Hot Dog Day

Congratulations and a big thank you to the Parents and Friends Committee on a very successful Hot Dog Day. There were some very busy volunteers in the school’s kitchens yesterday preparing all the hot dogs. The staff and students who ordered hot dogs yesterday enjoyed them immensely.  (especially Mr Cook, who ordered 4!)

House Athletics Day

Mr Mac must have friends in high places to organise such brilliant weather for the athletic sports day.

The students were having a lot of fun and took the events very seriously. Thank you to the parents who came to support their children and cheer them on. A great day for everyone!

Thanks to Mr Mac for the organisation and thank you to his secondary school student helpers.




    

Policy Updates

The Education Committee and School Council have recently updated Bonbeach Primary’s Anaphylaxis, Homework and Dogs (Teaching with Animals) policies. These policies can be viewed on the school website: Policies

The new Dogs (Teaching with Animals) policy has replaced the previous Dogs at School Policy and there has been a number of changes in regards to dogs within the school grounds.

We have ordered new signs for the school gates that welcome dogs on a leash and owners are asked to be responsible and ensure they clean up after their pets.



We are privileged to have our very own Therapy Dog, Bodhi, who is a regular presence in all classrooms. Bodhi and his handler, Mrs Middleton have participated in training with Therapy Animals Australia and is a valued and calming presence throughout the school with his gentle nature.

Providing students with the opportunity to interact with a Therapy Dog:

• reduced stress and anxiety, including decreased learner anxiety behaviours
• improved physical and emotional wellbeing
• improved self-esteem, empathy and interpersonal skills
• improved relationship building and ability to pick up on social cues
• improved attendance (for disengaged students or students at risk of disengaging).

Our Words Matter                Dr Justin Coulter

For close to 200 years, children have sung in the schoolyard: “Sticks and stones may break my bones But words shall never hurt me.” We all know that’s not true. However, it’s not just cruel words that have the capacity to hurt. Sometimes as parents, we surprisingly hurt our children in the way we offer praise or correction. Here’s what I mean: A few months ago, I read The Absorbent Mind by Maria Montessori. While I didn’t agree with all of it, and there were some ideas that wouldn’t fly today, there were plenty of enlightening moments. One thing that stood out was the idea of not correcting children. Yes, you read that right: not correcting children. Montessori recognises that this makes no sense. “How can we improve the children’s work if we do not correct the errors?” she imagines us asking. She goes on to explain that when teachers remove themselves from the role of hovering over children to point out their errors, the child is empowered to grow by correcting their own errors. For example, when a child is learning to walk, they don’t need us to point out every time that they fall. They are already inclined to move towards progressive improvement, without us pointing out everything they are doing wrong. It is easy to step back and ignore errors at an early age. It is much harder to hold back from offering correction as our children grow. However, our corrections, no matter how gentle, can have unintended consequences. We might think that we need to correct our kids when they write their name all in capital letters, hold up 3 fingers instead of 4 when telling us their age, or when they colour a tree blue. But what would happen if we didn’t? Wouldn’t it be possible that they would learn for themselves given time? Mightn’t they learn to identify errors on their own? ISSUE 3 | TERM 3 | 2023 Our words matter AUTHOR Dr Justin Coulson Dr Justin Coulson is a dad to 6 daughters. He is the parenting expert and co-host of Channel Nine’s Parental Guidance, and he and his wife host Australia’s #1 podcast for parents and family: The Happy Families Podcast. He has written 9 books about families and parenting. For further details visit happyfamilies.com.au. Is it possible that they would also be able to retain their creativity, and find joy in pushing boundaries and experimenting with new things? I am certain that we can answer yes to all of the above. And decades of psychological research tells us that the answer is yes. My new book, The Parenting Revolution, explores all of that research and helps us understand why this matters. Nevertheless, it is not only words of correction that can hamper a child’s creative process. Words of praise can have a similar effect. When we praise our children’s accomplishments, we may stifle their desires to work towards improvement. After all, if we’re already happy with the tree they drew, why would they keep trying? They may become less likely to take risks and extend themselves, for fear of losing our approbation. Similarly, if the praise we offer is superficial, such as by simply saying “good job”, or “well done”, or even “what a clever kid you are!”, our children don’t feel seen. Their efforts go unnoticed, and we lose out on helping them appreciate the growth that happened in the learning and creating process. We sometimes create praise junkies, unwilling to try anything without our approval. In some cases, they infer that they must not be good at something. If they were, we wouldn’t feel a ‘need’ to praise them! So what are we to do? No correction, no praise? What on earth are we meant to say next time our children show us their drawings? Try this: • Narration. Talk through what you see, without judgement, noticing the little details. “I see that you drew a big happy face on the sun in this picture.” • Ask for their opinion. Intrinsic motivation is far more powerful than extrinsic motivation, and we help them get to their intrinsic motivation by prioritising their opinion over ours. “There’s a lot of different colours in this painting, can you tell me why you chose all those colours?” • Express gratitude. A sincere thank you never fails. “You drew this for me? Thank you!” • Say what you see. Describe the emotions you see in your child as a result of what they have done. “You look really happy with the drawing you did.” Much like sticks and stones, words can be powerful. Through them, we can help our children develop a love of learning, a willingness to experiment, and foster their creativity. Our words matter.

regards

Ken & Jayne

The 2023 Swimming program for students in prep and grade 3/4 will be held at Mentone Girls Grammar Aquatic Centre at 17 Mentone Parade, Mentone on Monday 7^th  Aug, Tuesday 8^th Aug, Wednesday 9^th Aug, Thursday 10^th Aug, Monday 14^th Aug, Tuesday 15^th Aug, Wednesday 16^th Aug and Thursday 17^th Aug (Week 5 and 6 of term).

FIRST BUS departs school at 9am with PKM (Mrs Murray). Children will be in the pool from 9:45am until 10:15am and return to school at approximately 11am.

THE SECOND BUS departs school at 9:25am with PET (Ms Trewewen). Children will be in the pool from 10:15am until 10:45am and return to school at approximately 11:30am.

THE THIRD BUS departs school at 9:55am with PJC (Mrs Clark). Children will be in the pool from 10:45am until 11:15am and return to school at approximately 12pm.  

THE FOURTH BUS departs school at 10:30am with MBJ (Mr Jasiewicz). Children will be in the pool from 11.15am until 11:45am and return to school at approximately 12:30pm. 

THE FIFTH BUS departs at school at 11:15am with MMG (Ms Goray). Children will be in the pool from 12pm until 12:30pm and return to school at approximately 1:15pm.

THE SIXTH BUS departs at school at 11:50am with MAC (Mr Coutts). Children will be in the pool from 12:30pm until 1:00pm and return to school at approximately 1:40pm.

THE SEVETH BUS departs at school at 12:20pm with MEI (Mrs Ivy). Children will be in the pool from 1pm until 1:30pm and return to school at approximately 2:15pm. 

Parent helpers at the pool are welcome. All parent helpers must have a valid Working with Children’s Check and have completed the Bonbeach Primary School ‘Volunteer Worker OHS and Child Safe Induction handbook.’ If you are interested as attending as a parent helper, please contact your child’s teacher or the office. 

***Helpers may be required in prep to help in change rooms. Helpers in grade 3/4 may be required for ratio on buses*** 

Students should bring their normal lunch and drinks, but teachers may advise them to eat at different times according to their swimming timetable.

PLEASE REMEMBER:

• Name everything with a permanent marker (especially goggles).
• Swimming cap. Swimming caps have been included in the cost for this program. The pool currently has them and will be given out during the first lesson. Caps will be named. (Caps are compulsory for lessons).
• Plastic bags for wet clothing.
• Sandals/thongs to wear to the pool, put in school bag with towel. They will put them on at school before they go to the pool.
• Bathers should be worn to school to make changing at the pool easier. Don’t forget to put in underwear for coming back to school.
• Pack a little extra food, as they will be hungry after swimming.
• Allow for extra sleep time, as they will be more tired than usual.
• Please show your child the towel you are packing so they will know which is theirs.

       -Any other questions please email Mr Mac.  corey.mccormack@education.vic.gov.au

Connor H (JBT) received the 'Junior Triple Zero Award' last week, in recognition of his courage and bravery during a phone call to 000 in June 2022, when he was only 6 years old. Connor called Triple Zero when his mother, Lyndall, was choking on dinner. Connor was nominated for the Award by Sam, the call taker at Triple Zero.  The awards ceremony was held at the MCG on 26 July 2023, and Connor was one of 24 'Junior Triple Zero Heroes' to receive an award.  Connor was also interviewed by Channel 9 News and will take part in an ESTA 000 Podcast, detailing his story, later in the year.  Congratulations Connor, on your award!

Dear parents and guardians, 

With book week approaching us, we are looking forward to celebrating and continuing to grow a love for reading. Book week will be celebrated in week 7 (21^st of August - 25^th of August). The parade will be held on Monday morning of Week 7 (Monday 21^st of August) at 9:15am. We are hoping to hold the parade on the basketball and netball courts, depending on weather. Students will also be exploring book week activities during Visual Art that week. 

We are looking forward to seeing your favourite books character come to life!

Millie Goray – 3/4 Teaching Team