Head of Junior School

Thank you for the wonderful turn-out at the Junior Campus Mother’s Day morning on Monday. It was a great opportunity to acknowledge the remarkable role that mothers play in our lives and as a school, it was good to thank our mums and carers for everything they do. I also acknowledge that for some families and students Mother’s Day can be a challenging and a difficult day and our thoughts are with them on these occasions.

Cross Country Carnival

Warm sunshine, muddy legs and great House Spirit were on display at the Junior School annual Cross Country Carnival held at St Leonards Park this week. The effort demonstrated by our runners was commendable, as too was the support and encouragement our students exhibited to each other. Congratulations to all who took part and thank you to the many parents, including our parent volunteers, who supported the event. A special well done to this year’s winning House, Roseby and especially to our age champions and runners up (further details are included in the Junior Sport section of Note Day).

Student Safety and Safeguarding Focus

Part of our responsibilities under Child Safe Standards is to take account of and find opportunities to listen to student voices to inform the school’s decision-making processes. This is especially pertinent in the context of student safeguarding. As such, this term we are implementing Playground Climate Surveys for students in the Junior School with the aim of capturing students’ views of what is working well, as well as areas needing improvement in this part of the school.

The short surveys are anonymous, confidential and target areas such as; activities and games enjoyed by students, areas in the playground where they feel safe plus locations where they feel less safe, behaviour of students they perceive as being kind and respectful, and conversely, any behaviour of students they perceive as being unfair or unkind.

Results will be analysed by senior staff to identify patterns and themes and interventions will then be implemented. The Playground Climate Surveys will be administered again later in the year to track and measure the impact of the actions taken.

Year 4 Aboriginal Art Incursion

Year 4 engaged in an enriching Aboriginal Art Incursion on Thursday last week, guided by Muru Mittigar community members. The session aimed to deepen understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal art’s significance in visual storytelling, aligning with our Term 1 English and Units of Inquiry curriculum. Students actively participated in discussions on Dharug and Aboriginal history, explored artefacts, partook in an art workshop, and enjoyed storytelling opportunities, fostering meaningful connections and enjoyment throughout.

Year 4 Camp

The Year 4 students and staff are enjoying a few days away from school this week at their outdoor education camp at Fitzroy Falls. This has presented a further opportunity to embed some of their learning this term as well as to engage in age-appropriate adventure-based activities. We look forward to welcoming back our Year 4 campers tomorrow.

Secondary School Transition Session for Year 6 Parents and Carers

We are very much looking forward to welcoming our Year 6 students to Secondary School next year.
In preparation for this, we will be inviting all Year 6 parents and carers to a Secondary School Transition Session:
Date: Friday 31 May
Time: 8:45am – 10:00am
Location: Redlands Hall, Senior Campus

This Transition Session will give parents the opportunity to learn more about Secondary School and the transition process from Year 6 into Year 7.

There will be an optional Senior Campus Tour at the end of the session.

An email will be sent to parents with a registration link shortly.

Parents Circles: Responsive Parenting and Raising Healthy Children

A message from our Junior Campus Counsellor, Silvia Roberts

Being a responsive parent sounds simple enough, but living high stress lives, often in isolation, lots of us know how nearly impossible it can be. Recognising that the essential condition for a healthy child’s development is the child’s relationship with nurturing adults, we invite you to join us for regular Parents’ Circles facilitated by the school counsellor, Silvia Roberts.

The Parents Circles will draw on specific topics and will be centred on providing a space for open discussions and questions. The sessions will also equip parents with a wide range of essential practical and emotional regulation skills, and guide parents through the art of fulfilling their children’s needs which are the essence of healthy positive parenting.

The topic for the session, in Week 4 (Wednesday 22 May 8.30 am – 9.30 am in Lucy Hill Library) is:

Family Systems – Boundary Systems: Boundaries Must Be Taught

Small children have no boundaries and develop whatever the boundary system parents have.
What happens when parents either wall up or lack boundaries? Or what happens when each parent has a different boundary system?
Exploring different possibilities of families’ boundary systems and family roles. Guiding parents to help children set up functional healthy boundaries, which in turn will help children to create healthy friendships.

In Week 7, we will be exploring the topic of Negative Core Beliefs in Children – Positive Parenting

Negative core beliefs in children can lead to them developing depression, anxiety, co-dependency, relationship issues or addictions later in life.
How can parents prevent the onset of negative core beliefs?
Exploring five core natural attributes of children and guiding parents to attend to those in a functional and effective way.

This will help their children develop each separate characteristic properly which will lead to functional teens and adults who feel good about themselves rather than develop dysfunctional survival traits.

We extend a welcome to our prep and junior parents to attend. You are welcome to bring your own coffee or tea. As this is a parenting circle of support, numbers are limited to 20 to keep it small enough for interactive discussion so please book your space here.

Mr Ian Holden
Head of Junior School
iholden@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022