Asides

Term 2, Week 6

Entertainment Book

Please follow the link below to order the latest Entertainment Book:

Entertainment Book – ‘Renew & Support Us’

Arts & Academic Festival

With the current restrictions in place, we have decided to postpone this year’s Arts & Academic Festival, usually held in the last week of Term 2. New dates (and possibly new format) are currently being looked at. We understand how important this event is for our children and are therefore currently considering several options. Stay tuned!

Uniform

As we enter the “cooler & wetter” season, we encourage our Upper Years students to wear their red jumpers (or SSS jackets on PE days) and our Early Years students to wear their SSS jackets. Please note that if students choose to wear a scarf , it should be the school one (available from the Uniform Shop). Thank you for your understanding.

Primary Interhouse Cross Country (Year 2 – 6)

We will be running a modified Interhouse Cross Country on Friday 26 June (Week 9) for all students in Year 2 – 6.

Due to the restrictions currently in place, this year’s Interhouse Cross Country has been modified, in order for our students to still have the opportunity to participate.

  • The course will be contained within the school boundaries and students will run on the secondary oval.
    Although the course will look very different to previous years, distances will still be the same for each year group. (Year 2: 750m, Year 3: 1.5km, Year 4: 2km, Year 5 & 6: 2.5km)
  • There will not be a ‘carnival’ style event – year groups will participate at allocated times throughout the day. A gathering of students to spectate and support will not be possible this year.
  • Sadly, parents/guardians will not be able to spectate this year.
    While it may be possible to witness races from the car park or verge, we are unable to endorse this behaviour, as it would be a violation of government restrictions placed on schools at the moment. We appreciate your support in this matter.

The NIPSSA Interschool Cross Country event will not be taking place this year, however we are hopeful that perhaps the Champion Schools State Cross Country event may still take place on Thursday 30 July, for students who achieve highly at our Interhouse Cross Country.

We thank you for your support and look forward to seeing your child participate in this year’s Interhouse Cross Country!

 

‘A’ is for Authenticity

Being a model of emotional health is powerful parenting. Emotional honesty, not perfection, is what children truly need from parents. We have to model honesty for our children and let them know that it is OK to feel all of their emotions.

Fairy-tale endings are not always the way to go…. Danes believe that tragedies and upsetting events are things we should talk about too. It is important to examine all parts of life. It is more authentic and creates empathy and a deeper respect for humanity.

Being exposed to peaks and valleys of life encourages empathy, resilience, and feelings of meaningfulness and gratitude for our own lives. Here are some pieces of advice found in the book in relation to Authenticity:

  • Use process The most meaningful and useful praise is based on quality, not quantity. Keep the praise focused on the process or effort rather than on innate abilities.
  • Answer with honesty. By not being authentic, you undermine your child’s ability to sense what is true and false.
  • Use examples from your own childhood. This lets them know that their situation is normal even if they are scared, happy or sad.
  • Teach honesty. Talk about how important honesty is in your family, make it a value. Teach your kids to be courageous enough to be honest and vulnerable and confess when necessary.
  • Read stories that encompass all emotions, not only happy endings. Children learn a lot from sadness and tragedy, being age appropriate of course!
  • Focus on effort – and keep it genuine. By focusing on the effort involved in learning, we create a growth mindset. This mindset is helpful in all aspects of life.
  • Don’t use praise as a default response. Don’t overuse praise, it can teach your child that he is only praiseworthy when he completes a task quickly, easily and perfectly and that does not help him embrace challenges.
  • Teach children not to compare themselves with others. Not everyone can be the best at everything, but you can be the best for yourself, this fosters well-being.

When reading the chapter on Authenticity, what resonated the most with me was how to praise children, focusing more on the effort and the process. I have found myself many a times over praising my daughter, when she was younger, on the end product rather than praising her on the effort she had put it throughout the process. I guess parenting never ends !

A reminder to all Primary parents

Please remember our request that, in the current environment, parents are not to enter any building on campus and this includes the Library. We appreciate your attention to this matter and, as soon as there are further easing of restrictions, we will reconsider our position.