Principal's Message

Dear Families,

Wow, I cannot believe it is the end of Term 2 already! Reflecting on the first half of the year, there has been a lot to celebrate. Students have been engaged in their learning and staff have been focusing on building capacity across our priority areas. Outside of the classroom, highlights this Term have included our various sporting events, the successful Hot Lunch Program, our Kitchen and Garden Program, exciting Bush Adventures for our Kinder and Prep students, our comprehensive Learn to Swim Program for Prep to Year 6 and Matilda rehearsals and preparation. We have also held ongoing Extension Programs across the school to ensure our student cohort is continuing to be challenged, observing the learning amongst the Teachers around our reading priority, and celebrating the huge turnout we had over the last few weeks for our Open Classrooms – just to name a few! With lots of exciting events already booked in for our Term 3 calendar, I know next Term is going to be just as exciting.

Key dates for Term 3

• 21 July: First day of Term 3
• 4 – 15 August: Growing Up Program
• 4 August: Managing Complex Friendships with Lisa Ford
• 7 August: School Association Meeting at 6.00pm
• 8 September: Kingston Primary School Swimming Carnival
• 10 September: Matilda Evening Performance
• 11 September: Matilda Evening Performance
• 18 September: School Association Meeting at 6.00pm
• 15 – 19 September: Parent Teacher Discussions
• 26 September: Last day of Term 3

Navigating Friendships and Social Media

For Year 5 and 6 students, managing friendships becomes an increasingly significant part of their lives. As children transition into pre-adolescence, social dynamics grow more complex and peer relationships play a crucial role in their identity development and sense of belonging. Navigating evolving relationships, understanding social cues and dealing with conflict or exclusion can be challenging, often impacting their emotional well-being and academic focus.

The use of Social Media plays a critical role in friendship challenges and is increasingly a part of everyday online activities, particularly through mobile devices. Responsible use of digital technology is everyone’s business – this includes users, providers, parents, schools and communities. Most online safety (eSafety) issues that creep into our school day occur/begin when students are online outside of school hours. It is vital that children know how to use online technology safely and are supported in behaving respectfully and responsibly to keep themselves and others safe at home. Whilst legally children should not be using any Social Media platforms until the age of 13, we do recognise that there is a large percentage of our Year 5/6 students engaging in this space. We all have the responsibility to model and promote a positive and safe online environment, and it is critical that these platforms are monitored by adults at home.

As a result, parents are invited to a valuable session titled 'Navigating Friendships & Mean Behaviour' with Clinical Psychologist Lisa Ford. This workshop, held on Monday 4 August from 6:00pm to 7:30pm in the School Library, will aim to equip attendees with practical strategies to help children manage friendships, address mean behaviour and more. Topics will include understanding developmental trends in friendships, unpacking bullying, empowering children, fostering problem-solving and assertiveness and exploring the role of empathy.

Lisa will spend the day working alongside the Year 5/6 students throughout the school day providing the students with practical strategies and guidance for navigating friendships and addressing challenging social situations.

Growing Up Program

We are pleased to announce that our school will be implementing the Growing Up Program (GUP), Tasmania’s leading relationships, sexuality, and protective behaviours program for students from Kindergarten to Year 6. Facilitated by experienced educators from Family Planning Tasmania, GUP is age-appropriate, sequential and evidence-based. With the Growing Up Program coming to our school, it aligns with the Australian Curriculum, Early Years Learning Framework, and the Respectful Relationships Teaching and Learning Package. This program aims to maximise learning outcomes and foster positive communication between children and their families, encouraging students to discuss important topics with trusted adults while considering their own and their family's beliefs and values.

Feedback to the School – Your voice is important

We are always striving to enhance our school environment and educational programs and your insights are invaluable in this continuous improvement process. We warmly invite all families to share their general feedback on the school's performance and suggest areas where our community can identify ways to improve. Please click on the link below to provide your suggestions – all contributions are welcomed, confidential and greatly appreciated as we work together to make our school even better.

https://forms.office.com/r/AWFFtRSUxn

Wishing our entire School Community a safe and relaxing school break.