‘Evolving into the best version of yourself is a moving target, not a onetime task. It is a lifetime quest.’ David Goggins
Parents and Guardians,
Faction Shirt Friday
Student Leaders have decided that Fridays will now be Faction Shirt Fridays, so shirts can be worn at Faction Assemblies. Students will now wear normal uniform on Wednesdays. One of the key focus areas this year is student leadership, voice, and agency. Part of this has been to engage the students in being active participants in establishing and maintaining a positive culture.
Empowering the students has led to the introduction of Faction Assemblies on every second Friday. These assemblies are run by the Year 6 leaders and include the following.
- A value
- Key messages
- Faction songs and chants
Going forward, Factions will be more than just about sport. They will encompass connection among their peers and be able to acquire points for their faction through a variety of activities. For example, Talent Quests and Chess, Art, Debating and Speaking Events. These will be developed and led by the student leaders.
Student Leadership
Thank you for everyone who has completed the survey. We have had 50 families respond. I encourage everyone who has not completed the survey to please do so. The survey closes on Thursday 24 August.
School Development Day – Friday 18 August
The staff had a very productive day last week. The focus was on professional learning in restorative practice principles and reviewing the school processes to establish a clear focus going forward.
Key learnings taken away from the day were:
Restorative practice is establishing and maintaining a positive learning environment across the school.
- Understanding culture as a collective noun for behaviours
- It is about the process and not the outcomes (evidence-based practices)
- 70 – 80% effectiveness is a win
- Do education with the students, not to them
- Whole school approach – authoritative not authoritarian fair processes build trust and commitment
- The restorative process can be the harder process – not all unicorns and rainbows
Neo-Cortex
Restorative Practice
Where relationships have been damaged, because of negative behaviour, students will be guided through a restorative process to repair those relationships. This is done when all parties are calm. We need to have an environment that supports students not to be ‘in the reptilian brain’.
What does this mean for our school?
We are committed to ongoing training for staff and informing our community. We are developing a learning environment where children at taught and modelled inclusive behaviour where effort and contribution are the focus. Just as important to this is ensuring that there are clear guidelines for students.
Below is the expectations matrix that we have developed.
Restorative Practice doesn’t mean no consequences.
PPF
The PPF stands for Past, Present, and Future/Fix. Any numbers following each of the initials represent how many minutes those involved spend talking on each section. This can vary on the situation. The Past section helps establish what’s happened while the Present section invites the students to share how they are feeling right now and the last section Future/Fix concentrates on collaborative problem solving to restore the relationship, involving a consequence where appropriate.
Here is an anonymised real example:
| P3 “X pushed me during our game” “Y had said something mean to me in front of everyone, so I pushed them” |
| P3 X “What Y said really made me feel mad and sad” Y “When X pushed me, I was shocked and mad” X “I feel a bit sorry for getting mad and pushing Y” Y “I feel a bit sorry as well for saying a mean thing” |
| F3 X “We could say sorry to each other” Y “We could be kinder to each other as well” X “As a consequence, I will say sorry for pushing X in front of everyone and play on their team next time” Y ”As a consequence, I will make sure I say at least two nice, true things about X in front of everyone” |
Points to Note
Congratulations to:
Noah B – For his achievements at the State Karate Championships. Noah won medals in both the Kumite and Kata disciplines. He came second in Kumite and third in Kata.
Billie M – Billie won the State Schools Cross Country State Championships
Book Week Assembly this Friday
Athletics Carnivals
This term is an exciting term for the students. Please look out for messages from Kate Scott and Jenny Carruthers, who will provide comprehensive information on how the carnivals will run this year.
Orchestra Assembly – 1 September
Year 6 Fair – Tuesday 12 September
Interschool Athletics – 13 September
School Open Night – 14 September
Kind Regards
Simon Reid
Relieving Principal