DISTRICT SWIMMING, LAWN BOWLS AND RUGBY

We must thank the committed staff who work so hard to provide a positive and enjoyable experience for our sports stars! We have just had the women’s rugby team working with our students to discover new talents. We also had our school swim team attend the District Swimming Carnival.  A special congratulations to the District Swimming Team who were the runners up this year…. Go McKinnon! Thank you to Mr Hislop for the training provided to our keen swimmers in preparation for the carnival, please see the sports report for more details of student results. Additionally, our lawn bowls team were runners up at the divisional final last week!

LABOUR DAY HOLIDAY

A reminder of the upcoming Labour Day holiday. Being a public holiday, the school will not be open on Monday 14th March. We hope you enjoy these days with your family.

BUNNINGS BBQ SET FOR SUNDAY 20th MARCH – COME ALONG AND SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL

We are lucky enough to have secured a Bunnings (Moorabbin -near South Rd, on Warrigal Rd) BBQ on Sunday 20th March. It would be great if you and your family could come along and support our school on the day by buying a sausage or just saying hello to the volunteers. We are even offering our community the chance to complete a special sausage order on Qkr if they would like a different sausage other than beef. This is only for our school and they will be ready for pickup between 11am – 2pm, unfortunately there will be no refund if you are unable to make it. Otherwise just come along and get a beef sausage at any time.

Also, we have a prize for the year level who get the most visits to the Bunnings BBQ, so come along and cast your vote.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

Tuesday 8th March was International Women’s Day and this week students and teachers engaged with learning activities both in the classroom and library. The week is another opportunity to highlight and discuss issues around gender equity and also celebrate our wonderful female role models. Our fantastic library rich catalogue of picture books, fiction, biographies and non-fiction text all help teachers and students connect and explore this important discussion.

BEING ON TIME MAKES A DIFFERENCE TO YOUR CHILD

We are noticing that the number of students arriving after 9:00am is increasing. Being late causes anxiety for both children and parents. Students find it hard when the class has already started when they arrive, so please plan out your morning so you can make it between 8:45am and 9:00am.

INSIGHTS PERMISSION ON COMPASS AND CLASS REPRESENTATIVES

All families in the school are required to complete three Insights on Compass. These Insight (permissions) are valid for the whole year. Please note at any time you are able to modify this status and remove or add any permission. The Insights permissions cover media and photography, class lists contact details and local/walking excursions. The class list is especially important for your parent class representative as we cannot give your details out to the class representative unless you have ticked the box on the Insight permission on Compass.

Thank you to the parents who have volunteered their time to be the Parent Class Representative. The class teachers are currently confirming their class representative and we are hoping to be able to distribute the class contact lists by the end of next week. Thank you to everyone who has already completed the Insight permissions.

PARENT CLUB AGM WEDNESDAY 16th MARCH@9:5AM

Parent Club AGM is planned for this coming Wednesday at 9:15am. At this meeting we will elect the office bearers, please see the Compass post on 4th March for more information and nomination forms.

2022 SCHOOL COUNCIL

It gives me great pleasure to announce the nominations and results for School Council membership.

Due to receiving the same number of nominations as positions we will not need to vote this year.

Congratulations to our returning parent representatives, Louise Schirmer, Rebecca Newboult and a warm welcome to our new parent members Roxy Chen, Jasma Sutaria and Sukant Gupta.

The community representative is still to be finalised and will be decided at the Parent Club AGM next Wednesday 16th March at 9:15am.

Finally congratulations also to David Zuker and Cameron Azer who are the DET representatives.

Our first council meeting of the new council will be on Monday 28th March at 6pm in the staffroom.

STUDENT SAFETY AROUND OUR SCHOOL – BIKES AND SCOOTERS

We highly encourage children to walk/ride/scoot or be active on their way to school.  However, we are reminding all students to take extra care when riding their bikes or scooters near other children in the streets around our school. Please encourage your child to ride very slowly or dismount when near other children who may be knocked over easily. Thank you so much for your support with this to ensure everyone’s safety.

SPEAKING WITH YOUR CHILD ABOUT DIFFICULT TOPICS

We have had a few parents seeking some advice on how to respond to children asking about the conflicts they are seeing or hearing about on the news. Please see below some suggestions to parents from Save the Children that may be supportive to you. 

How and When to Talk About War and Conflict with Kids, According to Experts

  1. Make time and listen when your child wants to talk
    Give children the space to tell you what they know, how they feel, and to ask you questions. They may have formed a completely different picture of the situation than you have. Take the time to listen to what they think and what they have seen or heard.
  2. Tailor the conversation to the child
    Be mindful of the child’s age as you approach the conversation with them. Young children may not understand what conflict or war means and require an age-appropriate explanation. Be careful not to over-explain the situation or go into too much detail as this can make children unnecessarily anxious. Younger children may be satisfied just by understanding that sometimes countries fight. Older children are more likely to understand what war means but may still benefit from talking with you about the situation. In fact, older children will often be more concerned by talk of war because they tend to understand the dangers better than younger children do.
  3. Validate their feelings
    It is important that children feel supported in the conversation. They should not feel judged or have their concerns dismissed. When children have the chance to have an open and honest conversation about things upsetting them, it can create a sense of relief and safety.
  4. Reassure them that adults all over the world are working hard to resolve this
    Remind children that this is not their problem to solve. They should not feel guilty about playing, seeing their friends and doing the things that make them happy. Stay calm when you approach the conversation. Children often copy the sentiments of their caregivers—if you are uneasy about the situation, chances are your child will be uneasy as well.
  5. Give them a practical way to help
    Support children who want to help. Children who have the opportunity to help those affected by the conflict can feel like they are part of the solution. Children can create drawings calling for peace or can send letters to local decision-makers.

Hope you all enjoy the long weekend,

Simone, Suzanne and David

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