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The Buzz-Term 2 Week 5 Wednesday 27th May

The Buzz Beresford Road Public School

74 Beresford Road, Greystanes, 2145 T 98962644 F 9896 3172 Email: beresfdrd-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

The Buzz Term 2 Week 5 Wednesday 27th May 2020

Principal’s Message

As we return to full time school our routines of a morning

have changed. While I understand the difficulties for parents

and students, can I congratulate students for displaying

great resilience and independence in the way they have

returned to school. We hope soon we will be able to invite

parents back onto site to share in our community spirit.

However, until it is safe to do so the staff and I appreciate

your assistance with this matter.

Our scheduled school maintenance of asphalt and softfall

replacement continues. Unfortunately, it will be held up due

to wet weather.

I understand after home learning some parents may have

concerns about their child’s academic development and/or

social development. Teachers will be assessing students

this week and next to ascertain their learning needs and, as

always, will continue to communicate with parents when

necessary.

If you need to make an appointment at any time with your

classroom teacher please do so through the front office. You

are also able to access our stage supervisors; please leave a

message at the office or email the school email and they will

return your call as soon as they can. For additional learning

and support needs our Learning and Support Teacher can be

contacted.

Stage Supervisors

Stage 3 Mr Liam Sharp Assistant Principal

Stage 2 Ms Pam Chevalier Deputy Principal

Stage 1 Mrs Jade Leverett Assistant Principal

ES1 Mrs Loraine Cause Assistant Principal

MC Mrs Elisha Obsioma Assistant Principal

Learning and Support Teacher Mrs Connie Cukman

Learning and Support Supervisor Mrs Carolyn Stephens

Deputy Principal

Parking

Finding parking in school areas is always a problem,

however the safety of students around roads is paramount.

Please ensure that you park

correctly at the front and

back of the school. I have

requested the local police

command visit the school at

drop off and pick up times

to monitor parent parking.

Birthdays

During these times no

student can bring food

items or other items to

school to share with friends

to celebrate their birthday.

In order for students to still celebrate their birthdays they

may wear ‘mufti’ to school. (If their birthday is on the week-

end they may choose the previous Friday or the following

Monday to wear mufti). Please ensure they wear closed in

sport shoes and appropriate clothes.

Reconciliation Week

On 28 May 2000, an estimated 250,000 people clasped

hands and streamed across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in a

special march of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians

during Australia’s National Reconciliation Week.

Twenty years later, National Reconciliation Week is being

held digitally and at a distance.

‘But social distancing has provided the perfect opportunity

for all Australians to think deeply about the nation’s true

history,’ said Kamilaroi Elder and senior leader for communi-

ty engagement at Walgett Community College, Roslyn

McGregor.

“Reconciliation is not marked by one moment in time. It is

ongoing, now and into the future,” Ms McGregor said.

This year, the Walgett high school was marking National

Reconciliation Week by emphasising the importance of

caring for country, she said.

“We will be asking students and communities what caring

for country means to them. We will put a series of posters

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The Buzz-Term 2 Week 5 Wednesday 27th May

all around town, with words, quotes and images that tell the

story of caring for Kamilaroi country.”

This year’s National Reconciliation Week theme – ‘In this to-

gether’

Students at Beresford Road will be involved in class activities

and discussions this week about Reconciliation.

Principal

Gae Bromwich

Deputy Principal

Mobile Phones

Just a reminder that all students need to hand in their

mobile phones before school to the office.

Computer Use

The poster below will be going up in every Year 2-6 class-

room for classes to refer to when using computers. A

simplified version will be in K-1 classes.

Computer Contract

All Year 2 students and any new students to our school

will be taking home a Computer Contract soon that will

need to be read and signed by students and a parent/

carer. This ensures that students, parents and teachers

all have a shared understanding of their responsibilities

regarding safe computer use at school.

Covid-positives

Now that we are all back to school with some form of

normality, I wanted to focus on the positives that learn-

ing from home has had for us all.

Strong home school partnerships

I don’t think that parents and teachers have ever re-

spected each other more for the way we have all risen to

the occasion. Being involved in this shared experience

has helped us to bond and appreciate the other side of

the learning experiences for our children. Parents have

had to play a big part in their child’s education. While

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The Buzz-Term 2 Week 5 Wednesday 27th May

this has probably been a trying time, sometimes even time,

learning from home has been a huge positive. You are now

more knowledgeable about what your children are learning,

how they are learning and their strengths as weaknesses as a

learner.

Techno savvy

While some parents and teachers were already techno whiz-

zes, some of us were more techno phobic. Learning was not

just for the students in this department. Learning how to con-

nect to Google Classroom, Zoom, upload audio, videos, selfies

(yes that’s you Mr Hawkins) and submit work is something we

all now know how to do.

Learning

The staggered return to school has allowed teachers to spend

quality one-on-one time with students, assessing where they

are up to in their learning and making learning goals. Many

teachers have found that students and parents who have

been engaged in home learning have made some noticeable

improvements in their learning. So overall, the home learning

has not negatively impacted the students learning. This has

been accomplished through the efforts of both the teachers

and parents working together during this time.

Where to now?

As a school community we want to make sure we don’t lose

all the positives that have happened in this time. The school

is now looking at more ways to use technology to build great-

er home/school partnerships and we would like your help.

One way is to fill out any surveys that get sent home via email

or facebook. Another way is to participate in a Community

Partnership forum to be held at the school at a later date.

The information gathered will be used to make a Community

Partnership plan. We are looking forward to working with you

to make our school even greater.

Mrs Stephens

Deputy Principal

Deputy Principal

Bounce Back

Bounce Back is a social and emotional learning program de-

signed to assist teachers and schools in their efforts to teach

the skills required for a child’s well being and to create safe

and supportive school environments. Bounce Back was the

world’s first positive education program when it was first

published in 2003 and continues to be a widely implemented

in schools around the world. It is has shown to be highly

effective as it is based on educational and psychological the-

ories and evidence-based teaching strategies.

Bounce Back is a whole school program with three levels – K-

2, Years 3- 4 and Years 5-8. Each of the levels includes nine

units of work at the appropriate year levels and curriculum

outcomes. Most of the lessons include a related text, the use

of circle time for discussion and a follow up activity often

utilising a cooperative learning approach. The program will

be explicitly taught this term by all classroom teachers from

Kindergarten through to Year 6. The unit to be covered this

term is “People Bouncing Back”. This unit aims to develop in

children the coping and resilience skills and attitudes to be

able to successfully navigate the many changes in life they

will encounter. This unit introduces to the children the idea

of resilience – the ability of people to bounce back after un-

dergoing difficult or challenging situations. Children will be

introduced to the acronym Bounce (K-2) and Bounce Back

(Years 3 – 6).

Bad times don’t last. Things always get better. Stay optimis-

tic.

Other people can help if you talk to them. Get a reality

check.

Unhelpful thinking makes you feel more upset. Think again.

Nobody is perfect – not you and not others.

Concentrate on the positives (no matter how small) and use

laughter.

Everybody experiences sadness, hurt, failure, rejection and

setbacks sometimes, not just you. They are a normal part of

life. Try not to personalise them.

Blame fairly. How much of what happened was due to you,

to others and to bad luck or circumstances?

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The Buzz-Term 2 Week 5 Wednesday 27th May

Accept what can’t be changed (but try to change what you

can change first).

Catastrophising exaggerates your worries. Don’t believe the

worst possible picture.

Keep things in perspective. It’s only part of your life.

If you have any questions regarding the Bounce Back program

or would like additional information, please do not hesitate

to speak to your child’s classroom teacher or myself.

Ms Pam Chevalier

Deputy Principal

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The Buzz-Term 2 Week 5 Wednesday 27th May

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