Head of Preparatory School

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Yr 2 Leaders

Student voice and responsibility is such an important part of Prep life. The Yr 2 team along with the students have worked together to create the Prep School Year 2 Leadership Group. The main roles are outlined by students below. In the next few Note Day editions, students will describe each role in detail and explain how each child in Yr 2 will have an opportunity to be a leader. Yr 2 will share this new system with Prep at Grade Assemblies next week. I am very proud of the initiative demonstrated by our Yr 2 cohort.

We are so excited to present our new Year 2 Leaders program. Each week one Yr 2 class will take on the role of leaders. We will help other Prep school students in the playground as Big Buddies. Some of the other roles are sustainability leaders, enviro patrol, library monitors and ICT Buddies. We will wear a special vest so that Prep School students can recognise us. If they need any help they can come and see us.

By Zoe Hepple, Roman Edwards, and Millie Barnes

Parent Helpers

A big thank you to all the parents who have volunteered precious time to help cover all our new readers. We look forward to seeing you all on your specific days. We still have a few spaces left on Friday 4/3, Friday 11/3, and Friday 18/3, please email me if you would like to help on these days.

Cross Country and K-1 Fun Run

We are very excited to announce that this year our Yr 2 students will be participating in the Junior Campus Cross Country Carnival at Tunks Park on 8 March. Parents will be receiving information shortly from the PE Department. Please note that the students will be returning to school by bus after their event and normal pickup times and arrangements will be in place.

Our PE staff will be running a Fun Run course on the same day for our Kindergarten and Yr 1 students. This isn’t considered a carnival, just a fun activity that encourages resilience and stamina but most of all, a bit of fun! Due to COVID safety guidelines, parents are not permitted on campus to watch but I can promise you all there will be lots of photos taken.

‘I don’t have any one to play with’

As parents, this is always a heart wrenching thing to hear from our children. I don’t think there is a parent who hasn’t heard this and thought ‘oh no, what’s going on’. If you are hearing this, please know there are strategies to help your child navigate new friendships and to develop their resilience to problem solve situations that sometimes can be catastrophised in the moment.

Time

Remember that our new students and out Kindy students are still getting used to being in a room with 18 other little people they didn’t know 4 weeks ago! They are figuring out how to follow class strategies, new curriculum and learning expectations plus having the extra responsibility of looking after their things. It’s a big new world for them and with some gentle guidance from their teachers they learn how to play together and how to establish and build a friendship. They will get things wrong; they will get upset at times, but it is important   we use these experiences as learning opportunities.

Where can I go to get help?

Our teachers are always the first point of call for any child. Daily lunch time Friendship Club is such a popular and unstructured time together with our Dean of Students and Counsellors where friendship skills are the focus while playing and having fun. In the classroom our students participate in Circle Time and wellbeing sessions where the You Can Do It program sets a positive learning frame for navigating friendships.

The library is another place at lunchtime where students can sit and read in the quietness of the library. The start of Term 2 lunchtime Clubs will also be another space where friendships can be nurtured.

If the worry continues

If your child continues to come home expressing friendship worries, please reach out to your class teacher to have a discussion. It may be something simple that can be put into place, or it may be that we need to put a specific action plan into place to target specific objectives.

Giving praise while encouraging a growth mindset

A message from Mr Digiacomo, School Counsellor

 The mindset of a child has an impact on how they perceive and respond to their surroundings. A growth mindset can help a child to recognise that obstacles and failure can be learning opportunities. Struggling with a problem or overcoming a setback is beneficial to the brain’s neurological development. In contrast, a fixed mindset can result in a child striving to appear intelligent and avoiding challenges and risks that may lead to failure. 

Here are some tips for implementing a growth mindset in your households:

Adopting a growth mindset: 

Learn to recognise when your child is experiencing a fixed mindset response and help them name their feelings. When they’re more relaxed, talk about what methods they’ve used, how effective they were, and what new strategies they could use. 

Giving feedback and praise:

When children struggle to learn something and have been constantly told how smart they are, they can see their struggle as a sign that they lack talent and will never be good at it. Instead, praising the effort and hard work that goes into learning and success is an opportunity for growth. Providing feedback on the process is key. Praise hard work, perseverance, methods, taking on new tasks, goal setting, and coming up with new ideas and strategies. 

• Acknowledge the strategy, e.g. “You figured out a really good way to do it.”
• Be specific in your praise, e.g. “You seem to really understand how to add two numbers.”
• Acknowledge effort, e.g. “I can definitely see you’ve been practising.”

The Power or YET

“I can’t do this … YET”

“I don’t know this … YET”

 Of course, we must use the above while keeping realistic expectations in mind and allowing children to fail. It is inevitable that a child experiences failure and they need to know this is okay. When a growth mindset is encouraged in a balanced way, it can instil confidence in your child and help them to develop their intrinsic motivation to attempt new things.

Mrs Ainslie Breckenridge
Head of Preparatory School
abreckenridge@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9848