Term 2, week 1
Principal Message
Welcome back to term 2, thanks yo all students and families for a great start. The first two weeks have been busy, and term 2 is shaping up to be a lot of fun.
Congratulations to Wayde, Jett and Mitch who trialled for North West sport last weekend. Well done to Wayde & Jett who were selected to progress to NW teams.
During term 3 we have two camps occurring, the year 5/6 and senior school (10-12) students will participate. Please keep an eye out for communication about these, both are well underway with planning and contact either the office or classroom teacher if you have any questions. There is a raffle currently on offer to assist with fundraising, flyer below with all the details. The year 6 shirts are almost ready for ordering, parents keep an eye on your emails as Helen Parkin is sending the design and ordering information home on Monday.
Please ensure students attend school every day, on time. You will see below in the summary provided the impact on students of regular poor attendance. Please ensure you notify the office if your student is going to be absent.
A reminder that the 'phones away for the day' policy is in effect, and applies to all Queensland schools. Winton SS policy is that students must have their phone in a pouch for the duration of the school day. Teachers bring the pouches to class in session 1, however students can go before school to collect a pouch.
Reminder that we changed our day structure for term 2, to shorten lunch breaks and remove form. This means that school starts at 8:50am (session 1) and concludes at 2:45pm. Parade is now also being held Monday at 2:30pm each week. This is during the Health and Wellbeing lesson and avoid interrupting curriculum time, and the students peak learning window first thing in the morning.
We have some staffing changes to start the term. Miss Kristen has finished with us in the early years class. Miss Jayci is also taking some leave and will finish on Friday next week. We have two new teacher aides commencing in the very near future and will introduce them to the community once their appointments are finalised.
We are working really hard to have our school run tuckshop operating from week 4. This will occur on Tuesdays and Caroline Sciascia is our canteen convenor. We are finalising a menu and will communicate this early next week. Orders will be placed via an app, once this is built and finalised we will communicate with families how to access and use this. This is very exciting for our school and we thank you for your patience. Tuckshop for week 3 will still be through the Coffee Cube, orders due Tuesday morning. A very big thanks to Mel (and all local businesses who have offered tuckshop) for your support with offering tuckshop, we are so very grateful.
Uniform is starting to look really good, especially plain school coloured shorts. Thanks for your support with this. A reminder that enclosed shoes are a requirement every day, this is a workplace health and safety requirement. As we are experiencing some cooler weather, students should wear a plain school coloured jumper and pants (no jeans). Best & Less have a wide range of winter school clothes at the moment if you need to purhcase. The school workshirts are also still available for purchase at Searle's and the Roadhouse, another good option for cooler weather.
Thank you for your ongoing support,
Take care
Meggin
Upcoming Calendar Dates
Monday 29th April - Parade @ 2:30pm
Wednesday 1st May - Year 12 Biology excursion (part 2) - Session 1 & 2 only
Friday 3rd May - CW Cross Country - Aramac
Monday 6th May - Labour Day public holiday and no parade
Wednesday 8th May - Careers Expo (10-12 students - Longreach
Thursday 9th May - Big Red Truck arrives
ANZAC Day
Well done to all our students who attended the dawn service and/or march on ANZAC Day. You displayed an outstanding level of respect in both events and we are so proud of our school. Lest we Forget
Year 12 Biology Excursion
On Monday, our year 12 Biology students went on an excursion. This is a mandatory part of their studies, allowing them to complete field work. They collected and analysed water samples which will then be used as part of their upcoming assessment. Well done to the students and thanks to Mr Carrello and Mr Bahr for taking the students.
Farewell Miss Kristen
We sadly said goodbye to Miss Kristen from our early years team last week. Kristen has been an important part of our early years room and will be missed. We thank Miss Kirsten for her support, kindness and friendly face to all in our school, especially our youngest learners.
Parenting Teens - From Guidance Officer - Andrew
The journey through the teen years is taken by both teens and parents, and is highly energy-consuming and emotionally draining for both parties. No two journeys are the same, even for teens within the same family. Each parent-teen relationship has its unique ups and downs, strains and rewards. In the daily work of raising children, keeping a household and making a living, it’s difficult to pull together the skills and strategies needed to raise a teen. Here are some guidelines and practical suggestions for enriching, healing and enjoying your relationship with your teen.
- Being the parent of a teen is a demanding and important role in life. Feel genuinely important, and not intimidated. Believe in yourself.
- Expect problems and difficulties, and realise they can bring growth on both sides.
- Remember your own adolescence, the things you worried about, stressed over, were confused by, and enjoyed. Compare them with your teen’s concerns. You may find they are not such a stranger! Share some of the things that worried, confused and delighted you as a teenager. Many things are different these days, but other things remain the same. Sharing can tear down walls and keep you from feeling like strangers.
- Expect to hear “you just don’t understand” and realise that it might be true! Instead of trying to prove this wrong, say “Maybe I don’t, but I’d like to. Help me to understand.”
- It’s normal for teens to become two or three different persons in one day. It can happen to adults, too. What matters is to respond to the “teen of the moment” with love. Teens often feel things very intensely. Accept this. It’s much more helpful to say “I’m sorry you’re hurting” than “It’s not the end of the world.”
- Keep a sense of humour, especially in difficult times. Laughter is often the spark that helps people become more willing to resolve the situation.
- Remember that “right now” is not forever, and gently try to help your teen realise this is virtually never true. Some things will matter tomorrow and in a year from now, others won’t. Teach your teen how to make this distinction, sharing examples from your own life.
- A hug or pat on the shoulder is often worth a thousand words. If your teen resists, don’t force it, but don’t give up either. Wait for the next opportunity.
- Have fun with your teen. There are many more parents who wish they had spent more time with their teen than those who wish they had spent more time doing housework. If you need to spend a longer time on your job or an important task, talk this over with your family and let your teen know they are still important to you and you will change the situation as soon as you can.
- Recall happy times you have had with your teen as a child. Look at photos in the family album, and share them with your teen at an appropriate time. Visual reminders of happy times can create more happy times.
- Fun surprises strengthen relationships, especially for no other reason than “I love you”. Arrange a fun surprise for your teen every now & then.
- Check the proportion of positives and negatives in the messages you give your teen, and give a much higher proportion of positives.
- Written messages are sometimes helpful. Notes of appreciation can be kept by your teen and read during low moments when they need reassurance.
- Difficult conversations sometimes work better in a car (especially on the way to somewhere fun). Take the scenic route and go for ice-cream afterwards.
- Communication with teens often fails when attempted at a bad time. If this happens frequently, discuss each other’s okay times to talk so that other times can be avoided except for genuine emergencies. Some “heavy” conversations with teens need to take place almost immediately. Others are best left for a more appropriate time. When really difficult conversations are needed, take a deep breath and check your timing and approach. The tone of voice you use to say “We need to have a talk” can make all the difference to whether the conversation works out.
- Avoid saying “you always …” or “you never ….” These are toxic accusations that cloud the real issue. If your teen says these words, say “I don’t think that’s either fair or true – and it hurts to hear you say that.”
- “I love you”, “I am disappointed in what you’ve done”, and “I am proud of you for many things” are not conflicting messages. They can be said all on the same occasion, and usually need to be.
- People make mistakes, and parents of teens are no exception. Making a mistake doesn’t mean you are a failure as a parent. Forgive yourself, and apologise to your teen if needed. This won’t undermine your authority as a parent, but shows respect for your teen and models how to make amends for one’s mistakes.
- It’s unrealistic to expect teens to take on the same perspective on life that you have acquired after several decades of living. Don’t give up on imparting your experience, and be patient for the seeds of wisdom to bear fruit in your teen’s life. But don’t insist on expecting your teen to become a facsimile of you.
- It’s easy to focus on disagreements. Make a list of things you and your teen agree on, from weighty matters to favourite food. Keep the list and occasionally add to it.
- Seeking counselling isn’t a sign of instability or incompetence as a teen’s parent. Wise people know they can benefit from others’ insights.
- Take some time to recall the things you’ve clearly done “right” as a parent. Remember that none of them are lost, no matter how things can look or feel at the moment.
- Encourage your teen’s effort and growth without comparing him/her with others. Accept your teen for the unique person they are becoming.
- It’s tempting for a teen to think “It’s my life.” Show your teen that life is like a speedboat, and we are responsible for the waves we make that impact others’ lives, since we don’t live alone on a private lake.
- Being nosy about a teen’s friends and activities may be a teen “taboo”, but it’s also a parental duty. When you feel uneasiness about a serious issue, be nosy. Many a teen wishes later that his parents had been.
- Many studies show that teens report parents to be the single most important influence in their lives. Believe this – even when it looks unbelievable. Studies also show that teens rank parents at the top of their list of heroes. Believe this, and bask in some justified glow, then enjoy the adventure!
Gleaned from Jim Auer, 2000, Abbey Press, Indiana.
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