Supporting Your Child While Seeking the Full Picture

As parents, our natural instinct is to protect and advocate for our children. When a child comes home upset about an incident at school, it is important that they feel heard, supported and validated. Listening carefully to their concerns helps build trust and lets them know that their feelings matter.

At the same time, it is equally important to remember that children often recount events from their own perspective. Their version of events may be influenced by strong emotions, misunderstandings, incomplete information, or a desire to present the situation in a particular light. This is not necessarily intentional; it is simply part of how children process and communicate experiences.

For this reason, we encourage parents to seek additional information before drawing conclusions or responding to a situation. Speaking directly with your child's teacher is often the best first step. Teachers are committed to the wellbeing of all students and can provide valuable context, as they will be aware of the whole incident including details that may not be apparent to your child at the time.

It is important to remember that schools have a responsibility to protect the privacy, dignity and wellbeing of all students. As a result, teachers and school leaders are often unable to share details about other children involved in an incident, the consequences that may have been applied, or conversations that have taken place with other families. While this can sometimes leave parents feeling that they have only received part of the story, these confidentiality requirements are in place to ensure that every child's rights are respected.

When concerns arise, approaching conversations with curiosity and a willingness to understand all perspectives helps ensure positive outcomes for everyone involved. In many cases, a brief conversation can quickly clarify misunderstandings and strengthen the partnership between home and school.

Unfortunately, when assumptions are made before all information is gathered, situations can escalate unnecessarily. Demanding, aggressive or abusive communication can be distressing for staff and may hinder the collaborative problem-solving process that best supports students. Our teachers work diligently to care for, educate and support children every day, and they deserve to be treated with the same respect that we expect our students to show others.

Strong partnerships between families and schools are built on trust, respectful communication and a shared commitment to supporting children. By listening to our children, seeking clarification when needed, and working together to understand the full picture, we create the best possible environment for every child to learn, grow and succeed.

Helpful Resources for Parents

The following resources provide practical advice on communicating effectively with children and working collaboratively with schools:

Raising Children Network
Australia's trusted parenting website offers evidence-based information on communication, school relationships and supporting children's wellbeing.

Raising Children Network

AllPlay Learn – Parent Guide to Parent-Teacher Communication
This guide provides practical tips for preparing for conversations with teachers, asking questions, sharing concerns calmly and working together to support your child.

Parent Guide to Parent-Teacher Communication

Parentline – Communication Tips for Parents
Helpful advice on active listening, understanding different communication styles and having constructive conversations with children.

Parentline Communication Tips for Parents

Questions to Consider Before Contacting the School

When your child shares a concern, it can be helpful to ask:

• What happened before the incident?
• Who else was involved?
• What did you do or say?
• How do you think the other people involved may have experienced the situation?
• What outcome are you hoping for?

These questions encourage children to reflect on the full context of an event and can help families gain a more complete understanding before seeking further information from the school.

regards

Ken & Jayne

At Bonbeach Primary, the safety and wellbeing of all students is our highest priority. We would like to remind parents and carers that during school hours, and while on school grounds, you are not permitted to approach, discipline, reprimand, or intervene with children other than your own.

We understand that from time to time, parents may witness behaviour that causes concern. While these situations can be upsetting, it is important that any concerns regarding student conduct are referred to school staff rather than addressed directly with a child.

Leadership, teachers and duty staff are responsible for managing student behaviour and resolving conflicts in a way that is fair, consistent, and in line with school policies and Child Safe requirements. Approaching or disciplining another child can escalate situations, cause distress, and may compromise the school's ability to investigate and respond appropriately.

If you are concerned about the behaviour or actions of a student, please speak with the classroom teacher or a staff member on duty. They will ensure the matter is addressed promptly and appropriately.

Thank you for your support in helping us maintain a safe, respectful, and positive environment for all members of our school community.

For further information refer to:

Yard Duty and Supervision Policy

Bullying Prevention Policy

Child Safe and Wellbeing Policy

Dear Parents/Carers,

Within our school community there are students who shine brightly, displaying exemplary dedication and academic talent. They deserve to be recognised and this year we are again giving them the opportunity to showcase and celebrate their talents in the world-renowned ICAS competition.

What is ICAS?

ICAS is an online academic competition that gives students the opportunity to challenge

their higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee, and Digital Technologies.

ICAS results are in-depth and meaningful, and ICAS evaluates student performance against other competition entrants across the state and nation. The data reveals student strengths and weaknesses and can help you recognise and support your child's academic journey.

Learn more about ICAS here: (icasassessments.com/products-icas/).

ICAS results and certificate

Every student who participates is celebrated and recognised with a printed certificate in each subject area, and an online results report to track development each year. Top performers are eligible for one of the highly coveted ICAS medals.

How to participate in ICAS

This year, Bonbeach Primary School is offering ICAS assessments for students in years 3-6 in the subjects of Writing, English, Spelling Bee and Mathematics. If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please go to the Parent Portal to register for your chosen subjects.

You can do this in one of two ways:

1. Direct login link – faster!

Use this link to log directly into the shop and start registering:

https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/parent-payment/MKE427

2. Log in using the PPS code

Visit our shop and use our PPS code to log in:

Shop link: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps

PPS code: MKE427

Registration for all subject areas closes on Monday 27 July 2026. LATE ENTRIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

The 2026 ICAS Assessments will be held in Term 3 at Bonbeach Primary School for the following assessments:

IMPORTANT: The Grade 3/4 students will have swimming lessons during the testing period for the English and Spelling assessments. We will try our best to accommodate this, but it may not be possible for all students.

Please note, we cannot facilitate refunds or make alterations as all money is paid directly to ICAS Assessments.

Read the terms and conditions here: (https://www.icasassessments.com/icasa-terms-and-conditions/#icas-parents).

Privacy collection statement

The following information is a privacy notification about how your child’s data is kept private and secure.

ICAS Assessment is owned by Janison Solutions Pty Ltd (We, Us, Our).

 To deliver assessment products, Janison will require your child’s School to obtain your consent to provide Janison with certain personal information of students. Janison will collect, store, use, disclose and otherwise deal with such personal information in accordance with its privacy policy (below). We are aware of our responsibility to protect personal information related to children and students from being disclosed when we deliver an ICAS Assessments product. Unless you, as the child’s legal guardian consents, we will not:

• collect any personal information or data of children other than the information we need for the successful completion of an assessment, test, or
• transfer any personal information we obtain from a child in the delivery of assessments and tests to any jurisdiction outside of
• share any personal information relating to children with any third parties (except for those third parties necessary for us to carry out our Services or provide our Products e.g., medal engraving).
• use any personal information or data relating to children for marketing

 You can view our full privacy policy at https://www.janison.com/privacy-policy/.

We may retain personal information and data relevant to a child for their future purposes or for research purposes by Janison for the duration of the school life cycle of the child. However, if you or your child at any time wish to have their personal information or data removed from our systems, they or you may opt out by simply contacting our Privacy Officer at privacy@janison.com or by contacting icasassessments@janison.com.

We are proud to be offering ICAS to our students this year and encourage you to consider entering your child. Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have any questions.

Kind regards,

Jacqui Turner (ICAS Coordinator)