning songs and dances to put on show - a show that you will not want to miss!

                                       

The students in Grade one and two, will also be preparing songs and dances for the production.  As well as production practice, the students are learning about the musical story, ‘Peter and the Wolf’. They are learning about the instruments that represent the characters in the story. The students will engage in drama and dance activities associated with the characters in the story. They are making a book about the instruments that they can take home and keep, and they are also excited about watching the movie ‘Peter and the Wolf’ at the end of the unit of work.

                                        

 Grade three and four students are currently learning about the orchestra, the families of instruments and the names of each instrument in the orchestra.  By the end of this unit, they should be able to name the instruments and recognise the sound of instruments and know which family they belong to. They will also be learning about the 16^th note (semi-quaver), and they will learn to read, play, write and compose music using the 16^th note. Towards the end of the term, they will cover a theme on ‘Winter’ where they will perform dance, drama and music soundscapes to represent this theme.

                                    
                                       
Grade five and six students are learning how to write a song.  Their task is to write one or two new verses for Waltzing Matilda that express a modern-day version of Australia. Their assessment will be a performance, singing the song they wrote, while playing it on ukulele. After they have completed this task, later in the term they will learn about indigenous dreamtime stories, and work in groups to prepare and perform a drama play that depicts the story. This activity will be done with advice from local indigenous elders.

INDONESIAN TERM TWO

The grade 5/6 students are looking at traditional Indonesian folktales. They will focus on a variety of folktales relating to the mouse deer (kancil). The mouse deer is said to be a very smart animal that can trick both animals and humans. In groups, the students will be required to write a role play about the mouse deer. They will then perform their story to an audience.

                                          

The grade 3/4 students will be looking a the story Wombi di Restoran (Wombi at the Restaurant). They will be involved in a number of activities, such as, reading Indonesian texts and then translating into English, completing sentences with missing words, matching Indonesian words to English words and writing sentences in Indonesian. 

The grade 1/2 students are  learning about ‘Transportasi’ - ‘Transport’. They will be learning the Indonesian names for different modes of transport, matching Indonesian words to English words, writing basic sentences about a specific form of transport in Indonesian, singing songs and making a transport model.

           

The Prep students will be involved in a variety of activities relating to colours and numbers, such as, computer programs, singing songs and class reading of books. Big books with repetitive texts will be read where students will be able to participate in the story.

Bonbeach Primary Celebrates Education Week 2022

This year, Education Week runs from 22–28 May. The theme, ‘150 Years of Public Education’ commemorates the past, celebrates the present and imagines the future of education in Victoria.

Education Week is an opportunity for our primary school to highlight our education journey.

This year, Bonbeach Primary is 65 years old this year! Since we opened, we have changed considerably (especially the facilities!) but we have always remained an integral part of the community.

Bonbeach Primary will be celebrating this special event on Thursday 2^nd June by holding an Open Afternoon. This event will run from 3pm until 4.30pm and will be a chance for families to roam their children’s classrooms to see the wonderful work on display. All areas of the school will be open so be sure to wander through the brand new STEM buildings to see the history of BPS and also the Specialist classrooms where Visual Art, Indonesian, Performing Arts and Physical Education will be on display.

We look forward to seeing the Bonbeach Community in celebration of our wonderful little school that continues to embrace education to its fullest.

                                District Cross Country

Last week we had 38 students participate in the District Cross Country at Cornish College. The weather was surprisingly perfect for running conditions. Everyone turned up with the right attitude and gave it their all; showcasing some terrific results. Thank you also to Mrs McCallum, Ange Lang and all the parents and supporters of our students on the day!

Congratulations to the following 10 students who will now go onto represent Bonbeach at the Divisional Cross Country, which is to be held at Karkarook Reserve, Warrigal Rd, Heatherton on Tuesday 31^st May. Because of the small amount of students going through, there will be no bus transport to the event. Parents will have to arrange transport for their child.

                 U12/13-         Kailani. A     Griffin. D       Noah. H

                 U11-          Alice. V         Eleanor. J     Emily. P     Lucas. L

                  U9/10-          Alaine. B       Annika. L      Sam. C

Good luck and GO BONBEACH!!!

-Mr Mac.