It’s Week 6 already which hardly seems possible. Our Junior School family are deeply engrossed in their learning as the year draws rapidly to a close.
Writing Project
Our writing project for 2022 ‘Window into Writing’ is drawing to a close with every class engaging with a different perspective on this topic. I would just encourage every family to make purposeful writing part of home activities during term time and holidays alike. Communication is the cornerstone of understanding and relationship in our global village – never more so than at this time. And as with everything in life, the more you practise, the better you get.
K-4 Swim Program
Our annual K-4 swim program is well underway (two weeks to go) and it is vital to the water safety and confidence of each and every student as we move into summer and beach / pool season. Please take water safety super seriously – we lose so many precious lives to drowning each and every year. We can and must do better.
Annual Music Night
Congratulations to all those students who performed at the Annual Music Night last Thursday and in the Dance Showcase on Wednesday night. All performances were lively and engaging, a fitting reward for the many hours of practice and rehearsal that have been put in this year.
Parking
Given the number of parent events occurring at present, could I remind of the need to be very respectful of our neighbours as you park around the school precinct:
- Don’t park or wait across driveways of houses
- Observe the yellow ‘no parking’ lines on street corners
- Don’t park in Bowra Close (locals only access)
- Don’t park in bus zones / ‘Kiss and Drop’ zones at indicated times
Online Safety
Lastly, I am writing to urge all parents to take a good hard look at the apps and online programs they are accessing at home. I am particularly concerned presently about the number of Junior School students who have access to (accounts) Tiktok and Discord. Both are largely unpoliced and provide plenty of opportunity for older teens / adults to connect under false identities with young people in unhealthy and inappropriate power relationships. Please take this seriously and talk with your children about what they are doing and who they are talking with online. Please check their internet/browsing history on a regular basis so you are secure in knowing what they have been searching for and reading about. The 2022 article linked below gives an objective look at some of the perils of Discord.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/22/tech/discord-teens/index.html
I would argue very strongly that primary age children should NOT be accessing Discord in particular and Tiktok as well. They are not just harmless social media apps.
Mr Andrew Coote
Head of Junior School