3 September 2020

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Hello Swan Reach,

Last week staff celebrated School Services Officer (SSO) week with a special morning tea, catered by Karl’s Crazy Kitchen. There is much seen and unseen work done by our wonderful support crew everyday, and they are a vital cog in our teaching and learning cycles. Some of their roles and responsibilities include:

• Finance and budgeting
• Administration – school and classroom
• School and community library
• Grounds
• Classroom support and intervention programs
• Mentoring
• 1:1 and small group support
• Attendance
• Laboratory support
• Producing learning materials
• First aid and general care
• Members on committees – Work Health and Safety, Personnel Advisory Committee, GC, Social, Advertising and Bus

School captains, Michael and Kailem, presented SSOs with an appreciation certificate. SRAS is highly thankful to our SSOs, Mr Phil Carter, Mrs Leanne Griffiths, Mrs Tracey Gierke, Mr James Yandell, Mrs Dorothee Moellers, Miss Sally Stewart, Mrs Trena Williamson, Mrs Katie O’Shaughnessy, Mrs Kate Howie and Mrs Jill Lienert. Keep up your amazing efforts and determination to improve growth for every learner in every class.

DEPT FOR EDUCATION OPINION SURVEY OF PRESCHOOL PARENTS

Parents and Carers of pre-schoolers are invited to participate in the survey by accessing the following online link. This link is specific to our preschool, but individual responses will not be identifiable.

All survey responses submitted by the due date of WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30th will be included in our site summary report prepared by Data Reporting and Analytics. This report will be emailed back to SRAS in early November. Our report will only contain a summary of all online survey responses submitted by WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30th.

Thank you for your participation in this survey to assist us in our future planning and implementation of preschool services.

P&F LUNCH

P&F catered a magnificent array of delicious treats for students and teachers at our recent Lunchtime Basketball Grand Final. It is pleasing to see this enthusiastic group re-engage with SRAS, post easing of COVID-19 restrictions. We hope this will continue in the future and that restrictions continue to ease to allow more parent and community engagement at SRAS.

SRAS thanks ALL parents and Carers for your diligence and adherence to hygiene and safety measures on site throughout COVID-19 and into the foreseeable future.

STUDENT FREE DAY – WEMATTER SO ‘BE YOU’

Next Thursday, 10th September is a student free day (SFD) allowing staff, and members of Governing Council and Parents & Friends, to receive up-to-date training in our wellbeing framework – WeMatter. The original WeMatter learning done by staff in 2015 is now facilitated through the national incentive called ‘Be You’. Be You is strongly supported by Beyond Blue and Headspace organisations. SRAS will maintain our ‘WeMatter’ logo and add ‘Be You’ to our wellbeing slogan – ‘WeMatter so Be You’.

Be You builds on the success and learnings from five existing programs aimed at promoting social and emotional health and wellbeing for children and young people in the education space: KidsMatter Early Childhood, KidsMatter Primary, MindMatters, Response Ability and headspace School Support. Be You is building on the evidence base and ten years of experience of these programs. These programs are now integrated into Be You – one single, national initiative delivered through early learning services, primary and secondary schools.

At SRAS we believe the most effective approach to mental health prevention and promotion is one that involves the whole learning community – including leaders, educators, children, young people and their families, and the wider local community.

This is what we call a ‘whole learning community approach’, and it involves working together with all members of our learning community to create change. It’s about continuing to embed a positive and inclusive environment which promotes resilience and allows every child, young person, educator, and family member to achieve their best possible mental health.

A WeMatter so Be You Learning Community is SRAS, demonstrating its strong commitment to a whole learning community approach to mental health and wellbeing. As a WeMatter so Be You Learning Community, we’re making a strong statement to the wider community about our commitment to promoting mental health and wellbeing.

JOE (JOURNAL OF EDUCATION) – ISSUE 2

The second issue of JOE is now available on our website for your reading delight. Gain insights into community members’ stories of adversities and triumphs; their resilience, resolve and their character. Articles are written by members of the 9/10 English class.

TRICKY KIDS - TRICKY BEHAVIOURS

Managing challenging and confronting children while staying sane by Andrew Fuller

If you had to describe your child, would any of these phrases sound familiar?

‘It doesn’t matter what I say…’
‘She just gets something into her mind and won’t give it up.’
‘Some days I could just scream at them…’
‘He has always got to have the last word.’
‘She’s fine when she gets her own way.’
‘He can argue for hours.’
‘She has to win at everything!’

Congratulations! It’s likely you have a child with tricky behaviours!

While tricky behaviour can often be challenging and confronting for parents, the good news is that these children frequently grow up to be the movers and shakers of the world. Believe it or not they are more often than not the ones full of potential. Passive resistance, competitive, manipulative, aggressive, moody or argumentative traits can often disguise anxieties and stresses that children cannot articulate. The secret to transforming tricky behaviour is to discover the root causes of undesirable behaviour and show children how to use their abilities for good, rather than evil!

In this revised and updated edition of his bestselling book, Tricky Kids, leading Australian adolescent psychologist Andrew Fuller delves deeply into all the different types of tricky behaviour displayed by children of all ages. Using the latest thinking and developments in child psychology, he explains the most common reasons why children can display confronting behaviour and outlines practical steps you can take to help show them the way to live harmoniously with you and others. If you are sick of having your home resemble a war zone, hoarse from frequent screaming matches or just plain despair that you will never be able to understand or overcome your child’s tricky behaviour, then this book is for you!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrew Fuller is an Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne. He has acted as the scientific consultant for ABC TV on the science of teenage brains, is the principal consultant for the national drug prevention strategy REDI, an Ambassador for Mind Matters, a Member of the National Coalition Against Bullying, and is the Co-Director of Resilient Youth Australia. He is the author of numerous books, including Unlocking Your Child’s Genius and Your Best Life at Any Age.

Introduction from his text Tricky Behaviours…

A pledge to my child

To my dear son or daughter,

I am your parent. I am NOT the hired help, the locator of all lost socks or an open-all-hours convenience store that delivers anything you could ever wish for. I repeat, I am your parent. This means there are times that I will use the word ‘No’. This means what it sounds like. You will not like it when I use this word. There will be times that you think you hate me. There will be times that you think I am the worst parent on earth. There may be times that you are right, even though you won’t hear me admit it. As a parent I am responsible for raising you to be a decent human being who treats themselves and others with tolerance and respect. That is my job and I take it on willingly because I love you and want the best for you. This means that I will watch you with a level of surveillance that most spy agencies would envy. I will track you like a bloodhound. I will check whether you have schoolwork to do and whether you are doing it to the best of your ability. I want you to have as many moments of sheer delight as possible, however, my job is to prepare you for real life. It may surprise you to learn that you will not blitz every test at school, be picked for the leading role in every play, be the best player in the team, win every award or be invited to every birthday party. These are not failures. This is real life. I won’t like these setbacks any more than you will. In my heart I would love you to have an endless progression of unwavering success but I know that having setbacks helps you to be humble, to try harder and to acknowledge others. They also make you stronger in the future.

Disappointments forge determination and increase the likelihood you will be able to go some way towards supporting me in my more senior years. In the house that I work to pay for there will be rules and there will be jobs to do. You will not like all of these rules and you certainly won’t like all of the jobs. These rules are in place so I do not go crazy while raising you. These jobs are there so you can learn that responsible people make a positive contribution to others. You have the right to argue with me. You do not have the right to remain silent or brush me off with vague comments like ‘Don’t know’, ‘As if’ or ‘That’s so random …’ I’m sure we are going to get along just fine. Through all this please know that I love you for who you are and will continue to do so even if you stuff up.

Love, your parent

This introduction is also available on You Tube at the link below.

Mr John Robertson
Principal

The VALUE of SACE

The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) is a modern, internationally-recognised secondary school qualification designed to equip students with the skills, knowledge, and personal capabilities to successfully participate in our fast-paced global society. Coming into 2021 will see our current Year 9s experience their first taste of the SACE undertaking their 10 credit Personal Learning Plan (PLP).

PLP is a compulsory subject at Stage 1 that helps students to plan for their future and assists them in choosing the subjects they will study in Years 11 and 12.

See the clip below where SACE Chief Executive Martin Westwell talks about the value of the SACE.

Mr Troy Cowland
Deputy Principal

ELC NEWS

On Tuesday the 25th August 2020, the ELC went to Loxton to visit the Historical Village.

On arrival, we were welcomed with old fashioned flair, the lady wearing an 18th century outfit.

After that, we had to salute the flag outside the old School building. Then we went into the Institute for further instructions. We made damper and butter. It tasted great with jam. Another lady told us about life without electricity. She did the washing on a wash board. It was hard work. After that we made a rope with sisal. We could keep it, and use as a skipping rope at the ELC. We also visited an old School house. The Teacher was very strict!

Children's comments: “What did you like best?”
Macie: I liked eating the damper.
Halle: Making butter.
Aston: The Flag
Zoe: The bus and everything else.
Rylee: Eating the damper. Looking at the cars and the fire engine.
Tayte: I liked the stick. (The Teacher used it on the table only!)
George: The old washing machine.
Sienna: Eating the damper.
Alyssa: The rope
Zara: The old clothes.

ELC ACtivities

JOE ISSUE 2 – AUGUST 2020

PARENTS & FRIENDS NEWS

It was fantastic to be back onsite and hold our first lunch day for the year. The Committee did an amazing job of the catering – it may have looked like we were catering for an army! We will be holding our next meeting at 10am on the 4th Sept in the library. All welcome.

Mardi Le Brun
Secretary

IMMUNISATION EVIDENCE REQUEST NOTICE

SCHOOL LUNCH ORDERS

We thank the Swan Reach General Store for supplying lunch orders for the school. The menu and ordering details are below. Please note there are no lunch orders available on Wednesdays.

SRAS WEBSITE

The Swan Reach Area School website is where you can find all the school information including the newsletter, forms and policies. Please visit the link below.

NEWSLETTER INFORMATION

Due Date for the next Newsletter is 10:00am, Tuesday 15 September, 2020. The newsletter is distributed via the SZApp and school website. Printed copies are still available upon request.

Articles can be emailed to dl.0423.info@schools.sa.edu.au clearly marked in the subject box as Newsletter, faxed to 8570 2325 or delivered to the library/front office. Due to the way the Newsletter is now being set up, not all photos are included in the print copy, however there are several photo galleries included online and via the SZApp.

PLAYGROUP

Swan Reach Playgroup at SRAS Early Learning Centre. Every Tuesday during term time 10am-12pm. All children birth to school age are welcome for indoor and outdoor play. Please wear sun-smart clothing, bring a hat, water bottle and fruit/veg to share for healthy snack time. $2 per session, per family.

For more information contact the school on 8570 2053.

P-CMG/Playgroup

Parent Mother Goose sessions have returned to Swan Reach in the Early Learning Centre. These are being held fortnightly on odd weeks of term, Wednesdays at 10 am. PCMG is a chance to get out of the house for babies and toddlers and carers. Bond with your children and have fun using the power of songs, rhymes and stories. Trained facilitators lead a relaxed session for parents and children with a play and coffee and chat after. Sessions are free and there is no booking involved!

Coming Events 2020

Community Notices

Community Library News

The library is once again open for borrowing. In accordance with Covid-19 procedure we ask you not come to the library if you are feeling unwell or have cold/flu symptoms. It is important to use sanitiser and maintain social distancing of 1.5 metres. Library users are required to sign in as well. Many of you may have received overdue notices and possibly fines in the last week or so for overdue items. Accordingly, the Public Library Service Consortium is working through the impact of Covid-19 and has set down a minimum standard for notices to ensure that overdue items are followed up and library items circulate through the network efficiently. Notices are set out as follows:

1st notice - checkout receipt when borrowing takes place.
2nd notice – pre-overdue email as a courtesy reminder of the due date.
3rd notice- overdue notice from the checkout library.

A final notice may be issued by the library which could include a fine to cover the costs of materials replacement.

It is not the intention of the Swan Reach Community Library to charge fines nor issue bills for items held at our library. However, replacement costs may be incurred under conditional circumstances. This courtesy does not extend to all other libraries in the consortium and fines will be issued by these libraries. Fines or associated costs will be waivered if the item/s is returned in due course. If you have any queries regarding this information, contact me at the library and I will be happy to sort out any problems. Don’t forget click and collect is still available and take advantage of the digital online library. The library has undergone a revamp with an exciting new look! Many old materials have been removed refreshing our stock with new and updated titles.

Regards,

Mrs Leanne Griffiths
Library Manager.

Community Library Hours

Recess time- 10:40-11.00am
Lunch time-12:40-1:25pm
Phone 8570 2298

MID MURRAY COUNCIL

FULL MOON PERFORMANCES

LITTLE ATHLETICS