NEWSLETTER

120 Barnier Drive

Quakers Hill, 2763

To subscribe email: barniernewsletter@gmail.com

19th June 2020

Winter is now well and truly upon us. Please ensure that your children are warmly dressed and in full school uniform. I have noticed some students out of school uniform. Our school uniform is very important. Students who wear our school uniform show pride in our school and themselves as well as adherence to school rules and expectations. Please ensure that your child wears their full school uniform to school every day and is a proud member of Barnier Public School. Jackets, jumpers, hats and hair ties/accessories must be blue to match our uniform. Thanks for your support with this matter.

Student Reports

Teachers have been working hard to complete student reports. These have been

modified due to Covid-19 and the period of learning from home this semester. All students will receive their Semester 1 report on Friday 31st July. Interviews for parents will be happening in Term 3 and will be conducted over the phone or via video conferencing due to Covid-19 and social distancing restrictions. Please take this opportunity to discuss any concerns or questions you may have. Open, honest and timely communication with your child’s teacher is very important. If you are concerned, however, please don’t wait for interviews. Contact the school office or email your child’s teacher as soon as possible to organise a suitable time to discuss these matters.

Litter

Litter continues to be a problem at Barnier Public School. We want all students and visitors to our school to respect and care for our school playground and school grounds. Please speak with your children about the importance of this and strongly encourage them to dispose of their litter thoughtfully and appropriately. We’ve worked hard to clean up and beautify our school playgrounds and grounds for the students and the expectation is that all members of our school community will respect and care for our school environment.

Principal’s Message

Email: barnier-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Phone: 9837 1600

Fax: 9837 1858

School Grounds Improvements

Special thanks to our wonderful General Assistants, Mr Skeen and Ms Borg who have been working really hard to clean up and improve our school grounds and playgrounds this semester. We are currently looking at transforming the area between the admin block and the Stage 3 classrooms into an outdoor learning and play area. We are also looking at transforming Barnier Park into a fun new play area. The sandpit playground is being repaired and enhanced. We are almost finished with this area. We are looking forward to these improvements as we make Barnier Public School an environment to be proud of.

P&C Meetings

We had our very first online P&C meeting this week, on 15th June. It worked very successfully although we only had 13 participants which was disappointing. We will continue with the online meeting platform next term. This means parents don’t have to leave the house or arrange child-care to attend meetings, they can attend in the comfort and warmth of their own home. It would be great to see more parents involved. I strongly encourage parents to join our P&C and make a difference for our students and our school.

Safety

Please remind your children of the procedures for crossing the road safely. We have had a number of days this year when the school crossing attendants have not been able to work. On these days children are reminded to stand at the crossing and wait until approaching vehicles have stopped before crossing the road. Please reinforce this rule at home to ensure the safety of our students. Also we ask all parents to drive and park safely, and comply with speed limits and parking laws during drop off and collection times, thank you.

HELPING CHILDREN CROSS THE ROAD SAFELY

Children may cut it more closely than their parents realise when it comes to guessing how far cars are from an intersection or how long it takes to safely reach the other side. Using virtual reality, researchers tested how often children might walk into oncoming traffic in real life. The results show that parents may be over-estimating how careful their children are and may need to teach them safer habits.

Study participants wore headsets outfitted with a 3-D display and motion sensors to detect every real step they took into virtual streets. Researchers asked the children to cross the virtual street when they thought traffic conditions were safe.

Researchers measured how many seconds the virtual cars were from hitting children when they crossed the street. Then, they put parents in the same situation and asked

them when they thought their children would attempt to cross.

Parents generally expected their children not to cross the street when an oncoming car was less than 4 seconds away, while the children crossed into traffic with tighter gaps of about 3 seconds.

We need to be realistic about children's developmental level and not over-estimate their ability to judge safe distances. A small error can result in the child being seriously injured. To keep children safe, adults need to start by setting a good example. Children learn a lot just by watching.

If parents and older children behave in dangerous ways, younger children are likely to do so also. Older children may take greater risks dashing out between cars. Pedestrian safety lessons need to start early when children have to cross busy intersections from a very young age.

For toddlers, parents can talk about what safety choices they make each time they cross the street, from looking both ways to making eye contact with drivers. By the time children are 4 or 5 years old, parents can start letting children make the decision about when it's safe to cross a street, starting with residential streets with light traffic before trying busy intersections. This lets parents gently correct bad choices so children can fine-tune their instincts about when it's safe to cross.

Talking to children about why they need to follow particular rules or procedures for crossing safely is a good approach, like pointing out the good sense in walking a little further to use a pedestrian crossing rather than take a risk.

I hope that you enjoy this newsletter which is a celebration of the great things happening at Barnier Public School now that all students have returned to full time, face to face, on-campus learning.

Warmest regards,

Mandy Hollis

Principal

Reducing separation anxiety in young children by Michael Grose

In the early years some clinginess, crying and tantrums are normal when a child is separating from parents. While a great deal of separation anxiety disappears with age, some young children will continue to experience anxiety when going to pre-school, child care or other care arrangements. This anxiety can be distressing for parents, and become an unnecessary source of guilt, further fuelling a child’s anxiety. Many children who experience separation anxiety are biologically predisposed to anxiousness, shying away from new or novel situations. Here are some ways to support an anxious child at drop-off:

Become practised at separations

Help your child become used to separations by leaving them with caregivers for short periods at first and gradually increasing the length of separation.

Get your child separation-ready

Tired, hungry kids are generally clingy, cranky kids. Similarly, rushed kids are often stressed kids. If your child continues to cling to you when you leave them at pre-school or with carers, check your home routines. Are they going to bed early enough to get sufficient sleep? Are they waking in time to complete their morning activities without being rushed? Are they getting an energy-boosting breakfast such as porridge or an egg to provide the fuel to put them in the right mood? Sometimes simple adjustments to home routines can make a big difference to how a child reacts when leaving their parents in the morning.

Develop a regular quick goodbye ritual

Rituals, like routines, are both reassuring and personal. Develop your own special good-bye ritual, which can be simple such as a special wave or kiss. Alternatively, a fun good bye ritual such as a high five, low five, and fist pump bursting into a hand explosion can be something a child enjoys. One you’ve said good-bye leave quickly without stalling or looking back. Avoid making leaving a bigger deal than what it is.

Stay confident

Kids will often take their cues from their parents so a calm, reassuring approach can give your child the confidence they need that they will be okay.

Involve your child’s teacher or carer in the drop-off

Discuss separation with the school teacher or carer and involve them in the transition. Settle your young child with the other carer, preferably being involved in an activity before saying good bye and making a quick exit while your child is in the care of another adult.

When separation anxiety is not normal

Most separation anxiety is a normal part of your child’s development. Some children will experience separation anxiety that is outside the normal range, which may require professional intervention. It can be difficult to determine whether a child’s

5/6K

Students in 5/6K are always eager to learn: This week, the students have been enjoying working on online projects that extend their mathematical thinking and problem solving skills as well as exploring areas of interest to further extend their knowledge.

2B

2B students busy at learning during Mathematics lessons.

2M & 2S

This week 2M and 2S adventured out to Barnier Park to find some natural resources to create our very own ‘Nature Mandalas’. A nature mandala is a circular design with a pattern made from items you can find in your own backyard.

3A

3A enjoying taking their learning outside to practise their multiplication skills.

Barnier’s stunning kitchen garden is the result of some hard working students from the gardening club, 6T, 2A, 3G and 4C. There are a variety of vegetables flourishing such as broccoli, carrots, beetroots, beans, kale, lettuce and many more. We look forward to planting and taking care of many more. It has been an excellent opportunity to learn how to care for living things and how we can live sustainably.

Gardening Club

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD)

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) on School Students with Disability

Our school is participating in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (Data Collection). This Data Collection is taking place in government, Catholic and Independent schools across Australia, and will provide valuable information about supports required for a broad group of students. This will enable Australian and State governments to better target support and resources in schools. This in turn will help schools give students with disability the support they need. The Data Collection is not limited to students with diagnosed disabilities. It uses a very broad definition of disability, taken from the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, which describe a broad range of health and learning conditions for which schools are required to provide ‘reasonable adjustments’ to support students to participate on the same basis as other students. The Data Collection will take place during Terms 2 and 3. No personal or identifying information about any student will be included, however, if you decide you do not wish information about your child to be included in the Data Collection, you can opt-out by signing and returning the opt-out consent form. More information about the Data Collection is available on the Department of Education and Training website at: https://www.education.gov.au/fact-sheets-and-resources-national-data-collection or you could contact the Principal if you have any further questions.