Principal's Corner
Dear St John's families,
As I walked around to all of our classes on Tuesday morning, watching all of our teachers and students engaged in Spelling Mastery, I was struck by how settled everyone was and how much I will miss this feeling next year.
Our teachers and students really are quite amazing. They are almost always engaged, working hard and loving being with each other. At the end of each day we assemble together and ask a few students to share 'What went well today?'. Yesterday one student shared how interested they were in their Maths lesson. Another shared how they loved playing with their friend. Another shared about the time they spent with their Kindergarten buddy. A teacher shared the fun they had with their science experiment.
It is a privilege to work in this community every day.
Travelling safely to and from school
In recent months a couple of our students travelling to or from school have had an incident where they have been approached by a stranger from outside the school community. The most recent was this week. In each of these situations the student(s) were supported by others in the community to remain safe.
It is a timely reminder to make sure that if your child rides or walks to or from school they know what they need to do to remain safe in that rare occurance where they meet a stranger.
When encouraging your child to take the active option of walking or riding to school make sure that they:
- know the way to or from school (there might be more than one option).
- know the road rules for that way.
- have previously walked/ridden that pathway with a family member.
- know what to do in an emergency.
- can find your contact details if required.
- know their bike, scooter, phone is in good condition and use any relevant safety equipment, e.g. helmet.
The AFP have produced some excellent videos with tips for children:
Tips for 3-8 year olds
Tips for 9-12 year olds
Ways to get to school
The link below is a printable map for ways children can walk and ride to our school. Created through the ACT Gov Active Schools Program several years ago, it is can be folded up into a small pocket sized map for students to keep in their bag or pocket.
Dropping children at school
I would also just like to remind families that students are not to be dropped at school prior to 8.20am, when the first teacher begins supervision. Our school is already generous with this early supervision. Many other schools will not provide it before 8.30am. It is often very cold in the morning and being outside for over 30 minutes prior to school starting can be a challenge for many of them. Being on site without supervision also increases risk for injury, etc.
We have an excellent and popular OSHClub who provide warmth and breakfast from 7.00am. You can register your child's participation with them at their website.
NAIDOC Mass
Today I accompanied Ms Wormald and a group of student representatives to the
Archdiocese NAIDOC Mass where schools came together to celebrate and acknowledge the work of those who support cultural awareness and recognise the contribution of students, staff and parents in our schools. Our Year 6 students were wonderful representatives.
Thank you all for an excellent first week of school. We're looking forward to the next one.
Kind regards,
Matthew Garton
Principal