Principal's Post
Dear Parents/Carers,
Vale Ryder
Firstly, Ryder’s passing brought our whole community together in an expression of love and mourning these past weeks. Staff and students filled memory boxes with cards, artwork and messages for Ryder and his family. These were collected by Brendon (Ryder’s Dad) last Friday and they were placed with Ryder along with a box of his favourite snacks Cheezels.
A large contingent of students and staff joined Lisa, Brendon and Ava lining the fence on Hamilton Road as Ryder passed the school on his way to the church service. Parents and teachers should feel immense pride in the respect these children demonstrated during this difficult time. The support they provided to Ryder’s family was immeasurable. The leadership team, teachers and teacher-aides who had been a significant part of Ryder’s journey these past four years at Craigslea attended the service. We were fortunate to have our Guidance Officer, the Regional Guidance Officer, Metropolitan North Behaviour Service and Michelle Bond (Executive Principal-State Schools Performance) come to support students and staff during and after the Guard of Honour.
Student Free Days
Our teaching staff attended a half day workshop on the Australian Curriculum, progressed actions for our Strategic Plan and discussed the positive learning that teachers could take away from the period of home learning.
Music Workshop and Sports Days
Thanks to Mrs Stockill, Mrs Jerram, Ms Owens and Mr Schick for their support of students during the Music Workshop. We look forward to some of the performances rehearsed on the day to be distributed in an online format for the rest of the school community.
Thanks to Mr Heidrich, staff and students for the competition and spirit of Junior Sports Day.
Class Allocation Process 2021
During Term 4, teachers commence the process of class allocations for next year. Teachers have considerable expertise and motivation in allocating students to classrooms where they think they will learn best particularly when they have worked with a group of students all year. The first priority is to attempt (with the best knowledge we collectively have), the creation of balanced class groups according to social, emotional, academic and behavioural characteristics. Teachers are not allocated to the class until well after the class groups are formed. Teachers (through a set process appropriate to each age level), will take into account the friendship networks of the student (based on student perspectives and teacher observations) as another part of the placement picture bearing in mind that students may not always work best in a classroom with particular friends. At certain times, a change from being in a classroom with a particular friend or group is necessary for student growth and classroom balance. The teacher is best placed to make this decision.
If parents wish to express a point of view about your child’s allocation, this needs to be put in writing to the Principal strictly by Sunday 25 October (end of Wk 3). In order to be considered, this point of view must be framed in terms of an educational reason focusing on your child’s social, emotional and academic needs rather than requesting placement or non-placement with particular students or teachers. In short, please do not name students or teachers in your submission. In a school of this size, it is not possible for students to all be placed with a teacher or student favoured by themselves or their parent. Conversely, it is not possible for parents to request avoidance of a particular student or teacher. There are just not enough options when placing large numbers of students and more often than not, everyone wants the same thing. The information on which students and parents make these requests can be flawed.
Teachers are also aware that some students may not be compatible within a classroom environment or require a ‘break’ from each other in order to foster their learning. Additionally, there is no guarantee that certain teachers will be attached to their 2020 year levels. This is due to the fact that there are a range of external factors that can affect this from year to year. It has been our practice to move teachers around and the state-wide transfer process can impact belatedly on how classes are staffed from year to year.
I’d ask parents to understand that there are many complexities involved informing classes and although parent views are definitely taken into account other circumstances can affect their child’s class placement. In most instances we have 75 to 100 students to place. Parents choosing their child’s class is not a workable solution for any school. Therefore, in fairness schools can’t offer choice of placement to particular parents as it is impossible to offer to all. I can assure parents this is a lengthy process that is given a great deal of time and effort and thank you in advance for your understanding and adherence to the guidelines outlined above if you decide to submit information before the due date.
Please note that information submitted after the due date cannot be considered as this process is done as part of a number of scheduled meetings and the opportunity for teachers to meet again to discuss late submissions is not possible at this time of year. In order to assist us with class allocations, please return the attached slip stating your child’s return or non-return for the 2021 school year. We do understand that circumstances do change but an indication will help with making plans.
School Support Staff Week
We are so fortunate to have school support staff who are caring and dedicated to our students. This week we have honoured them through small tokens of our appreciation, FaceBook posts and the like. I hope it gives parents an insight into the large team of people that work hard to support students academically, socially and emotionally on a daily basis.
Speech Therapy Week
In the last fortnight we marked Speech Therapy Week. Our school-based Speech Therapist Beth Campbell works here at Craigslea two days per week with students prioritised at being at risk in terms of their oral language development. Beth also supports the early childhood teachers and teacher-aides to run whole class, small group and individual programs in early phase classrooms. Here is a wonderful story from one our parents whose child had a profound speech issue from his entry to Prep. We thank Beth for all the wonderful work she does in our school which improves the lives of students.
My son was diagnosed with ASD when he turned 2. He was a beautiful, happy, calm baby but I saw changes shortly before his first birthday. I assumed he was unwell as he became less content and more irritated by nothing in particular. He had begun saying words like dada and mama and waved but this stopped.
By the time he was 2 he was not talking at all and he was very difficult to interact with. He was violent and loud - screaming and crying most of day. He slept poorly or extensively. I described him to others as finding the world a difficult place.
He began speech therapy at 2 but his behaviours were challenging and she took on more of a support role as he engaged in regular occupational therapy to help him regulate his emotions better.
The first year of school he went for 3 hours each day. I tried to collect him before his meltdown. He was able to say some (not many) words that could be understood in context.
The following year he began working with Beth (our school Speech Pathologist) on his speech and language and he improved significantly. He spoke more words and began listening better. I began to believe he would one day communicate well. This changed my life for the better! His behaviour was still difficult and I collected him early from school regularly. Talking to his paediatrician she suggested some medication to help.
By the next year the medication kicked in and I found him much more calm and able to focus. Beth kept working with him. He was taking more responsibility for his learning and he understood how important it was to communicate with others. Beth made scrap books with sheets that had sounds to revise and wrote notes about what to practice at home. We traded iPad time for extra practice.
By the end of that year my son was a different child. He was calmer and his speech had improved to the level where people understood him and he no longer needed me as an interpreter. People would tell me how much better at speaking he had become and I began to imagine his future as bright.
Now my son has developed good friendships with a large group of friends. He enjoys learning about things and going to school and he has taken opportunities to present work to his class and on assembly.
Last week he came into my workplace for the first time in two years and the staff who knew him were blown away by how calm and well-spoken he was and the new staff couldn’t believe us when we discussed his improvement!
Beth’s work with my son has been life changing for him and us. It’s given him the skills to communicate with, and participate in the world around him. I am forever grateful xxx
Dress Code - Reminder for beginning of Term 4
Attached is the updated Dress Code Flyer for our school. (Click here) This is a set of community standards and expectations around the wearing of uniform at this school. This includes statements around the uniform itself as well as suitable hats, jackets, pants, shoes, hair accessories, jewellery and hair-styles. There are low cost options for many aspects of the uniform.
As a requirement of the Education Act, Parents and Citizens Associations are required to be consulted and endorse the school dress code. In our school all parents were invited to have a say on the standards and participate in the final vote at a P and C Meeting. This was done pre-COVID so we didn’t get the opportunity to share this widely due to this interruption. Additionally, we decided to shelve any reminders during this “COVID winter” as we didn’t want to place any additional pressure on families during this difficult time.
Please peruse the flyer as we will provide families until the beginning of Term 4 to have their child’s uniform aligned to the Dress Code. Staff after that time will send reminder slips home to respectfully ask parents to support their child to wear their uniform in line with the Dress Code. These slips will be sent home in a manner which is not designed to embarrass or upset the student as we recognise that children need and respond to the guidance and support of their significant adults in these matters. We also understand that this still may be a difficult time for some families and we are willing to support in any way we can to ensure your child has access to the necessary components of their uniform. Additionally, provided jumpers, skorts, shorts , tracksuit pants and the like are plain navy blue they do not have be the Craigslea specific item. However, they do need to meet the requirements of being plain in colour and the right length etc.
Parents can apply for an exemption on medical, psychological, religious or cultural grounds to the School Council through the presentation of a letter. To avoid disappointment, the letter should be presented with supporting official evidence from a medical professional, religious leader or leader of a community cultural organisation. Though it is not our intention to impose punitive consequences and there are no plans for children to be excluded from compulsory aspects of the curriculum, it may preclude them from positions of leadership (student council, school and house captains etc) or such things as photographs in the newsletter, FaceBook etc, unless of course they have been given an exemption. All children would love to wear what they would like to school-we get it. However, this school community (as have most school communities) decided on a set of standards to ensure fairness and equitable treatment for all students in our school in regard to the wearing of uniform, whilst ensuring there is a process of support for those that have a valid reason for their uniform to be varied.
Happy Holidays
We finish school on Friday September 18th and school returns on Tuesday October 6th after the Public Holiday. I hope you have a chance to refresh with your children.
Kathy