Welcome back to Term 3.  I hope everyone enjoyed the break despite the wet, cold and windy weather.  It is great to see students back with smiles on faces and ready to learn.  Below are some pictures of the first week back. 

COVID update

We’re so happy to have students back at school, however, we have some housekeeping to ensure that we are continuing to look out for one another. The health and safety of our students is our top priority so we are continuing to work with Public Health to ensure schools remain a safe place for all.

• As we have seen, COVID-19 case numbers can change rapidly. We will all need to remain flexible as some elements of our COVID-safe plan may change throughout the term.
• Due to an increase in COVID -19 cases, we recommend that visitors wear face masks when indoors and continue to practice social distancing. It is not mandatory for staff to wear face masks, however, you will notice that many are doing so indoors.
• Primary School students are not required to wear masks, however, they will be supported to do so if they choose.
• Face masks and Rapid Antigen Tests will continue to be readily available for all students and staff at our school. Please contact the office if you require them.

When your child is well, the best place for them to be is at school, learning with their friends and teachers.  The DoE’s new television commercial shows the benefits of attending school regularly. Going to school supports academic success. It also helps build important social skills, relationships and confidence.

Values

This term our focus value is To Believe – accepting challenges and embracing opportunities.  During class time and in the playground we will be discussing what this means and reinforcing students who are enacting the value.  In POD team meetings, students demonstrating the value will be acknowledged with a merit certificate.

In classrooms you may hear teachers using the term growth mindset as a way to promote this value.  This term describes how we face challenges and setbacks. Students with a growth mindset believe their abilities can improve over time with effort and having a go. By contrast, students with a fixed mindset think their abilities are set and they can’t change, no matter how hard they try.

Some examples how we can encourage students to have a growth mindset:

1. Emphasising that everyone can improve at anything with hard work, persistence and lots and lots of practice.
2. Acknowledging students when they demonstrate a growth mindset.
3. Giving feedback (praise) on the process rather than the product. For example, “I’m impressed at how hard you worked to complete that story. I know you had trouble getting started, but you did the right thing to ask for help with ideas and then you persisted to get it finished”. Rather than saying “that is a great story”.
4. Viewing mistakes as opportunities to learn as we often learn the most from them. By letting students know that mistakes are a big part of the learning process they are more inclined to have a go and try.