Head of Preparatory School
Calendar Updates
16 September – Yr 1 STEAM Day
17 September – K STEAM DAY, Yr 1 Caines Arcade
18 September – Year 2 STEAM Day
24 September – Last day of term, Prep Sports Gala day
National Child Protection Week
Wellbeing Workshops
The National Child Protection Week campaign, 6–12 September, invites all Australians to prioritise children’s wellbeing. This year’s theme, Putting Children First, focuses on what children need to grow up well. To thrive, children need to feel safe and loved, have a chance to play and explore, have a say in decisions that affect them, and access to essential things like food, shelter and healthcare.
R U OK? Day, Thursday 10 September, emphasises the value of close connections and strong relationships. During our wellbeing workshops this week, our students have practiced the four R U OK? conversation steps, further developing their friendship skills. Whilst children cannot be expected to fix someone’s problems, nor know the best way to help and support, they can be encouraged to listen to what their friend is saying, let them know they care and tell a trusted adult if they are worried. In addition, and aligning with National Child Protection Week, our students identified their ‘safety network’ of trusted adults that they can go to if they feel unsafe. It is an important skill for our children to be able to recognise safe and unsafe situations, the feelings and body clues that provide warning signals and at least five adult ‘safety helpers’. Unsafe situations can also include online environments. We regularly remind our students of our Responsible User Guidelines and the importance of getting help from an adult if something is worrying or upsetting them. The Office of the eSafety Commissioner has information and resources for parents as well as the ability to remove unsafe images, posts or content.
Vodcast
This week our vodcast comes from Jen Jackson. Jen is a member of our Learning Plus team and shares her knowledge of learning ‘tricky words’’. Please click here to watch Jen share strategies that can be used at home to help learn those tricky words in English that just don’t follow the rules.
Prep Notice Board Update
This week we move our focus of our Notice Board to sharing and celebrating the writing process. Throughout Prep, our students learn the structure to write imaginative, informative and persuasive texts. After the foundational skills are modelled, teachers find connections for our authors to write. It may be in unit of inquiry or discovering a connection with books being read in class or trying to use specific vocabulary to persuade an audience. The notice board will be our platform to share the thinking process involved. This also ties in nicely to our new P-6 writing program that our staff receive training in next week. I look forward to sharing with you what we learn in our first training session for Seven Steps to Writing Success next week.
RPFA Community Trivia Night
Missing those pre-COVID school social events? Gather your family for Redlands first ever socially distant community event – a Kahoot Trivia afternoon! Organised by the RPFA, the event is suitable for all ages and is sure to be great fun. Zoom in to see all your friends in their House colours and see who can answer the most multiple choice questions. House points and lots of prizes to be awarded!
This Week in the Preparatory School
Mrs Ainslie Breckenridge
Head of Preparatory School
abreckenridge@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9848