Dear Families

This coming week we acknowledge and celebrate International Teachers Day. We will be celebrating our Yeronga State School teachers on Thursday 27^th of October. Every year the PandC organise a lovely morning tea/luncheon for our teachers. A gesture that is appreciated beyond words. Teachers are a rare type of human. The job demands a required set of skills and disposition that demands both an earnest commitment and attention to detail at once with flexibility and openness. At a time when the teaching profession is experiencing a resignation crisis, as a society we need to support our teachers even more. Their role in the care and education of our children is a familial and societal need. They are our professional educators one for which they have trained between 4 and 7 Years at University. When we consider the individual care and education needs of each of the 25 individual children in their class for five hours a day, five days a week, it is a care service few of us could afford. At childcare per hour wages of $30 an hour x 25 children our educators would earn near $19 000 per week. An economic contribution in meeting the childcare needs of the broader workforce that is rarely mentioned. Research has shown time and time again that teachers are not motivated to join and stay in the profession for the pay or (frequently commentated on) the holidays. They do it because they are committed to young people and the purpose of their work. Increasing complexity in our world and demands of the curriculum is resulting in increasing levels of work-related stress and burnout. Acknowledgment, respect and appreciation goes a long, long, way. Please join with me this week in expressing a sincere appreciation for every one of our Yeronga teachers!

Lovely Nikita in the office has moved interstate to take up an opportunity in another career. I know you as we do, will miss her kind and patient approach to helping us out in the school office and wish her all the very best for the future.

We welcome Courtney Truce who is replacing Lauren Easey (music teacher). Courtney comes with a wealth of experience across the private and public system and we welcome her to our team.

The department has released an update of the Respectful Relationships program. The RESPECT program includes a greater focus on consent, cultural inclusion and prevention of gender and family related violence. We will not be adopting the updated version of the program without involvement of Department of Education staff, community consultation and awareness. At present we are implementing the original version of the program. For more information on the Respectful Relationships Program and updated RESPECT component please go to the department’s Respectful Relationships Education Hub.

It was wonderful to join our PandC members on Tuesday evening as we participated in a process of identifying operational PandC priorities for the future. I was encouraged and excited by the optimism and enthusiasm in the room. One common them that emerged, opportunities for our community to connect and celebrate are top of the list! Please look out for the many opportunities coming up coming up this term.

Have a wonderful week,

Eunice