Deputy Principal Pen
Deputy Principal Pen
The last fortnight was very busy with many enjoyable experiences! As I mentioned in the last newsletter, I was invited to attend a visit to Parliament House with Lara, Louis and Heidi. It was a wonderful experience with the highlight being the library (also referred to as the Harry Potter room) with old books lining the walls from floor to ceiling!
I also had the opportunity to attend Music Fanfare at Everton Park State High School and watch our Senior String Ensemble perform three songs lead by Mrs Harle. The students were a credit to our school and were recognised with a Gold Award by the adjudicator.
It was also exciting to see the arrival of our new bench seating for the Year 3/4 Eating Area. With the cooler moths coming, I know the students will enjoy sitting on the benches rather than on the cold concrete!
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank our Chappy Sarah for all that she does for our school and the community. Chaplaincy is a very important part of our school program and we are grateful to have Chappy Sarah at Enoggera State School. She has some wonderful events planned for Chappy Week this week. Don’t forget to drop into the Crema Coffee Garage on Thursday morning to see Chappy Sarah and get your Chappy Chino – $1 from every tea, coffee, hot chocolate ordered will be generously donated ESS Chaplaincy.
Pillar Practice
This fortnight for our Pillar Practice, we are focussing on safety and respect before school. This includes remembering to be in the right place at the right time and making green behaviour choices. Parents are reminded that Under C Block is out of bounds before school and we ask that you wait with your own children under E Block only. This assists us with supervision of students. We also ask that you keep your child seated with you while you wait for line up. You can support our Pillar Practice by discussing these expectations with your children at home. Our goal is to see an improvement in before school behaviour.
The key reminders are:
- Sit and talk quietly or read
- Ask to go to toilet or get a drink
- Walk to my line up area after the bell rings
- Follow instructions of all staff
- Stay in the correct area
OSHC Drop Offs and Pick Ups
This continues to be problematic for both staff and delivery vans when parents park in the stop, drop and go lane rather than in a car park space before and after school. We kindly ask parents to park in available car park spaces rather than along the stop, drop and go zone to allow easier access for staff cars and delivery vans. Thanks for your understanding.
Our school Facebook page is a handy way to keep up to date with upcoming events! We encourage all of our parents to follow our page so you can enjoy the wonderful experiences our school has to offer. The more you interact with the page by liking and commenting on posts, the more our page will appear in your newsfeed. Messages and questions on our Facebook page can be overlooked, so this is not the quickest and most reliable way of getting clarification around school events. It is always best to ring the office or email the class teacher. Thanks for your support of our Facebook page and for interacting on the page with respect and support.
RESET Class
All Education Queensland schools are required to have a Student Code of Conduct document which sets out the responsibilities and processes we use in our school to promote a productive, effective whole school approach to discipline. Within our Student Code of Conduct, is a flowchart outlining how staff respond to unacceptable behaviour at our school (Page 9). Recently, the Student Engagement and Behaviour Committee reviewed this document making it more user friendly for staff. This has resulted in the more structured use of the RESET class as a ‘logical consequence’ for continued misbehaviour in class. This was previously referred to as “Buddy Class”, but the committee felt that this sounded like a reward and could be confused with the Prep/Year 6 Buddy program, so it has been rebranded and explained to students as RESET class. The language being meaningful to student who understand the concept of reset for their technology and devices to ‘start again’.
Teachers have clearly explained to students how and why they may get sent to reset class and that they are encouraged (but not expected) to fill in a reflection sheet. Students are also aware of who their RESET is. As part of this process, the class teacher will email parents to inform them when their child has been required to attend RESET and why so that you can follow up with conversation at home. This is not a new strategy used at Enoggera SS but one that was used inconsistently and is now structured to ensure consistency across the school. You will notice that contained within the flowchart are positive strategies for managing behaviour including building positive relationships. There is a clear 5 Step System ensuring consistency of practice across our classrooms that provides students with opportunities to correct their behaviour and logical consequences prior to being sent to RESET. If you have questions about RESET class, please contact your child’s class teacher.
Student Council Update
This term, there have been several meetings with the Year 6 Leaders and the full Student Council to discuss plans and initiatives for this term and the year ahead.
An important role of the Student Council is to raise money towards a legacy project. This is something that the Student Council purchases for the school by fundraising. It has been decided that in 2022, the School Leaders and Student Council will provide Buddy Benches. These benches will be a place that students can sit if they are unable to find a friend to play with during break times.
Any student who sees a person sitting on the buddy bench is encouraged to approach them and invite them to play. This will ensure that all students in our school feel included. We are also hoping to purchase some cold water bubblers for students to use especially after sport on a hot summer’s day!
To allow the Student Council to provide these legacy items to the school, they will be running their first fundraiser towards the end of the term. They are still finalising the details of this fundraiser, but it will hopefully be a meal deal fundraiser.
Further fundraising later in the year will include Down Syndrome awareness Month in October and Talk Like a Pirate Dress Up day in September for childhood Cancer. These events will allow the Student Council to raise money and donate to national charities.
Another important part of the Student Council’s Role is to ensure student wellbeing. This Friday, the Student Council has planned a Random Acts of Kindness day. Students are welcome to fill out these slips to record any acts of kindness they show and put them in a box under D Block. There will be random draws on the next assembly for prizes.
Some acts of kindness could include:
- Making a card for a friend or staff member to thank them
- Giving a compliment
- Inviting someone to join you in a game at lunch time
- Hide a positive note in a tidy tray or teacher desk
- Help a classmate with a task
We are looking forward to getting all students involved in our fundraising and wellbeing events.
National Reconciliation Week
Every year on 26 May, National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people who were forcibly removed from their families to be “assimilated” into white Australian culture. They are known as the “Stolen Generations.” It took several Australian government administrations coming and going before an apology was officially offered to the Indigenous Australians, but it finally was made official, and actions are still being undertaken to this day to repair the damage caused by tearing native families apart.
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) started as the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation in 1993 (the International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples) and was supported by Australia’s major faith communities.
In 1996, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation launched Australia’s first National Reconciliation Week. In 2001, Reconciliation Australia was established to continue to provide national leadership on reconciliation.
In the same year, approximately 300,000 people walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of National Reconciliation Week-and subsequently across bridges in cities and towns-to show their support for reconciliation.
Today, National Reconciliation Week is celebrated in workplaces, schools and early learning services, community organisations and groups, and by individuals Australia-wide.
