Principal's Report
Dear Parents
We are very excited to be able to inform you that, due to the easing of restrictions, we are able to engage in a range of activities, providing we continue to ensure all COVID safe practices are being adhered to. We are again able to have our school assemblies, incursions, liturgical celebrations, school photos, school tours, parent meetings, school sporting events and school gatherings. Whilst we are still working through what some of these can look like for our school community, it enables us to have our Welcome Barbeque, which I hope as many families as possible will attend. We look forward to sharing this special occasion with you.
Friday 18 March 2022 is the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA). The NDA is Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative, connecting schools and communities to find workable solutions to prevent bullying.
The theme for the 2022 NDA is Kindness Culture. Our school demonstrates the Kindness Culture by sharing in a range of activities that promote inclusiveness, respect and community belonging for all students.
Planning for a safe and supportive school community requires a whole-school community approach. Whole-school responses to bullying prevention build positive and supportive school environments by incorporating strategies for intervention at all levels, inclusive of students, teachers, parents and carers.
Three key characteristics outlined in the national definition of bullying distinguish bullying behaviours from other forms of peer aggression behaviours which do not constitute bullying. The key characteristics of bullying include:
- power imbalance
- deliberate intent to cause harm, and
- ongoing and repeated behaviour.
While the following behaviours of peer aggression do not constitute bullying, these behaviours may still be serious and require intervention at home and at school:
- arguments and disagreements (where there is no power imbalance)
- single acts of social rejection or meanness, or
- isolated incidents of aggression, intimidation or violence.
It is important for our entire school community, including our staff, parents, carers and students to have a clear understanding of the definition of bullying to be able to distinguish these behaviours from peer aggression, and correctly identify and respond to incidents of bullying and peer aggression.
As a school community, through our Whole School Approach to Positive Behaviour, we focus on being our BEST: Building relationships, Expecting excellence in everything, Staying safe everywhere and Taking responsibility for ourselves and our learning. Through this Whole School Approach to Positive Behaviour we are consistently sharing a range of positive messages with our students. This National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence, again highlights the importance of our community working together to ensure all children are able to feel safe and supported at all times when they are at school. It is the relationships we have with our parents that ensure we can provide the best possible school experience for every child. Please keep the lines of communication open with your child’s class teacher and both Julian Blackford (Deputy Principal) and I are available to support you should you have any concerns regarding your child.
Our commitment to supporting your children extends to the consistent message of turmoil and war that is flooding our news broadcasts and conversations. Our focus is on praying for peace and for us to look after our relationships with those we interact with on a daily basis. We pray for an end to war and for the world to be at peace, however it is the tangible acts and words of kindness that we show to each other on a daily basis that enables our students to feel empowered to be instruments of peace to each other in a world where the reality of peace seems so far out of their reach. I encourage you to support your child in praying for those struggling in the turmoil of war, suffering and pain. Help them to see that they are able to be instruments of peace in their world, at school and at home.
I wish you all peace, good health and the joys everyday can bring in the simplest of ways.
Kind regards
Lisa Broeren
