Dear Parents and Friends,
In the blink of an eye Week 6 is just around the corner and we are almost at the half way mark of Term 1. I am pleased to be able to report that the year has started smoothly and much of the ‘beginning school’ nerves from some of our new Reception students have turned into ‘happy’ faces and school routines are now a part of everyday life. The recent cool weather conditions have helped to make sure the building program is making good progress and even though the completion date has been moved to the 28th April, I am confident that the new facilities will be worth the wait and appreciated by everyone.
This week we celebrated Ash Wednesday as a school community with a whole school Mass and now we enter the season of Lent, a most significant time in the Catholic calendar. Each year Lent offers us the opportunity to contemplate the meaning and value of our Christian lives and Lent also provides us with a reason to focus on our spiritual renewal with a call to act and share what we have with those who have less. This week all students who were either involved in the Ash Wednesday Mass or Liturgy received the sign of a cross on their forehead marked from the ashes from last year’s Palm Sunday fronds. The children also received their Project Compassion boxes and 'Small change for big change' bottles to take home. This year's theme is 'Go Further Together' and we hope that families will give what they can to the Caritas Australia annual Lenten fundraising appeal. Last year we raised in excess of $3000. This year $450 can provide resources for one child with disabilities so they can attend school for a year in Vietnam. Our goal is to raise $3150 which would enable us to help 7 children receive an education. That is one child per year level.
This year's school Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 31st March at 7.00pm in the Multi-Purpose Room. I fully understand that AGMs are not everyone's 'cup of tea'; however, I encourage you to come along to this year's AGM. At the meeting we hope to be able to give parents a sneak preview of the new building with a guided tour of the new classrooms, Atrium, Music Room, and the Multi-Purpose Room.
Next week nomination forms for election on the School Board and the various sub committees of the Board will be sent home. If you would like to be involved at a governance level and have time, energy and passion, then I ask you to please consider serving as a member of the School Board. There will be three board positions becoming vacant at the end of this term. If you have an interest in:
Please give your consideration to serving as a board member.
Mad March is nearly upon us and with it so much to do as Adelaide comes alive. Big weekends, lots to do, see and experience can bring about some very late nights and this means children’s sleep patterns can be interrupted. I cringe when I hear children tell me they didn't get to bed until 1.30am. I know how difficult it is to function the next day if I don’t have a good night’s sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep often comes down to routines. It is important to avoid late-night technology use such as computers, mobile phones, and iPads etc. Recent studies have found that adolescents used multiple forms of technology late into the night, including gaming systems and as a result they have difficulty staying awake and alert throughout the day.
Any factor that decreases the quality or quantity of sleep will lead to difficulty with school performance and poor behaviour problems. When children stay up at night texting in bed or playing computer games, they are increasing their risk for neuro-cognitive problems. According to research, having a regular bedtime was the most consistent predictor of positive developmental outcomes in four year olds. In a sample of 8000 children, language, reading and maths scores were higher in children whose parents enforced regular bedtimes.
The number of night sleep hours required by children varies by age. In general, five-year olds should get 11 hours of sleep, nine year olds need 10 hours and 14 year olds require at least 9 hours.
Communication is a fact of life and the use of emails have become a valuable tool; however I ask parents to practice restraint in the number of emails and the timing of emails to teachers. Email may be a fast and convenient way for you to send messages, but this may not be the case for many of our teachers. Some teachers read their email messages in the morning before school, some read them at the end of the day, and some read them during the school day. Teaching is a demanding job and many teachers may not get to their emails until the end of a busy day. Some teachers prefer to use the phone to speak directly to parents.
For these reasons, please remember if you choose to send an email message to a member of staff, you may not get an immediate reply. In fact you may not receive an email reply at all, since the staff member will determine how best to contact you: by email, phone, or to schedule a personal interview. Some teachers are having to respond to over twenty emails a day from their parents which takes them away from other essential work such as marking and planning lessons. Sending off an email late at night can also be an intrusion and I ask you to consider an email curfew, a time when emails are no longer sent and can wait until morning.
Remember that email may be a quick way to send a message, but it is not necessarily the best way to get a quick reply. We will endeavor to reply to emails within 24 hours, however in some circumstances it may make take longer.
I remind parents that Friday 3rd April the day after Sports Day is a School Closure Day for students. All staff will be attending a professional development day at school. Whilst there will be a variety of PD focus areas on the day, the highlight will be the time we will spend with Sr Cynthia. Sr Cynthia is a Star of the Sea old scholar and a Sister of Mercy. She will be sharing with us her historical knowledge of the Sisters and their work in South Australia and Henley Beach. The Sisters of Mercy are celebrating 140 Years of their work in Australia. As always the opportunity to spend time with quality presenters ensures that out teachers are receiving quality professional learning that improves learning outcomes for children.
Out of Hours School Care will be available to families. Please contact OSHC to make a booking.
A reminder to parents that the Parents and Friends Committee are hosting an 'Open Night' on Monday 2nd March at 7.00pm in the Staff Room. Wine and cheese will be served. It would be great to see some new faces at the meeting. Feel free to bring a friend. We look forward to seeing you there.
Enjoy the weekend ahead.
Joe De Tullio