Student for a day
Last week I had the great privelige of being a ‘Student for a day’. I followed Raj and his 8H classmates for the day, participating in all classes, lunchtime activities, and the hussle and bustle of the locker bay. I was reminded of exactly how challenging Year 8 can be, switching gears between classes as the day progressed.
After rushing to get to home group on time with Ms Corbisiero, we moved onto Maths with Mr Ung and Ms Suderson. Thank goodness we were doing median, mean and mode, which is one of the rare maths topics I remember from school. After recess was Science with Ms Kandy, which was great fun. While I was very rusty on the periodic table, I thoroughly enjoyed the Flame Test prac, using the bunsen burners, and can now (somewhat) confidently explain the differences between atoms, molecules, and compounds. After an extensive game of kick-to-kick at lunchtime (I can still kick a mean drop punt!), we off to more familiar grounds for me; English. Despite having taught English from Year 7-12 for many years, I was quite nervous about answering questions about different sentences types. I’m sure sure Ms Robertson would be proud of my complex and compound sentences in this article. And my sentence fragments.
As I unpacked my locker at the end of the day, and crawled back for an after-school meeting, I reflected on how wonderful our students are, and how lucky they are to have such positive, knowledgable, and encouraging teachers and support staff.
Thank you very much to Raj and 8H for having me, as well as to our wonderful teachers and Education Support team. I look forward to being ‘Student for a day’ again next year!
Car Parking at the Junior Campus
This is a reminder to all families that unfortunately there is no parking available on-site at the Junior Campus. We ask that any families travelling by car make use of the streets adjacent to, and opposite, the campus, while respecting our neighbours’ needs. We also ask that families refrain from stopping on Stephensons Road for pick-ups and drop-offs as this is very disruptive to the flow of traffic.
Every day counts
Did you know:
- Patterns of late arrival at school or missing classes are early warning signs of disengagement?
- Missing one day of school each week adds up to two months per year?
- Each day of absence has an impact on skill development and important social connections
- Poor attendance may be associated with future unemployment, criminal activity, substance abuse, and poorer health and life expectancy?
Top tips:
- We want to work in partnership with parents – act early if you have any concerns by contacting your child’s school and asking for advice and support
- Remember that every day counts
- There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes and their social connectedness
- Talk positively about school and the importance of attending every day
- Open and prompt communication with the school about all absences is a good idea
- Avoid making routine medical and dental appointments during the school day or planning family holidays during the term
- Seek help from the school if you are concerned about your child’s attendance and wellbeing. We want to work in partnership with parents to support student attendance and wellbeing
Mr Matt Sheehan
Campus Principal – Junior School