Teaching & Learning and Inclusion
Dice 4 Diversity
On Wednesday, Rebecca Neiberding and I went to a Classrooom Support Teacher Network day at Catholic Education. We had a number of interesting presentations. One organisation that I thought was important to share is Dice 4 Diversity. Dice 4 Diversity is run by two parents. Their children attend school in our Archdiocese. They created Dice 4 Diversity as they saw a need around communication for children and adults with disbilities, that they believe is not adequately supported through therapies.
Their goal is to create social inclusion through role-play. They utilise role-playing games as a way to learn social skills in a safe environment. Sessions are designed for school children from year 3 and up, teens and adults with diverse skills and abilities who are looking to expand their communication and social skills.
Why role playing?
"Navigating social interactions can be difficult. Some people are good at it, but many struggle in these situations. But those that are good at it did not become so proficient without practice. Frequent social interactions in different situations are a great way to learn how to communicate effectively, while also learning social norms.
Our aim is to assist people with disabilities to enhance their social skills, enabling better interactions with the wider community. Participants will have the opportunity to meet people outside their current communities which will expand their social boundaries within age-appropriate cohorts" (Dice 4 Diversity, 2021).
NDIS (EACH) - Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI)
Some other important information from the Classroom Support Teacher Network day was about the Early Childhood Early Intervention NDIS (EACH) program. EACH is the NDIS Partner in the Community providing Early Childhood Early Intervention for children aged 0-6 with a developmental delay.
If your child is under the age of 7 and you have some concerns about their development, they could be elidgible for NDIS support without a diagnosis.
For further information: https://www.each.com.au/service/early-childhood-early-intervention/
If you would like to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Donations
This Term we will purchase some sand play stations for our Junior Primary students. Sand play for our younger students has many benefits, as it enhances motor skills, improves language and speech, enhances social and emotional awareness, introduces concepts of mathematics and science and sparks creativity.
To ensure we have a variety of toys/equipment for sand play we would appreciate any of the below to be donated (new/used ):
- Mini shovels/rakes
- Small buckets
- Play cooking utensils
- Measuring cups
- Plastic sieves
- Trucks/cars
- Plastic toy dinosaurs/animals
- Plastic fossil sets
- Mould sets
If you are cleaning up any old toys from home that your children are not using anymore and are still in good condition, please consider sending them to school for children here to use.
We are also always looking for donations of lego/duplo. If you have any lego sitting at home that your children don’t play with anymore, please consider donating it to St John’s.
We would really appreciate any of the above donations!
Rebekah Brown
Assistant Principal and Inclusion Coordinator