Dear Families and Carers

Over the last few weeks of last year our teaching staff and students focussed schoolwide on what it meant to be treated and to treat others with respect. This schoolwide focus was a catalyst for a positive and joyful end of year where classes nominated a student from their class for the Principal’s RESPECT award.

Sadly, this week we have observed isolated incidents of disrespectful behaviour from young people and adults in our school community. I refer you to the Schoolzine message sent to all staff and families on Thursday 8 February regarding conduct when on or near the school site.

As a school, we have a collective responsibility to offer every student the best opportunity for a life of ‘choice not chance’. That is, that they have every opportunity to progress to the best of their potential. Their positive contribution to the world, not limited by the barrier’s ‘society’ places upon them. Similarly, we are an educational institution with the entrusted role of preparing our students for a better world for all. The following is my newsletter insert from Term 4 last year which has ongoing relevance to us as a thriving educational community for our young people.

We learnt an acronym to help us with taking action

Remember Every Single Person and place Excels when we Cultivate Trust

We have been discussing what respect based on a culture of trust would like. We have talked about everyone having a role as a teacher and learner at school and being able to rely on each other to do our part. We have been talking about tone and how important that is when speaking. We have been talking about truth and how truth told and heard respectfully builds trust. We have been talking about tolerance and taking time to think before responding. Giving people the benefit of the doubt and not always jumping to conclusions.

Parent Teacher Information Evening

It was wonderful to see so many families attend the classroom information evening on Wednesday evening. This was followed by the Year 4 1:1 iPad Hire Scheme information session at 5.30pm. Again, I thank those families for making the time to hear about the changes from the 1:1 Bring Your Own Device program (BYOD) to our school owned and managed 1:1 program and procedures. The paperwork will be coming to all Year 4 families this coming week.

Parent Representatives

A crucial role of Parent Representatives in our school is to be a conduit for the distilling of information and parental engagement pertaining to your child’s class operations. This week I will be collating the list of all Parent Representatives for each class. Please consider nominating for the role and let your class teacher know. They will inform me and I will pass on the information to the 2024 PandC Parent Rep. Coordinator.

The Parent Rep Role

Parent Representatives are in integral part of our school community who:

1. Support home-school relationship by liaising between the teachers and parents of their nominated class.
2. Provide encouragement to other parents in the class to participate in classroom and community volunteering opportunities.
3. Welcome new families by making themselves known to new parents and help them transition into the Yeronga State School Community.
4. Organise social gatherings such as coffee mornings, family park outings or parent evenings to help build friendship networks within the community.
5. Support parents who are not able to be on the school site regularly due to work or other commitments, so they are informed of class and school activities.
6. Assist the P&C Events Committee with communications and event volunteer rosters.
7. Weekly communication between the class teacher and all parents.
8. Complete the Department of Education Mandatory All Staff Training (MAST) for volunteers and provide a record of completion to the office. (This will be provided to all parent reps as soon as they are finalised).

Parent Reps – how to nominate

• Please communicate with your class teacher that you would like to be a Parent Rep

I look forward to meeting many of our new families at our upcoming PandC AGM Meeting on Tuesday 20 February in the Curiosity Centre. Please enter by the T Block (office and reception) pedestrian gate then proceed up the internal stairs at the back of the building. The meeting commences at 6.30am with pizza and sushi followed by the formal meeting at 7PM.

Have a great week,

Eunice

Principal