Hello friends
We are officially into the second half of Term One with four full weeks of school remaining and plenty of activities to look forward to.
I hope you have had an opportunity to travel into our city at the moment which is proving to be a vibrant space with music festivals, The Fringe and so many things to see and do.
Pupil Free Day
On Friday, 8 March teachers worked with Lisa Birman in the area of spelling. Staff explored spelling strategies that can be used in the classroom and the pedagogy behind them. We also examined all spellers need to develop spelling in different purposes of writing. Teachers worked with Lisa and examined the strategies and skills that good spellers have and.
We are striving for all children at our school to:
AGM
I remind every one of the Annual General Meeting for Star of the Sea School takes place at 7 pm on 2 April. Our guest speaker for the evening will be Lisa Burman who will share with us spelling strategies and pedagogies that parents can support children with at home. Staff enjoyed a fantastic professional development day with Lisa on 8 March and Lisa will be sharing some of the information that staff witnessed with parents at the AGM. The evening begins at 7 pm in the Multipurpose Room and a crèche will be available from 6:45 pm.
Cyber Safety
I ask parents to continue to be vigilant and diligent in the area of cyber safety. I recently read an article that describes the internet as the worst street in the worst neighbourhood. The article went on to ask if we as parents would leave our children alone on the worst street in the worst neighbourhood. Do we leave our children unsupervised while using the Internet and if so, what risk does this pose? There has been a lot of information in the media recently about characters that 'pop up' during YouTube videos, seeking to scare children and essentially access personal data. I encourage all members of our school community to monitor the activity of our children whilst they are using the Internet and interacting with cyberspace including gaming consoles. I encourage parents to use the following link to access the e-Commissioner for cyber safety. www.esafety.gov.au
Building Project
The building project continues with momentum and we are still hopeful of a ‘Breaking Ground’ date of the end at the Term One. We are currently planning for restricted play spaces during the build project and I remind parents that during the entire building process the hard courts area will be out of bounds due to building site offices and builders’ car parking. As I wrote in previous newsletters interruption to classes and regular timetables will be kept to a minimum where we possibly can and major disruptions to classes will be scheduled for term breaks.
Sports day lunches and orders from the Canteen
I remind parents that those people who wish to order a meal deal from the canteen for sports day need to have their orders in by Monday 18 March 2019. These orders can be placed using QKR and as always, I remind parents that you will need to make sure that your order has been submitted and you have a receipt for your meal deal so there is no disappointment on sports day. These meal deals represent great value and contain a wrap or a roll, snack and a drink.
If anything is worth doing, do it with all your heart. Buddha
Thanks and Blessings
Matt