WELCOME TO TERM ONE, CHANGES TO THE PRIMARY COLLEGE 2014 AND OTHER NEWS
I would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone for 2014! It has started well with both students and new staff settling in quickly. New staff will write a “thumbnail sketch” about themselves in the Newsletter over this term so you can know a little about them personally.
Although it was a tight finish, we were able to occupy E block a few days before school started and the Year 3 and Year 4 classes are enjoying their new classrooms with the exciting new furniture to support new learning initiatives we are implementing this year.
Teachers worked tirelessly before the first day of school unpacking boxes and setting up classrooms as all the Year 3 – 6 classes had been relocated to new classrooms for 2014.
SOME PROCEDURAL MATTERS:
JUNIOR PLAY GYM – BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL PROCEDURES
Students on the Junior play gym must be supervised by parents before and after school as staff are on duty only in the Senior Undercover Area.
After school, Years 1 and 2 come to the Junior areas first where parents can collect children. Then Teachers take all students who are left to the SUA by 3.10 pm where they are supervised. Please make every effort to collect your children soon after 3.00 pm each day as teachers often have meetings after school. Wednesday is our Staff Meeting afternoon.
BUS STUDENTS PREP – YEAR 2
We have a staff member who brings the Prep Students to the bus area each afternoon at 2.50 pm to ensure they come to the buses safely. We are considering including Year 1 and 2 in this process, so please make sure your child’s teacher is aware if your son or daughter catches a bus in the afternoon.
LUNCH AND AFTERNOON TEA
This year we have extended the classroom practice where children eat their lunch and afternoon tea with the classroom teacher. This will now happen in both the Junior School and in Year 3 – 6 also. We believe that this will allow students to eat with closer supervision and reduce any lunch box issues as these will simply be placed back in students’ bags before moving to play areas. IF THE 10 MINUTE EATING TIME IS NOT ENOUGH FOR SOME CHILDREN, TEACHERS WILL ALLOW STUDENTS TO TAKE SOME ADDITIONAL FOOD TO THE NORMAL EATING AREAS TO FINISH BEFORE PLAY. If you feel your child may need extra time please wrap food in plastic wrap etc. so he/she is able to take it down with them and then they can leave the lunch box in their bag. I am sure parents and teachers alike will appreciate not having to chase lost lunch boxes this year.
SHOES
Just a reminder that students need to keep their shoes on while at school (unless teachers ask them to be removed for a specific lesson). After school if parents are supervising their children playing on the play gym this still applies for safety reasons.
MEET THE TEACHER EVENING
Our “Meet the Teacher Evening” will be held on 19 February and will be in the form of 2 sessions (5.30 – 6.00 pm and again 6.15 – 6.45 pm). This will allow you to visit 2 teachers on the evening. We consider this to be a very important event in our College Calendar and your attendance reinforces with your children that you are genuinely interested in their education and that home and school will be working closely together. Please mark this date in your calendar.
CHAPPIES’ PANCAKE BREAKFAST -18 FEBRUARY
An invitation will be coming out soon for all primary students to attend if they wish! This is a big undertaking so we are asking parents for your help once again as last year your assistance made this a wonderful success. Please fill in the response slip on the invitation when it comes and return it to class teachers or the College Office to assist with the organization.
TIM TAMS AND TISSUES
Last week on the first day of school, Prep mums were invited to have Tim Tams and coffee/tea as they dropped their little ones off at school for the first time. I am pleased to report that all are doing well and we had no real need for the tissues. Thank you to Mrs Rosenberg for the little gift of tissues for each Mum.
We didn’t take a lot of photos as it didn’t seem fair to those mums with tears in their eyes and it could be a little scary for the wide-eyed little Preppies on their first day but here are a few photos from the day.
GENERAL
If there are any concerns regarding your children in class or at play, please address these to the class teacher first and they will be investigated as soon as possible. Sometimes these problems are passed on by the teacher to Mrs Mitchell (Assistant Head of Primary) or myself if they are of a more serious nature and we will follow these up.
Finally we sincerely trust that your family will have a wonderful year at Glasshouse Christian College as we have some exciting learning initiatives underway for our students. If we can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to speak to Bronwyn at reception and she will pass on your requests. Remember to always share any family information which could impact your children. We make every effort to support our students in our pastoral care programme, particularly if their family is affected by health issues or other significant changes. We need to be aware of these as they can impact children greatly both in their learning and behaviour and our aim is to support them as best we can.
Cheryl Bryers, HEAD OF PRIMARY