Our College Primary Parent Handbook is currently being updated for 2016 and will be available on our website soon but I find it is helpful to include sections of the handbook in newsletters from time to time to keep the information current.

As a leadership team we are periodically required to investigate friendship issues between students, or defuse other relationship problems which are causing children to have an unhappy time either inside or outside of class.  

Every school, including GCC, experiences this to varying degrees and has policies and procedures in place to manage situations which arise from time to time. These policies and procedures ensure that there is fairness and equity whenever a problem is investigated.

At the end of the school year, children tend to get tired and at this late stage in Term 4 when class assessments are being completed for Semester 2 reporting, we often find that there is an escalation in behavior and friendship issues.

We speak regularly on assemblies about the need for children to make us aware if they are not having happy days at school because something is troubling them. We have placed a letter box in every classroom and encourage students to write a short note to the teacher. These letter boxes are cleared regularly and the teacher can investigate any concerns which are raised. Younger students tend to simply tell the teacher if something happens to them or they are upset. In addition to this, we regularly check the culture of the primary school by doing online surveys for most year levels or in the case of our very young students questionnaires are administered by staff and children are able to give their responses orally. This allows us to keep our finger on the pulse in regards to the general culture.

Students also know that they may come to see Chappy Dan, Mrs Rosenberg (Prep – Year 2) and Mrs Mitchell or myself (Years 3 – 6) if they would like to speak to us about a problem they may be experiencing. We take these requests very seriously and always investigate issues thoroughly – often over a number of days interviewing everyone concerned to ensure that we really have a true account of what actually happened. Although this can be time consuming, we believe it is important to be absolutely confident that we have the complete picture.  

If however we are not made aware of a problem, we cannot assist or investigate.

The protocol for these situations is for parents to encourage children to let the class teacher know. If the problem continues, we ask parents to phone or email the teacher to make him/her aware. Usually this is sorted at a class teacher level, but if the problem continues, please contact Mrs Rosenberg (Prep – Year 2) or Mrs Mitchell or myself (Years 3- 6). We meet with the Chaplains every week and discuss any situations where children may benefit from contact with either Chappy Dan or Chappy Michelle who then regularly check how those students are travelling. Our Chaplains do an amazing job with guiding children who are experiencing problems with friendships or with relationships. It is very important to us that our students feel safe and have happy days at school. We have many successful processes in place to ensure this whenever we are aware of a concern.

Spelling Bee Results – Legacy Cup

What wonderful results the Prep – 2 and Years 3 – 6 students achieved overall in the Spelling Bee recently and everyone participated with great enthusiasm.  The house teams competed closely with the following results:

Prep – Year 2 1st Sinai          2nd Ararat           3rd Zion

Years 3 – 6     1st Zion          2nd Sinai             3rd Ararat

Congratulations to all the students on a fine result. The overall winner of the Legacy Cup was announced at the Secondary Awards Night on 3 November.  

Important Date Claimers:

• Monday 30 November
  • Primary Orientation Morning
  • Prep – Year 2 Carols Night
• Tuesday 1 December
  • Years 3 – 6 Christmas Concert
  • Prep – End of Year Break Up Day
• Wednesday 2 December
  • Junior Swimming Fun Day Year 1 – Year 3 (8 year olds)
  • Year 6 Graduation
• Thursday 3 December – Years 1 – 6 Break Up Day
  • Last Day of School

Regards

Cheryl Bryers, Head of Primary