As we come to the last couple of weeks of term, I am continually reminded of how hard things get for students and for families, especially as the weather gets cooler.

It’s cold and flu season all over again and at times there seems to be a spike in the number of COVID cases. I would like to thank families who generally follow advice. If a child is obviously becoming sick, or unwell, please keep them at home – for the wellbeing of everybody else as well as themselves. If you’re concerned about COVID, please test. When a student gets sick at school, we work very hard to determine if it is real and call home only if we feel there are no other options.

A number of students are coming to school so tired lately that they are saying they can’t concentrate. A few have even fallen asleep. As a staff we care about your children and will try and find them some time and even a space for a quick rest. A number of children however, are regularly turning up to school complaining of being too tired to apply themselves to their work. I do wonder sometimes if they are as tired as they suggest – or are they putting it on for our benefit and just to get out of work ?? Who knows, but it is our job to err on the side of caution and we provide a space for a short time. If families could have a chat with children about this, it would be appreciated.

Perhaps the biggest issue for many of our 3-6 students coming up is the Swimming and Water Safety Program. This is such an important part of the learning program given that we live on an island and so many students access our rivers, oceans and beaches. So many children are opting out because ‘they don’t want to,’ ‘because they don’t want to get changed’. I even had one child tell me – ‘it’s just too cold.’ Considerable expense goes into this opportunity. We will always support students who have genuine concerns about participating, but I ask parents of children in Grades 3-6 to have a serious discussion with their child and reinforce the importance of this program.

As things get difficult – as they do, please feel free to contact the office, let us know when your child isn’t travelling well and we’ll do the best we can to help them have a successful day - in spite of how they might be feeling!

Nadine Davey

Principal.

In PE students in Kinder have been learning what to do when they hear the whistle, as well as participating in activities that work on different skills from the Kinder Development Check including throwing, catching and hopping. Students in Grades Prep-6 have been participating in various gross motor games.

Grade 3-6 Art

This term, students in Grades 3-6 have been learning about colour, tone and line. In Grade 3/4 and 4/5 they have recently been learning about different types of lines and how they can be used within their art. They have created several different pieces of work, and have finished the unit by decorating a template of a vase.

In Grade 5/6, students have been learning about tone, and how to use light and dark effectively when painting. They have experimented with coloured backgrounds, different brushstrokes and how to use tone to give an object form.