Dear Families,

I trust the start of the 2021 school year was a positive one for your child/ren. Thank you for the warm welcome I have received from staff, students and families. I continue to be impressed by the kindness and helpfulness of all. We also welcome new teachers, Chris O’Neill (Year 1) and Corina Lancaster (Year 2) to the team. I am encouraged and energised and know that Chris and Corina are too. We welcome all our new families. May your experience joining the Yeronga State School community be the start of life-long friendships and many happy memories. I encourage you to be proactive participating in the life of the school where you can. We are blessed with a very supportive PandC and school chaplain (Chappy) who are prolific in providing opportunities to be involved and engage. 

A successful transition for our students, new and returning is very important to us at Yeronga State School. We work in partnership with our colleagues, parents, caregivers, previous schools and providers, to ensure as smooth a transition as possible is the experience for each and every one of our students. Whilst the comprehensive handover of information pertaining to individual needs of students is vital, we also appreciate that each child is their own person and as they grow and mature, it is my great hope and goal that each child develop a strong self-efficacy and in time confidently advocate independently for themselves and their needs. They learn how to do this through the primary relationships of parents, caregivers and educators. How we communicate expectations and model desired behaviours is how they will learn to do this. Our actions matter.

As a mother of three boys (all now grown men), I noticed how each of them adjusted differently to change. Some of these nuances in their personality, still remain. The oldest one, Luke, always cautious and careful, would focus on preparation and ensuring all his belongings were in order, an avid user of checklists. Shy and reserved, he found his place in the classroom through careful observation. His strategy was to quickly fit in with the order of the classroom and teacher expectations.  Sam, our middle son, highly socially motivated was all about the friendships. When starting at a new school, he was the one that within a few days was being invited to play dates. Capable at sports, friendly and inclusive he quickly made his mark with students and teachers. Our youngest, Isaac, was all about fun. Less interested in the tasks outlined by the teacher and more interested in ‘creatively’ engaging with his classmates. Isaac was particularly responsive to his relationship with his teacher. If he sensed he was liked/valued by them, he was highly motivated and achievement oriented. As a mother and educator, I was very aware of the importance of the role of the teacher to each of their success and perception of learning. I knew, it was my role to advocate for them, whilst respectfully, understanding they increasingly had to stand on their own two feet and negotiate independently the expectations, personalities, systems and processes of the world around them.

The classroom and school, is our children’s first foray into the wider world where they learn to self-regulate in order to get along and get ahead. As parents the gradual release of involvement in this is necessary and vital to their growth and sense of self. I encourage you to prioritise conversation with your child/ren each day as a means of checking in. Remember to frame the conversation positively. Direct their attention to what worked well in order to support their positive disposition to school. I also encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher and introduce yourself. A positive relationship with your child’s teacher will go a long way as reassurance to you and your child.

A great resource for establishing positive habits in the home to support child and family wellbeing are the Smiling Mind resources. I encourage you to visit the site, in particular the At Home tab for the science behind mindfulness and practical tips for creating a mindful home.

I very much look for to meeting you all over the coming weeks. There will be many opportunities at assemblies, school pick up, parent information nights and PandC meetings and events for us to touch base. As the COVID guidelines for schools advise, where social distancing of 1.5 metres between adults is not possible, please continue to wear facemasks as a precaution. Here’s to a great year!

Sincerely,

Eunice Webb

Principal