TJURINGA ‘Message Stick’

Term 2 Week 5 Thursday 14 May. 2020

Laura Street ASPENDALE 3195

9580 3255 www.aspendale.vic.edu.au

aspendale.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

From Steve Gammon, Yr 4 Leader

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week Year 4 were scheduled to attend Camp Rumbug

in South Gippsland, but rather than the flying foxes,

orienteering, and kayaking, we have a whole different set

of new life experiences from staying at home and remote

learning. These experiences, like camp, will be

remembered by everyone far into the future. We have all

advanced our technological skill-sets, our self-discipline

when it comes managing our own work, time and learning.

I cannot express how impressed I have been with Year 4

(and all students across APS) and the APS staff who have

shown just how resilient and agile they are by adapting to

remote learning. We do hope that Year 4 will be able to

attend camp still, with some provisional rescheduling

already done, but obviously need to take guidance closer

to the time. Watch this space!

I would like to briefly recognise the Year 4 team for

keeping things fun and interesting whilst we’ve been

remote learning, from Mr Johnston’s The Minecraft Edu

Show to Miss Bourke’s impromptu dance parties and Miss

McSweeney’s unforgettable nautical look at the end of the

‘I’m Still Standing’ video. The kids have really enjoyed

connecting with their teachers in a different way (we have

seen some fabulous illustrations of Mr J!)!

“I’ve gotten better at starting work without needing help”

- Seb

“I’m most proud of how I have been working efficiently

and how I can help my younger brother.” - Jas

Return to school

This week saw the announcement that schools will be

returning to face-to-face learning before the end of Term

2. All staff, Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 will return on

May 26th, and Years 3-6 will join us on June 9th. Until your

year level’s face-to-face return date, remote learning will

continue every day except on May 25th which has been

declared a student-free day.

The staff at APS are delighted that face-to-face learning

will recommence at school before the end of Term 2 and

look forward to seeing students and one another (from a

social distance, of course!) very soon.

Education Support Personnel Day

May 16th marks Education Support Personnel Day. At

APS we are fortunate to have a dedicated group of

Education Support staff who regularly go above and

beyond and contribute invaluable work, no more evident

than in these unprecedented times. School has remained

open this entire time for the children of essential workers

and these students have been tirelessly supported by our

dedicated Education Support staff team. The

contributions of the Education Support staff across Term

2 cannot be understated and we, as their colleagues, would

like to give them our warm thanks.

Excursions from the comfort of your own home

Tuesday saw the first of our ‘Excursions to You’ where

we aimed to give the Year 4 students the full excursion

experience from the comfort of their own homes! Our

‘excursion’, Aussie Animal Adventurers was hosted by a

Zoos Victoria teacher who told us all about Aussie

animals, such as the Tasmanian Devil and the Helmeted

Honeyeater. Despite a few technical difficulties at the

beginning (thanks to the rest of the Year 4 team for coming

to the rescue!), the session was really interesting,

informative and enjoyed by all.

Education Week

APS will be celebrating Education Week next week with

the theme of 'Keeping Connected in Remote Times'. We'll

be kicking off with a virtual morning tea together on

Monday morning where students will be staying online

after their regular class meeting on WebEx to enjoy a

catch-up with their classmates and teacher, proudly

wearing their school uniforms. Further information about

this morning tea and Education Week activities are in the

flyer attached.

Kind regards

Steve Gammon

Year 4 Leader

Dear APS Families

Just an update from the Buildings and Grounds

Committee.

Firstly, I would like to mention how lucky our children are

to attend such a well-appointed and maintained school.

Our buildings are functional, well furbished and a great

environment for learning. The grounds are looking neat,

clean and particularly green after good rainfall recently.

They are in perfect order for when classes resume in the

not too distant future!

Many members of the school community contribute to the

upkeep of the facilities at APS. In particular, thanks to

groundskeeper Steve for his hard work in that regard.

Thanks also to those parents who volunteer their time at

the numerous working bees that we host throughout the

year.

Speaking of working bees, we have had to postpone this

term’s Grade 5/6 working bee originally scheduled for this

weekend, Sat 16th May due to COVID restrictions. It is

possible we could reschedule this for later in the term

should a change in restrictions allow it. We will inform the

community if this eventuates.

The B & G committee would like to welcome new parent

members Jenine, Kate and Remo to the team and look

forward to working with them this year. We also welcome

back existing members Pete Boardman, Wayne Williams,

Kevin Riant and staff member John McHaffie. We thank

them in advance for the enthusiasm and hard work that

they will contribute to the team!

I am sure you all will have noticed the new bike shed

(slowly!) continuing to evolve. The B & G team have been

hard at work for over the last 12 months planning,

designing and building the shed. The main structure has

now been erected and the concrete slab has been laid. All

that is required to complete the job is the bike racks! These

are on order, but have been delayed due to the current

disruptions.

Future projects that the B & G committee hope to

undertake this calendar year include:

- improvement in the use of harvested rainwater

around the school

- continued improvements to the vegie garden area

Lastly, the Term 3 working bee is scheduled for Saturday

15th August, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. Fingers crossed, a

lifting of COVID restrictions by that time will enable us to

proceed with that event. I look forward to seeing as many

of the Grade 3 & 4 parents as possible!

Kind Regards,

Stuart Kerr

Convenor, Buildings & Grounds Committee

Expect more from kids in these difficult times

Studies show that parent expectations are a powerful predictor of student success and wellbeing. As children

are required to spend more time at home over the coming months, your expectations about your children’s

behaviour and performance are more critical than ever.

While there may be a temptation to shield children and young people from hardship during the current COVID-19

pandemic, this is unrealistic and out of step with current societal norms. Every segment of the community

including children and young people is expected to both give something up and contribute more during the

pandemic.

The greatest contribution kids can make is to help their family function as effectively as possible, look out for the

wellbeing of family members and peers (using appropriate social distancing measures) and to quickly adapt

to the new learning requirements from school.

As a parent you should expect your child or young person to:

Help at home

More time spent at home means more mess, more untidiness and more food to prepare. It’s reasonable to expect

kids to clean up after themselves, sweep floors, wipe benches, wash dishes or empty dishwashers and also

contribute in age appropriate ways to meal preparation. Consider using a weekly jobs roster for the larger tasks

and avoid linking pocket money to jobs. Linking help around the house to pocket money teaches children to think

“what’s in it for me?” rather than “how can I help my family out?”

Behave well

The default question for kids when living in close quarters with others should be, “How does my behaviour impact

on others?” If their behaviour impacts adversely on the rights and wellbeing of others, then it’s not an

appropriate behaviour. A child who continually makes a noise while in close proximity to a sibling who is studying

is showing little consideration. As much as possible skill kids up to resolve relationship problems with their siblings

so that you’re not continually policing their behaviour.

Look out for others

Encourage children to look after the wellbeing of fellow family members. Using age appropriate language,

help children understand the signs of deteriorating mental health including sullenness, moodiness, spending

more time alone, shortness of temper and drooping out of family activities. Encourage children to act with

empathy and kindness when family members are struggling and discuss ways that they can help including

giving them space, listening and having fun at appropriate times. By helping children to look out for the needs

of others, you are also helping them to build skills in expressing the full range of their own emotions.

Stick to schedules

The use of structures and routines are an essential element of family functioning, particularly during times of

change. It’s advisable to make your family schedules mirror the schedules established by your child’s school.

Expect children and young people to stick to the established schedules without taking short cuts, arriving late

or finishing early for online lessons.

Differentiate the week by relaxing the schedule on weekends, which gives kids something to look forward to.

Show up for lessons

Expect kids to show up for school lessons with the right attitude, equipment and clothes. Wearing clothes

specifically for school work helps to trigger their readiness for learning, and differentiates school time from

leisure time.

Display discipline

Time spent at home requires children to self-regulate and be disciplined. I suspect that those children who do

best in this time of self-isolation will be students who discipline themselves to exercise regularly, limit their use

of digital devices, develop a sleep preparation routine, stick to school work routines and practise mindfulness

regularly.

Expectations can be tricky to get right. Too high and children can give up. Too low and children will meet them.

In these challenging times when more is asked of all of us, err on the side of the side of keeping your

expectations high for your kids. They’ll more than likely rise to the new challenges that social distancing

measures require of them, building their confidence, character and resilience.

Michael Grose, founder of Parenting Ideas, is one of Australia’s leading parenting educators. He’s an

award-winning speaker and the author of 12 books for parents including Spoonfed Generation, and the bestselling Why First Borns Rule the World and Last Borns Want to Change It. Michael

is a former teacher with 15 years experience, and has 30 years experience in parenting education. He also holds a Master of Educational Studies from Monash University specialising in parenting education.