Newsletter 8 – Week 8, Term 3, 2021 – Message from Admin Team, PP/Yr 1 Faction Athletics Carnival, Mr Scott’s Retirement, Yr 6 Cake Stall and Sausage Sizzle, MS Readathon, Book Club, Canteen, P&C Cookbook, Yrs 2-6 Faction Athletics Photos, Free Cricket Clinic, Father’s Day Stall, Community News

Message from the Executive Administration Team

Dear parents and caregivers

As we enter the final few weeks of term, there is much to reflect on. We celebrate the progress of our students towards their academic and social goals and the individual and team achievements on the sporting field and in the Arts.

Student Engagement: As mentioned last week, it is a busy term and we have started to see negative behaviours escalate in the playground and classroom. We follow a restorative justice approach at Wembley, with the emphasis always on giving students an opportunity to reflect on their behaviour, to make changes and return to being their best self and engage positively with their peers and teachers. On the school website you can find the Student Behaviour Policy here and the Students Agreements here. As you will see in the policy, after three student reflection sheets we will ask parents to attend a meeting, usually with the class teacher, to discuss the behaviour, understand context and ensure everyone is on board with helping the student make better choices at school.

If there is an incident in the playground or classroom of a more serious nature involving negative physical or verbal behaviour referred to the office, a member of Admin will call you to ensure you are informed. A small change to our process we are making is for each reflection sheet, originating from incidents in the playground or classroom, to come home on the day it is completed for signing by the parent or caregiver, to give you the opportunity to discuss the situation with your child. I thank you for your support in returning the sheet to school the next day, should your child bring one home. We will be rewarding behaviours that we wish to see with CARES awards to recognise all those students making a great effort to be their best self with an extra collective incentive for the best performing faction each week. The play zones and expectations for each year level are being made clear and visible reminders to walk on paths are in place. We have already seen a marked improvement in the past couple of days.

As a staff, we are focused on providing a positive learning environment for every child and by working together, I am certain we can assist students who are having difficulties return to being the best version of themselves quickly.

R U OK? Day: Don’t forget that this Thursday 9 September, we will be asking R U OK? and raising awareness of mental health by wearing yellow for the day. This year, the message behind R U OK? Day is ‘Are they REALLY OK?’

Teachers will be raising awareness of the importance of mental health in class through developmentally appropriate activities. We encourage families to check in with each other and make mental health and emotional wellbeing a priority conversation. Helping our young people understand that physical and mental health are equally important will set the foundations for life.

Teaching and Learning

Public Speaking: As parents and caregivers will be well aware, public speaking season is in full swing this week. While public speaking may fill some with dread, there are so many benefits for our students. It assists with developing oral language skills but a number of creative habits of learning are also focused on throughout the program. I am always blown away by the imaginative topics, creative presentation and entertaining expression that students bring to their speeches when I get to be a judge. Even when students find the task difficult, simply developing the courage to stand in front of their peers and speak is also a valuable outcome. I thank parents and caregivers for the time you put in outside of school to be an audience, help craft presentations and give feedback on expression and content. I’m sure you will all breathe a sigh of relief when public speaking is ticked off for another year but always remember that it is activities such as these that help develop our students into the confident and articulate young people of the future who are able to share important messages and advocate for passions close to their heart.

Community Engagement

PP-Year 1 Athletics Carnival: I look forward to seeing lots of parents, grandparents and family members on the school oval tomorrow morning for our junior athletics carnival. It’s looking beautiful and sunny, perfect conditions for a fun introduction to a carnival atmosphere with team games and some individual pursuits. The Kindy students who attend on this day will even participate in a short race at the start so they can see what a carnival is all about!

Jersey St Pedestrian Crossing: A community member recently made a proposal to the School Board to consider endorsing the Jersey St pedestrian and warden controlled crossing being moved from its current position near Ruislip St further up the road to the middle of the block, closer to Rutter Park or closer to the Kindy entrance. In order to better understand the needs of the community, I am gathering further data on how many families use this crossing, where they originate from and whether there is support for the option of relocating the crossing. The Town of Cambridge require this step to be completed before any further consideration is given to the proposal. Please complete the survey here.

Collaborate, Connect, Communicate.

Yours in learning

Executive Admin Team

Tamara, Alan, Rachel and Melinda