Head of Early Childhood

Head of Early Childhood

This week, Prep School invited parents for Meet the Teacher afternoon to share information pertaining to the upcoming year. Not only is this event important to gain an understanding of the mechanics of the year, but more notably, parents develop an appreciation of the significant role they play in their child’s education. Substantial evidence exists showing that parent involvement is advantageous for children by increasing their motivation for learning, improving behaviour and acquiring a more positive attitude about home learning. Equally, teachers and parents have the same desire; for their children to be successful at whatever they are doing. A mutual respect for one another, a common focus and goal and clear communication are essential ingredients for a positive year.  Not surprisingly, research shows that the more parents and teachers share relevant information with each other, the better equipped both will be to help the student achieve at school.

Both parents and teachers have an important role to play; their roles do not replace but rather compliment and reinforce the other’s role, thus providing the student with a consistent message about learning. Thinking of parents and teachers as “partners” refers to this mutual effort toward a shared goal. It also implies shared responsibility of parents and teachers for supporting students as learners (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001).

Calendar Additions

Please be aware of the following calendar additions. You will find further explanation pertaining to these events below.

Dr Judith Locke Parent Presentation – Tuesday 26 February 5.30 – 7.30pm (Redlands Hall – Senior Campus)
Positive Behaviour 4 Learning Parent Presentation – Tuesday 5 March 8.30am (Arnold Library)

Preparatory School Photographs

On Wednesday 13 February, the Preparatory School will have their school photos taken. All children are required in their full school summer uniform, including blazers. Please ensure shoes are polished and socks are correct length. Girls need to have hair tied back with navy elastic and ribbon. Only gold or silver studs may be worn. Orders for photography packages from Advanced Life be placed securely online using this online order link. Redlands Prep online order code is: VWP CQN 923. 

Late fees/additional charges will be applied for purchases after Monday 4 March. The option of having a family photograph for Redlands siblings in any section of the school (not with other family members) is also available. These photos will be taken on Friday 22 February.

  • Sibling photographs will take place between 7.30am – 9.30am in Parkes Hall on the Junior Campus
  • All parents will be responsible for taking their children to Parkes Hall for the photographs and returning them to their classrooms or relevant areas of the school upon completion of photos.
  • The photos will be taken in a ‘first in, first served basis’. As such, if you do not have a work commitment, please come at a later time if possible.
  • Orders for sibling photographs can be placed online. Orders will close on Tuesday 19 February
  • A photograph will not be taken without an order. Sibling photographs only apply to children enrolled at the school.
Seesaw

Families from Redlands House and perhaps those of you coming from various preschools, have had the opportunity to view some learning experiences throughout the year via Storypark. In Prep, we can now extend this opportunity by having the students use creative tools through technology to capture and reflect their learning whilst choosing their own pieces to share with families. Seesaw gives you a window into your child’s classroom and into their learning. Students and teachers will use Seesaw to reflect and grow in areas of Literacy, Numeracy, Units of Inquiry and specialist subjects, and to showcase the wonderful things they are doing in the classroom.

It is important to note that technology is only one of the many learning tools available to our students. The use of exercise books, butchers’ paper, worksheets and other resources, still have an important place within the learning environment. Learning moments captured on Seesaw will not always represent ‘polished’ finished pieces. Rather, the samples will be indicative of a variety of learning experiences and reflective of the ongoing process or journey of learning. Seesaw also provides a safe environment for parents and students to comment on their own learning, in real time.

If you would like to learn more about this learning platform and the way technology is used in the classroom, e-Learning Coordinator, Mrs Winrow, will be holding a Learning and Technology Information Session on Wednesday 20 February at 8.30am in the Lucy Hill Library. To help provide us with an indication of numbers, please RSVP here.

Car Line Procedures

This week saw car line begin in the Preparatory School. It is to be expected that the first week of car line is busy and new families to the School are using this facility for the first time. For parents new to the School, Prep car line was implemented two years ago to give families the convenience of staying in their car to collect their child. This eliminated the need for finding a car park at an already very busy time of day, easing congestion and keeping the children safe. This also meant, families with younger children could keep their child inside the car whilst collecting their older sibling. Staff gladly spend the extra time in their day providing this service to our community and I would like to remind all families to be considerate in their interactions when using the car line.

Thank you for following the important safety guidelines below when using car line.

  • Please only come at the designated times for your child; Kindergarten 2.45 – 3.00pm and Yrs 1, 2 and siblings 3.05 – 3.20pm. If you come earlier, please do not park along Allister Street, as this impedes the car line.
  • Students who are unable to independently secure themselves with a seatbelt are not permitted to use car line. Teachers, parents and carers are not able to assist, due to the added time and congestion.
  • Please place your name card clearly on the passenger side visor for easier visibility.
  • Please do not overtake cars in the car line – if you miss the line you will have to drive around the block and attach to the end of the car line queue.
Parking Guidelines

Please review this summary from the North Sydney Council of some of the more important rules and the associated penalties for not complying with the rules regarding parking around schools. As demerit points are now attached to parking offences in school zones, it is important that parents are aware that breaches of these rules can lead to the suspension of their drivers licence.

Collection Procedures for the Meeting Trees

If you are not using car line and collecting children from the Meeting Trees, could I please remind parents of the following pick-up times:
Kindergarten – 2.45pm
Yrs 1 and 2 – 3.00pm

Understandably, this is a busy time of day and I would also remind you that it is never appropriate to leave siblings in the car whilst you are coming into the School to collect your child. I urge you to read this very important message from Kids Safe.

If a Prep student has a sibling in the Junior School, it is not possible to have students wait in the Prep Reception area until their sibling finishes school at 3.20pm. Staff are unavailable to watch students and often the Reception area doesn’t have a staff member present, which would mean students would be left alone. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Positive Behaviour Support 4 Learning

As mentioned in previous correspondence, this week the teachers have been developing, in collaboration with their students, classroom behavioural agreements. These agreements outline the explicit behaviours that support learning, develop positive relationships and ensure safe and well-organised environments. You may have noticed these agreements in your child’s classroom when you attended our Meet the Teacher Information Sessions. Our framework is based upon the Positive Behaviour Support for Learning approach (PBS4L). The underlying assumption of PBS4L is that children’s behaviour adapts positively as a function of actions performed by others in a supportive and caring environment. At Redlands, this approach compliments our school values, is supported by our culture of thinking pedagogy and aligns with the core social and emotional competencies we aim to develop within this stage of childhood.  PBS4L is a strength-based approach, hinging on preventative classroom strategies that guide and encourage the behaviours that optimise children’s learning. If you would like to know more, please come along to the parent seminar on Tuesday 5 March at 8.30am in the Arnold Library (Junior School). Mr Nigel Coutts (Dean of Teaching and Learning) and Mrs Sam Kourakis (Dean of Student Wellbeing) will be sharing their contemporary and innovative approaches that support your child’s learning and wellbeing at Redlands. In particular, Mrs Kourakis will be presenting a summary of the PBS4L approach. All are very welcome.

Dr Judith Locke – Parent Presentation

In an ever-changing world, parents are constantly wondering how they can best support their child. As part of our on-going efforts to support parents and provide them with useful information and recent research on ‘best practice’, we are excited to announce that Clinical Psychologist and author Dr Judith Locke will be coming to Redlands to present a workshop for parents around how to support their child to become confident and capable. This workshop is designed to provide specific strategies to assist the young people we care for to achieve their personal best, both within the classrooms as well as in other areas of life. Dr Locke will provide advice as to how to support your child in a friendly and relatable way as well as providing specific strategies around how to help your child become independent and make the most of their opportunities whilst at school.

Dr Judith Locke is a registered clinical psychologist, and former teacher and workplace trainer. She is now Director of the training company, Confident and Capable, which delivers psychological solutions for parents, students and organisations. Judith works with families and individuals in her private practice in Toowong, Qld. She also undertakes research at QUT, investigating modern parenting, student and parent wellbeing, and their interaction with the academic environment. Judith is a Member of The Australian Psychological Society (APS) and a Fellow of the APS College of Clinical Psychologists. She is the author of the popular parenting book The Bonsai Child: Why modern parenting limits children’s potential and practical strategies to turn it around.

The Junior Campus session will be held on Tuesday 26 February from 5.30 – 7.30pm in Redlands Hall on the Senior Campus. Please note this session is for parents only.

Twilight in the Piazza

I look forward to seeing families at Twilight in the Piazza, our first parent event for the year on Friday 22 February. This is a lovely opportunity to meet new families to the School and acquaint yourself with the Executive and other members of the community.

Clubs

Prep will be using the Trybooking system to organise the registration of your child’s Prep Club. Prep Clubs are run by teachers on Wednesday afternoons from 3.00 – 4.00pm for Yrs 1 and 2 students only. They are designed to be an hour of fun activity and provide children with an opportunity to mix with students in a new group, made up of both year levels. If you would like your child to take part in the Clubs program this year, for which there is no additional cost, please refer to the letter that was emailed to families yesterday. All registrations will be made on a first in, first served basis and at this stage children are required to choose one Club for this term. Choices for Term 2 will be made using the same procedure toward the end of Term 1. Clubs will commence on Wednesday 13 February and will finish Wednesday 3 April. Please note there will be no clubs during Prep Teacher Meeting week on Wednesday 20 March.

Year/Class Parent Representatives

This year, class parents in each year level will work more closely together to create greater community connection by organising events across the Year Group. If you are interested in being a class parent, the RPFA welcomes parents to volunteer for the following classes by emailing earlychildhood@redlands.nsw.edu.au:
– Kindergarten Yellow
– One Onyx
– One Green
– Two Emerald
– Two Aqua
– Two Purple

The class parent guidelines can be found on Redlands Pulse; however, if you have any questions about the role please contact Jennie Cadman or Bree Stevens.

Year Group Parent Contact Lists

Year Group Parent Contact lists will be emailed to all Prep School families tomorrow (Friday). Please be reminded that these are strictly for school-based purposes and not for any aspect of commercial use.

Mrs Audrey Fellowes
Head of Early Childhood
afellowes@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9848