June 11

I trust all families had an enjoyable break over the Queen’s Birthday holiday weekend. It marks the middle of an eleven week term which makes it a longer term than usual for our students. With the intense learning that takes place daily, they will have appreciated the extra day to rest.

I have been thinking about Mindfulness lately. “You can switch off a machine, you can switch off an email, you can leave the office and go on a holiday – but it’s really about whether the mind has left work and switched off. Very often we’re preoccupied. It’s really not where we physically are, it’s where we mentally are that matters,” says Dr Hassed, an award-winning medical researcher from Monash’s department of general practice, and author of The Essence of Health: The Seven Pillars of Wellbeing.

Our minds need to time to rest and relax and our families deserve to have us really present. I am thankful to the staff and their families who always go over and beyond their professional requirements to ensure that our students have a vast array of opportunities.

 

Attendance

Our attendance is still sitting at 88.6%. This is still below the Ministry of Education target of 92%.

 

Families can make a difference to raise attendance.

Families should avoid extended vacations that require your children to miss school. Try to line up vacations with the school’s schedule. The same goes for doctor’s appointments.

For younger children, you can set a regular bedtime and morning routine. Make sure they get 9 to 11 hours of sleep. You can lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.

For older children, you can help set homework and bedtime routines that allow for 8 ½ to 9 ½ hours of sleep. Make sure that when the lights go out, so do the cell phones, video games and computers.

Above all, set an example for your child. Show him or her that attendance matters to you and that you won’t allow an absence unless someone is truly sick. Don’t ask older students to help with daycare and household errands.

 

Please support your child/children to attend school regularly.

 

Unravelling the Teenage Brain

I encourage all the family members of students in the Year 7-13 area to come along and hear Nathan speak about understanding how drugs and alcohol affect the adolescent brain.

 

Reminder : Teacher Only Day – Friday 3rd July

School will be closed for all students on Friday the 3rd July due to a Teacher Only Day.  This is an opportunity to provide the teachers as a group with tailored professional development to meet the needs of the learners at Raglan Area School.  The aim is to increase the quality of the teaching that is provided to the students and to ensure that the teachers are familiar with the most recent information on teaching practice.

 

Finally a few things that I am thankful for this fortnight. I’m thankful to all the staff who:

  • Organise, coach and manage a variety of sports for our students
  • Are well prepared for class
  • Effectively communicate with parents/caregivers about the issues and positive aspects of students learning
  • Are role models of our school values
  • Have a shared collaborative approach to enabling students to succeed.

 

Have a great fortnight,

Bronwyn Haitana