Mobile Phones
A reminder that our Mobile Phone Policy is still in place during our staggered start and finish times. All students who bring a mobile phone to school, must hand their phone in at the office on their arrival at school. All phones are named and securely stored in the security room during the day. If a child has a ‘Spacetalk’ watch, these are to be in School Mode during the day. If it comes to the attention of staff that a child’s watch may not be in School Mode, they will be asked to hand this in to the office.

Late arrivals
At the moment, with our staggered start times, attendance roles are being marked at 9:15am. If a student arrives at school after 9:15am, they are still required to sign in at the office. While we are not using the iPad to sign in, our office staff will enter their arrival directly into Compass. This is vital to ensure that your child’s attendance is recorded correctly, our records are accurate and prevent parents from receiving an absence text message.

Semester 1 reports
Semester 1 reports will be available to download through Compass from 4:00pm Friday 18^th June. Please be aware that due to our transition to remote learning in Term 2, the Department’s requirements for reporting have been modified and therefore, your child’s report will look a little different. Attached to this newsletter, is a letter explaining what to expect from Semester 1 reports this year. 

Parent teacher interviews
A reminder that Parent Teacher interviews are being held next week through Google Meet. You will receive an invite and link to the meeting from your child’s teacher to the email address we have on record at school. If you have booked in for an interview and have not received the invite by Monday morning, please contact your child’s teacher.

Water Bottles
The school has been providing bottles of water for students who have forgotten to bring a water bottle, however, it appears that some students are abusing the service as we have repeat ‘forgetters’ and the majority of these are senior students who really should be setting the example.

Please check over the weekend that your child does have a water bottle and remind them to bring it to school, as the waste can be easily avoided.

Enrolments 2021
A gentle reminder, if you have a Prep child starting next year, to please enrol them ASAP please. We are in the situation where we will probably have to cap the number of Prep enrolments for next year due to space restrictions and we already have a number of enrolments.

Bikes and scooters
It is fabulous to see so many students riding to school! Please remember that students (and parents!) are not to ride their bikes or scooters on the school grounds, particularly whilst there are so many students and parents are around. Please walk your scooter/ bike on the school grounds and make it safer for everyone.

Ventilation in classrooms
There have been some concerns about open windows and doors in classrooms on the colder days which is rather ironic in a way because we had concerns about the windows not being open enough 2 weeks ago.

In order to make the learning environments as safe as possible for our students and staff, we have been following the full health advice from the Chief Health Officer as directed by the DET

• Promote fresh air flow indoors and maximise use of outdoor learning areas or environments with enhanced ventilation where possible and as practical depending on weather conditions.

We are expecting an update from the DET next week that may override or change some of their earlier directives for next term. Until then we will continue to follow the recommendations.

Coldsmart
It is just as important for our students’ health to be coldsmart now as it is to be Sunsmart in Summer.

As we have been greeting students coming into school in the cold mornings, we are amazed at how many students are not wearing jumpers or jackets, nor are they carrying any in their bags.

As a father of boys, I know how difficult it is to get them to dress appropriately for the weather.

I found the only thing that worked without a major battle, was to compromise, let them wear what they wanted but insist they had something warm in their bag.

What content are children watching?

by Michael Grose

There’s a rising trend of children watching adult content. Sex scenes, violence and inappropriate language, once shown on television during an adults-only time, are becoming staple viewing for many of today’s children.

In a recent poll of 1,800 US parents, 40% admitted allowing their children to watch movies that are unsuitable for their age group. A recent discussion by this writer with parents suggests that the trends are similar in Australia. Very few of the parents I spoke with referred to the classification guidelines when choosing content for their children.

The increase in ‘adult-only’ animation is one factor that blurs the line of suitability for children. Adult-only genres such as Marvel movies and X Men franchise and television programs such as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead thanks to streaming now count children among their devotees. Computer games, so popular with many children and young people, also cross the line of acceptability in terms of behaviour and attitudes on display.

Can we become desensitised over time?
Viewing standards, like standards of acceptable behaviour, have subtly shifted over time. Sex scenes, physical violence or violent language is now a common part of adult content, which has a desensitising effect on parents. Desensitisation leads to acceptance and a higher level of exposure to children.

Does fitting in play a part?
Advertisers know that children’s pester power can play a significant role in the type of foods that go into the shopping trolley, which influences how food is packaged and promoted. Pester power plays a similar role in the choice of movies and television programs that we allow children to watch. “All the other kids have seen this movie?” is the type of comment from a child that hits a nerve for many parents, who rightfully want their child to fit in with their peers.

What are the risks?
There are many concerns about children being exposed to adult content in movies, television programs and the computer games. Here’s a summary:

Developmental risks

Exposure to content that requires complex adult interpretation can be deeply confusing and disturbing to children. They often have difficulty discerning reality from what they are viewing on television so that they can developed a warped world view. The impact may not be immediate, but will show itself increasingly over time when children’s attitudes towards sex, their peers or authority reflect the on-screen content they’ve been viewing.

Impact on attitudes and behaviour

Children are like sponges soaking up what they see and hear. Viewing parent-sanctioned programs that display disrespectful behaviour toward women, abuse of alcohol and drugs, and shows violence as normal have a powerful impact on the attitudes and behaviour of children. Viewed often enough, young minds can interpret these types of inappropriate behaviours as normal.

Impact on wellbeing

According to the Australian Council on Children and Media (ACCM) there is significant evidence that exposure by children to adult movies and programs leads to the development of exaggerated fears; causes loss of sleep and increases childhood anxiety. ACCM claims that “these fears are not insignificant and can be long lasting.”

What can you do?

There are a number of actions you can take to ensure the content that children consume is appropriate for their age level, including:

Follow classification guidelines

Become familiar with the Government classification guidelines for movies, television programs and games. Understand what they mean and develop the habit of checking the classification rating of each new piece of content that children will be watching or interacting with.

Find out

It’s easier than ever to find out for yourself the suitability of content for a child or young person. Research methods include vetting a television program yourself for suitability; searching online for views and opinions before allowing your child to watch a movie; reading reviews of online games to ascertain suitability.

Talk with other parents

It’s easy to feel isolated as a parent, which makes you more susceptible to children’s pester power. Just as children have a propensity to gang up on parents (“Everyone in my class is watching that movie”), parents can gain the strength that comes with numbers when they talk with each other (“I’ve just checked with some mums and no one is allowing their child to watch that movie”).

Many current community concerns about children such as the increase in anxiety levels, disrespectful relationships and a propensity towards aggression is mirrored in the content many children consume in movies, television and games. It would be folly to suggest that inappropriate content consumption is the root cause of these maladies, however winding back the viewing habits of children to reflect more closely their developmental levels would have a surprisingly positive impact.

Regards,

Ken and Lisa

Persistence   Confidence   Getting Along   Organisation   Resilience

Term 2

Fri 26/6    Last day of Term 2. Students dismissed at 2:30pm

Term 3
Thurs 16/7     Education Sub Committee Meeting 5:00pm
Wed 22/7     School Council Meeting 6pm
Thurs 6/8     House Athletics Day
Mon 10/8     Year 3/4 Swimming Lessons
Tues 11/8     Year 3/4 Swimming Lessons
Wed 12/8     Year 3/4 Swimming Lessons
Thurs 13/8     Education Sub Committee Meeting 5:00pm
Thurs 13/8     Year 3/4 Swimming Lessons
Fri 14/8     Year 3/4 Swimming Lessons
Mon 17/8     Year 3/4 Swimming Lessons
Tues 18/8     Year 3/4 Swimming Lessons
Wed 19/8     Year 3/4 Swimming Lessons
Wed 19/8     School Council Meeting 6pm
Fri 28/8     District Athletics
Mon 7/9     Prep Swimming Lessons
Tues 8/9     Prep Swimming Lessons
Wed 9/9     Prep Swimming Lessons
Thurs 10/9     Prep Swimming Lessons
Thurs 10/9     Education Sub Committee Meeting 5:00pm
Fri 11/9     Prep Swimming Lessons
Mon 14/9     Prep Swimming Lessons
Tues 15/9     Prep Swimming Lessons
Wed 16/9     Prep Swimming Lessons
Wed 16/9     School Council Meeting 6pm

Term 4
Thurs 15/10     Education Sub Committee Meeting 5:00pm
Wed 21/10     School Council Meeting 6pm
Mon 2/11     Curriculum Day –student free day
Thurs 12/11     Education Sub Committee Meeting 5:00pm
Wed 18/11     School Council Meeting 6pm
Wed 9/12     School Council Meeting 6pm

The Uniform Shop will be open on the 1^st Friday of each month from 8:50am-9:15am, for the purchase of second hand items.
All items are priced at $2.

Any donations of clean school uniform would be greatly appreciated and can be dropped off at the school office.

Also limited items available from the office:
Sports Shirt (Grade 4-6 only)   $39
Library Bag with logo (Royal)   $10
Reader Bag with logo (Navy)   $10
Swimming Caps with logo (One size fits all)   $8.50

All children are required to wear school uniform.  Children must be in school uniform when representing the school on excursions, sporting events etc.
Swimming caps must be worn when participating in the school Swimming program.

School Uniform
School Uniform Policy


Thank you
Monique and Mandy