Languages
Pages
Legal
FLINDERS PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL Striving for excellence together
Respect Responsibility Resilience
Newsletter Term 1 Week 4 2021
DATES TO REMEMBER
Friday 5th March Sports Day
Early Dismissal 2:10pm
Monday 8th March Public Holiday
Tuesday 23rd February Annual General Mtg
6pm
Wednesday 3rd March F to Yr2 Literacy Information Night
Principal: Zoe Wecker Deputy Principal: Cassie McCaffrey
70 Holbrooks Rd, Flinders Park. SA 5025
Phone: 8443 9356 Fax: 82342551
Email: [email protected]
Dear Families
The hot weather has made a return this week and it has highlighted the need for all students to bring a named water bottle to school every day. Drinking fountains remain off and we have been informed that they will not be turned on again for the short term. Please make sure your child has a water bottle. We do have facilities to refill them if required.
QR Codes
Updated advice regarding QR codes is that adults entering the grounds do not need to check in using the codes. Any adult entering a building need to check in using the QR code or the sign in register. This is purely for SA Health contact tracing purposes. Under current advice, we are still asking adults to remain outside classrooms.
Sports Day
We have been having many discussions and planning is well under way for our sports day which is Friday 5th March. Dismissal is at 2.10pm. With current restrictions and advice from the Department for Education and SA Health, parents will be able to attend sports day. Social distancing will need to be strictly adhered to. More information regarding this event will follow next week.
3 Way Conversations- Parent/Teacher/Student Meetings
We are very pleased to inform our community that from 9th March, families will be offered the opportunity to discuss their child/s progress with their class teacher/s. Information regarding this and how to book your preferred time will follow shortly. We encourage all families to book a time so that any concerns or information can be shared. Students are welcome to attend as it is often a great opportunity for them to talk about their learning. We look forward to meeting and discussing all the learning that has been happening.
Save the Date: Foundation (Reception) to Year 2 Literacy Information Night
This year we will be running a parent workshop Wednesday 3rd March at 5.30pm-6.00pm in the Library for our foundation to year 2 parents regarding our Systematic Synthetic Program (SSP) that runs every day from 9am to 10.50am.
Due to COVID restrictions, we are limiting attendance to one parent per family. Further information regarding registering for the event will follow.
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
A reminder that our AGM is on Tuesday the 23rd February at 6pm in the library. If you would like to nominate to join our Governing Council, we welcome everyone!. All members, both new and existing will undertake online training before our first meeting, so if you are unsure how it works, we can show you. We would love to have new members join us.
SeeSaw
SeeSaw is our main form of communication at FPPS. If you are having connection issues, please speak with Sandra in the front office.
Regards
Zoe Wecker
Friday 19th March is National Action Against Bullying Day. As a school community, we take the responsibly of keeping our young people safe and free from harm seriously. It is important that as adults we have a clear understanding of what bullying is and how we can respond to it.
The article below is an exceptionally well written explanation of harassment and bullying written by Naomi Ey, one of our Year 6/7 teachers. For further information you can visit the Bullying No Way website at https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/
As parents, any level of hurt we see our own children experience can be difficult. There is nothing harder than hearing your child say “… doesn’t want to be my friend anymore” or “… hit me today”. Hearing these things from your child can be quite emotive and we often want justice for the hurt our child is feeling. Parents can also feel quite helpless when you feel your child is being bullied. You are relying on the school to listen to you and your child, and trusting that they will act in the best interests of your child.
Unfortunately, these days the term ‘bullying’ has become a generic term for any type of negative behaviour. Negative behaviours are a concern and need attention, but come in many forms and it is important to separate them from true bullying. It is not easy for kids to understand the difference between a deliberate act and an accidental one, which is why it is vital that parents understand what is and what is not bullying.
Below are some examples of behaviours that, while upsetting and hurtful, are not bullying:
Two friends have an argument. One of the children says “I don’t want to be your friend anymore” or “I’m not playing with you”. While upsetting, this in an example of children trying to negotiate big feelings and social dynamics.
One child throws a handful of leaves/sand/bark at another child. While unpleasant, this could have been a misunderstood joke, attention seeking or an expression of frustration.
Directed name calling i.e. “You’re fat/ugly/lazy…” This is mean and hurtful, but unless repeated is not bullying. This can be an expression of how that child is feeling, an attempt to communicate some other emotion or attention seeking.
When trying to determine if what your child is telling you is bullying or not, it can be helpful to think in these terms:
Is it Rude/Unkind?
If something is rude, it is usually spontaneous, unplanned, inconsiderate, thoughtless or poor manners – but not meant to actually hurt someone. Rude or unkind behaviours are isolated or once off occurrences.
Is it Mean?
The difference between rudeness and meanness is intent. Mean behaviour aims to hurt or depreciate someone but is an isolated incident or a once off. This can be a result of a misunderstanding or miscommunication and is usually able to be resolved restoratively.
Is it Bullying?
Experts agree that bullying entails three key elements: an intent to harm, a power imbalance, and repeated acts or threats of aggressive behaviour. There is often no sense of regret or remorse from the bully and is one sided behaviour towards a target. There are various types of bullying including physical, verbal and cyber.
The national definition of bullying for Australian schools says: “Bullying is an ongoing misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that causes physical and/or psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a group misusing their power over one or more persons. Bullying can happen in person or online, and it can be obvious (overt) or hidden (covert). Single incidents and conflict or fights between equals, whether in person or online, are not defined as bullying.” (https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/WhatIsBullying/DefinitionOfBullying)
In primary school we are working with young people who are learning, developing awareness of social and behavioural norms and don’t yet have all the tools to deal with every situation. We have a responsibility to teach them skills and
strategies to negotiate a range of social situations and develop appropriate skills to deal with these situations, including resilience and protective behaviours.
Is It Bullying? A parent’s guide to understanding bullying and other social behaviours in a school environment.
National Action Against Bullying
This is done in class through a range of programs and is supported in the yard by teachers and students using the grievance procedure to resolve issues. However, it is never ok for children to feel unsafe or victimised at school, and in these circumstances leadership will be notified so appropriate intervention can occur.
Unfortunately, not every incident is clear cut. That is why as a school we do our upmost to investigate incidents thoroughly, get both sides of the story and respond accordingly. Responses may vary but can include anything from a restorative conversation with all parties, to loss of play/privileges, to suspension. When consequences are enacted we need to make sure we have acted on accurate information. No parent wants their child to be bullied, harassed or made to feel unsafe. Likewise, no parent wants their child to be given consequences that are based merely on suspicion or accusations.
There can at times be a perception that issues and incidents are not dealt with by the school. Firstly, we must determine whether it is true bullying or another type of negative behaviour. Secondly, we must fully investigate each incident on its merits. Finally, we must decide on the appropriate outcome and intervention for each individual incident. We also must maintain a professional level of privacy, and confidentiality must be considered and therefore makes details of specific incidents inappropriate to share with others.
UNDERSTANDING LEVELS OF BEHAVIOUR
The table below provides a quick reference to help explain varying degrees of negative behaviour. An understanding of
these terms may be useful in talking to your child about an incident that has occurred and whether or not it is bullying.
A word on Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is an increasingly complex issue for parents and educators alike.
Ultimately, Cyberbullying that occurs outside of school hours, on social media and gaming platforms, and on personal devices is the responsibility of the parent or caregiver. Parents need to educate themselves on the risks and capabilities of different devices/platforms and set rules and guidelines for their own child. Parents can support their child to have strong security settings, block people or inappropriate content, and report serious offences to the police.
If an incident of cyberbullying occurs at school on school devices, it will be investigated and dealt with accordingly. Also, if an incident of cyberbullying occurs outside and is impacting on your child while at school (ongoing teasing, harassment, not feeling safe to come to school), this will also be dealt with according to school policy, and after investigation could result in school based consequences being implemented.
RUDE MEAN BULLYING
How often Occasional / Once Off Once or twice Repeated / Ongoing
Intent Spontaneous, unintentional Intentional Planned, unprovoked and purposefully done
Reason Based in thoughtlessness, can be inconsiderate or poor
manners
Based in anger, can be impulsive or cruel, can be a
result of misunderstandings or miscommunication
The bully is trying to gain control over the target. The
bully is intentionally trying to upset, hurt or create a power
imbalance.
Impact Can cause hurt feelings Can hurt others deeply One sided towards a target
Resolution Person who was rude accepts responsibility. An effort is
made to apologise and rebuild or repair the damaged
relationship.
Person who was mean often regrets the behaviour. An
effort is made to apologise, recognise the impact on the
other person, rebuild the relationship and not repeat
the behaviour.
The bully often does not regret the behaviour or tries to justify and rationalise the
behaviour. The behaviour doesn’t stop despite the bully being aware of the impact of
their behaviour.
National Action Against Bullying (Continued)
A Pastoral Care Worker (PCW) is a trained, experienced, and passionate person who joins a school community on behalf of SMG (Schools Ministry Group) to provide extra support to young people.
I will strive to be a positive, compassionate role model bringing genuine understanding and practical ongoing support to Flinders Park Primary School. Please feel free to chat to me if you need anything. I am here to help!
Regards Jaclyn Turley
Pastoral Care Worker Introduction
School Fees and School Card
School Fees for the 2021 school year are $300.00 and are due to be paid by the 9th of April 2021.
Payment can be made in person at the front office, over the phone using a credit/debit card or electronically into the schools bank account BSB - 105 088 Account No - 338221040 with either the invoice number or child’s name in the reference field.
Payment of fees can be made in instalments. Please contact the Front Office to arrange this.
If you wish to apply for School Card it can be applied for online via the following link:
https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/education-and-learning/financial-help-scholarships-and-grants/school-card-scheme
School Card needs to be applied for each year, so if you applied for it last year, you still need to either apply online or fill in the form again this year and return it to the Front Office.
If you require any assistance, please contact the Friendly Front Office Staff who will be happy to assist you.
Thanks Kathy - Finance Officer.
Top Related