Head of Preparatory School

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Earth Day

Waste Free Wednesday, a wonderful initiative from our Chair of the Redlands Sustainability Group, Ms Kim Chipper was a big success this week. Our Prep students were encouraged to make their own lunch with no plastic to encourage discussion around the waste that we create as consumers. What better way to demonstrate waste than to also watch the Year 5 students conducting a waste audit of our bins!! We look forward to the results.

Our students also worked on activities that focused on the reuse, reduce and recycle message. Ms Angus and the One yellow class made environmental robots to demonstrate how we can innovate to make our environment better. The children brought in materials from home to reuse and recycle to create their environmental robots.

They also made a reusable bag display for the window. All the children brought in their own reusable bags from home for their shopping to show that we are thinking about the plastic in the environment and how using reusable bags is better for the environment. What eco warriors you are One Yellow!

Term 1 2022 Prep Sport Update

In exciting sports news, Expression of Interest (EOI) for Term 1 2022 Prep After-School Sport (Redlands House Seniors, Kindergarten, Yr 1 and Yr 2) will open on Monday 22^nd November at 1:00pm. In Term 1, the following sports will be available:

• Tennis (Monday & Friday)
• Football (Monday)
• Basketball (Monday & Friday)

Registration for all sports will take place in an EOI Form (one form for all sports) through a link on the Prep Sport Pulse page. All Prep families will be notified via email one week prior to registration opening and again once the EOI form is live. Please ensure that the school has your preferred contact email on your Engage records. Registration is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation email from the Prep Sport Administrator. Families will be informed either way regarding the result of their EOI Form. Families must re-register each term and registrations DO NOT roll over. 

Each sport has limited spaces available for each year group. This is ensure a quality experience is offered to students with a low student-coach ratio. It is anticipated that spots in all sports will fill very quickly.

December-January Vacation Care 2021-2022

If you would like your child to attend the December 2021 to January 2022 Vacation Care program, please visit the OOSH page on Pulse from Friday 12^thNovember in order to preview all information pertaining to the holiday activity schedule and daily requirements. The Flexischools website www.flexischools.com.au will be open on Monday 15^th  November at 12:00pm to make any bookings. Please use the Prep and Junior Vacation Care icon for children in K-6. Feel free to contact the Acting OOSH Coordinator, Trishna Rai with any Vacation Care or After School Care queries. 

COVID-Safe Environment

In order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all of our students and staff in this COVID environment, we remind all parents and carers to keep their children at home and not send them to school if they have coughs, sore throats, runny noses or any other potential COVID symptoms. In addition, please do not dose students with Panadol and send them to school. Please ensure they remain at home until they are well or have received a negative COVID test.

If students come to school with any of these symptoms, they will be sent home with a letter from the School Nurse specifying what symptom has been identified. They will then be required to provide a negative COVID test to Prep Reception before returning to school. Thank you for your support and understanding.

We also request that all students have a spare mask in their school bags. 

A message from Mr Digiacomo: Dealing with tantrums

From the outside, a youngster who throws a tantrum in response to a simple request appears stubborn and misbehaving. While conventional wisdom may advise parents to be firm and to punish in order to improve their children’s behaviour, Dr. Ross W. Greene Ph.D. offers an alternative approach in his book, The Explosive Child, through the philosophy: kids do well if they can. 

Please note that while this collaborative approach may appear to be “giving in” to undesirable behaviour or losing parental power at first glance, Dr. Greene contends that this isn’t the case. It’s all about taking proactive measures to address issues that aren’t being resolved through more traditional means. Years of research with behaviourally problematic youngsters have led to this problem-focused approach. 

1. Lagging Skills and Unsolved Problems

Dr. Greene wisely advises parents to begin by identifying the difficulties their children are facing. On a cognitive level, “lagging skills” are those that make it difficult for children to adapt to life’s daily obstacles. When a parent can recognise when their child is having difficulties, they can begin to understand why.

2. Reframing “problems”

A fresh image of the situation can begin to emerge after noting when problematic behaviours begin to occur. Dr. Greene encourages parents to get to the heart of issues, phrasing them in such a way that the child is more likely to participate. Rather than focusing on “screaming and wailing when asked to come inside and finish her homework”, parents can focus on “difficulty making transitions”. 

3. The Empathy Step

Temper outbursts are virtually guaranteed under old approaches when decision-making is unilateral. Dr. Greene’s approach, on the other hand, is proactive and compassionate. The empathy stage, where parents gain information and comprehension of their child’s situation, is the first step in this technique. Taking a sincere, nonjudgmental approach helps parents and children work together as partners rather than opponents.

4. The Invitation Step

The invitation stage is where the parent and child brainstorm to find a solution after each sharing their worries about the topic in question. The goal is that both the parent and the child will be concerned (“I don’t want to do my schoolwork right now,” “Yes, I understand,” “But I’m worried that if we don’t do it now, we won’t have time later”). This is where teamwork takes place. Working together, you strive to come up with a reasonable and mutually acceptable solution. It’s possible that this will not happen on the first try! The important thing is to keep working together to overcome these obstacles.

If you’d like to read more about this approach, you can have a look Dr Ross Greene’s book, The Explosive Child:

Let’s make a difference this Christmas

From the Junior Campus Chaplain, Ms Fiona McKenzie

As we come towards the end of the year the youngest to the oldest in our school community will have the opportunity to share in something special; the power of making a difference!

Giving in so many ways is core to the first Christmas Story and is core to who Redlands seeks to be. 

We get to do the same thing this year as we always do but this year it seems different.  This year we have energy for the important things because we have been reminded in so many ways of what they are. We are ready to let our light shine by giving because we know that this year has been especially challenging for many in our wider community.

We will be supporting two organisations that have a long association with the school: 

Anglicare and Matthew Talbot Homeless Hostel. 

Anglicare 

P – 6 

Supporting Anglicare’s Toys and Tucker is online due to Covid-19. The way we give is different but the need is the same, if not greater this year. You have an opportunity as a family to choose what you might buy for another family this Christmas. For more information about this watch Anglicare Toys and Tucker video here. The shopping link is here: Toys ‘n’ Tucker website – have fun online shopping! 

Mufti Day Fun 

Donations for Anglicare 

Prep School 

On Thursday November 25, Prep students will be dressing up to help us celebrate Christmas together. 

Students are encouraged to come dressed in Christmas themed Mufti clothes (Christmas colours or Christmas Angel wings, Santa hats, stars and sparkles etc This links to our Junior Campus Carol Service. 

Matthew Talbot Homeless Hostel 

Matthew Talbot strives to make the people feel welcome at their service. One easy way to do this is to provide for their basic needs. Help them have a warm shower and clean clothes so they know someone cares. 

This is where we can help.  Redlands is collecting basic toiletries, socks and underwear at each of the Receptions on the Junior Campus from  Monday 15 November. These basic necessities are more than just things, they will providing what people need to feel self respect. Imagine what a difference we can make for those who need help this season.

Lost Property

There is quite a lot of lost property that has been gathered in the Prep over the last few weeks. Please encourage your child to look for anything that they have lost at school in the Lost Property cupboard.

From Monday 15 November, there will be a lost property table out the front of Prep Reception for families to check at drop off and pick up times.