Dear all,
We made it through the longest and least interrupted school term for a couple of years! Congratulations to all—students, families, staff, and anyone else who is reading this post.
The term has been jam-packed with activity, engagement, celebration, and most importantly, learning.
We have had a number of sporting events and teams happening for our students to be involved in at a class, school, district and broader community level. The Porties White Pointers will soon take over the oval on Saturdays when the soccer season is underway. It is one of the easiest ways to get involved in sport for Primary School students and has always been an important part of our school community.
The back to back success in the Crows Cup was a sporting highlight this term with our team having a fantastic day out. I was a little too enthusiastic during the game I watched and will need to tone it all down before next year. It is really hard to love our kids and keep a lid on the enthusiasm – good future learning for me.
(related link: Sporting opportunities at Porties 2023)
Our first Outdoor Education days were successful and we are looking forward to our next ones. We are pleased at the high number of students who were involved and whose families supported this new and exciting programme.
We haven’t had many excursions this term which is mostly due to the jam-packed calendar making it challenging to find appropriate times to fit them in. There are some scheduled for next term and across the rest of the year. Your children’s teachers will keep you updated in this regard.
There are have been a number of opportunities for parents to engage with us including 3 presentations in the library, the Sneak Peek and Picnic, assemblies and parent/teacher interviews which we moved to the start of the term this year.
One of the presenters, Madhavi Nawana Parker from Positive Minds Australia, was someone we have had visit before and she always has exceptional, sensible advice about parenting. One particular statement from her presentation that has resonated with me was:
“Listen more, fix less.”
When we jump in to fix challenges, issues and inconveniences for our children, we develop an inability, or unwillingness for our children to fix and even attempt the hard things that come their way. Madhavi spoke about giving our children enough experiences of ‘hard’ to help them re-wire the neurons in their brains. We need to give them ‘little bits of hard’ regularly.
We were able to celebrate some wonderful things with our staff team this term with the birth of Foy MacWilliams – Joshua (Mr Josh) and Hannah MacWilliams’ 3rd beautiful son. We sent Mrs Chandler off on parenting leave and look forward to the birth of her first child. Amy Harris won the permanent front office position which is fantastic for our school. And, last but certainly not least, Miss Alana became Mrs Alana when she married the love of her life.
Our students continue to bring joy and laughter each day. We truly have the best jobs in the best school surrounded by the best people.
I hope that you all enjoy the holiday break and we will see you back here in 2 weeks’ time.
Take care and stay safe,
Marie
