Kingscliff Public School
Staff Bulletin
Wins
LEARNING
as shared with our parent community in the School Newsletter .....
Helping kids deal with horrifying news
Terrorist events in Europe in recent days have reverberated around the world. Graphic images have been brought into our living rooms and onto our devices via the media over the last few weeks, and will continue to do so in the immediate future. But what about the impact of the event and the subsequent media coverage on children and young people? As adults we all want our children to live carefree lives and keep them from the pain and even horror of tragedies such as terror attacks. In reality we can’t do this.
So what is a parent, teacher, or other caring adult to do when such events fill the airwaves and the consciousness of society?
Here are some ideas:
1. Reassure children that they are safe. The consistency of the images can be frightening for young children who don’t understand the notion of distance and have difficulty distinguishing between reality and fiction. Let them know that while this event is indeed happening it will not affect them directly.
2. Explain what happened. Sounds obvious but it’s important not to simply assume that children and young people understand what’s happened. Be calm and stick the facts, using a map to show older children where it happened.
3. Be available. Let kids know that it is okay to talk about the unpleasant events. Listen to what they think and feel. By listening, you can find out if they have misunderstandings, and you can learn more about the support that they need. You do not need to explain more than they are ready to hear, but be willing to answer their questions.
4. Help children process what they see and hear, particularly through television. Children are good observers but can be poor interpreters of events that are out of their level of understanding.
5. Support children’s concerns for others. They may have genuine concerns for the suffering that will occur and they may need an outlet for those concerns. It is heartwarming to see this empathy in children for the concerns of others.
6. Let them explore feelings beyond fear. Many children may feel sad or even angry with these events so let them express the full range of emotions.
7. Avoid keeping the television on all the time. The visual nature of the media means that images are repeated over and over, which can be both distressing to some and desensitising to others.
8. Be aware of your own actions. Children will take their cues from you and if they see you focusing on it in an unhealthy way then they will focus on it too. Let them know that it is happening but it should not dominate their lives.
Children’s worlds can be affected in ways that we can’t even conceive of so adults need to be both sensitive to children’s needs and mindful of what they say and how they act in front of children.
In difficult times, it is worth remembering what adults and children need most are each other.
Michael Grose www.parentingideas.com.au
Leadership Pathway
DEC and Minister announcement last week … Department’s strategy to identify, develop and support our current and future school leaders. The School Leadership Strategy brings together into one consolidated strategy a range of actions we committed to under our Local Schools, Local Decisions, Great Teaching Inspired Learning, and Rural and Remote Education reforms.
The strategy consolidates these actions under three key elements:
- Leadership Pathways – our new website to provide quality leadership development support for aspiring and current school leaders aligned to the Australian Standard for Principals
- NSW Public School Leadership and Management Credential – all future principals will need to complete a credential to ensure they have the skills to lead and manage a school
- Principal Classification – a fairer classification and remuneration structure for school principals based on the size of the school and the educational needs of students.
Transformational change of our education system and school excellence is directly linked to the quality of our school leaders. It is absolutely critical, therefore, that our school leaders are ready to lead and are supported to succeed.
We want to identify our future leaders early and support them as they plan their development to take on the baton of leadership. The Leadership Pathways website is a great resource for professional support.
Leadership is critical and each one of us has a unique set of experiences that contribute to our leadership style and skills. The new credential and the mentoring of new principals will provide additional support and skills for the complex role of principal.
DEC - The Leadership Pathways Website
CALENDAR
Week 8 Term 4
Mon 23.11.15
School Captain Nomination info. Out
Computer System upgrade - 4pm onwards
Tue 24.11.15
Last scripture
Last Tuesday Group Mentor Day ... Hub Club / Mentor / Parent / Carer Celebration
Wed 25.11.15
No Staff Meeting - Reports
Kids With Courage
Thur 26.11.15
Staff Dinner
Fri 27.11.15
SRC and Captain Nom’s close
School Finance – end of year rollover
VOLUNTEERS
STUDENT YEAR REPORTS
WORK HEALTH & SAFETY - SPORTS STORE
* Only staff are to access the sports store - no students.
* The Sports store is to be locked up on exit each time it is accessed - not left open during a session or during the day.
* The standard teacher classroom key gives access for all staff.
Thank you for your awareness and follow up.
TOP 5 TIPS FOR FEELING HAPPY
There is a clear link between our health and our happiness. We know that the happier we are, the healthier we feel. The more that we can manage the stress in our lives and experience happiness, the more resistant we are to ill health. Ultimately it is how we respond to situations that has an impact on our stress levels and happiness. We do have choices. Recognising that we have the power to choose how much things affect us is the first step in increasing our own happiness.
Laugh whenever possible
Sadly the average Australian adult ownly laughs 14 times per day. (Children average over 300 times per day!) This isn’t healthy! The act of laughing is great for you both physically and mentally. Lots of funny things happen in schools. It is important to be on the look out for funny things and not take ourselves too seriously.
Be grateful
We have much to be grateful for. Our work in schools is important and makes a difference. Whilst we might not get the satisfaction that a builder gets when they see what they have achieved at the end of each day, it is important to stop and reflect on what we have done. Too many times we focus on the things on our ‘To Do’ list that we haven’t yet completed instead of recognising what he have accomplished.
Eat lunch
Many of us get so caught up in the busyness of our day that we don’t slow down enough to eat. Taking a break to eat lunch is efficient. Our body needs to be well fueled and our mind needs a break to slow and reconnect with people. Taking just 15 minutes to STOP and eat lunch is a priority.
Exercise
Often when we get busy, our own physical activity is the first thing that we relinquish. This creates a false economy. If we don’t look after ourselves our immune system becomes more susceptible and we become more vulnerable. Our body will eventually tell us that we have done too much and it will shut down. The price we pay is through our health. Physical exercise releases endorphines that help us to feel better and think differently. Our mind takes on a different perspective and can help us keep things in perspective.
Keep perspective
Our self talk is powerful! At times we can over emphasis events that happen to us and lose perspective. Keep perspective - “Will this matter a year from now?” can be a great question to ask ourselves when faced with a daunting issue. If the answer is yes - give it 100%. If the answer is no - do what you have to.
Key points
Health and happiness are connected
Laughing is GREAT for you physically and mentally
Reflect on what you have DONE during the day and less on what is still TO DO
Stop for LUNCH
Exercise daily - it’s a priority
“Will this matter a year from now?”
There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond our will. Epictetus
Steve Francis - Happy Schools
COMPUTER ISSUES
Google Chrome may be temporarily unavailable on some computers, especially if a computer or laptop has been recently rebuilt. You can still use firefox or explorer to access the internet and google apps. This is a temporary issue.
ET4L SERVER UPGRADE
.... an important upgrade is scheduled to occur on your schools eT4L server..... upgrade the week starting Monday 23/11/15. As part of the upgrade, your school is requested to ensure all computers are connected to the network via wire or wireless. This will allow any outstanding windows updates and virus definitions to be applied. Notebooks and netbooks will need to be connected and will require school staff to have school owned computers available and connected to the school network the week following the scheduled upgrade.
A number of automated tasks will take place, starting Monday afternoon after 4PM. The tasks will be run after school hours, in readiness for the upgrade to proceed.
The ability to image computers and deploy software will be unavailable the afternoon of Monday 23/11/15 as the upgrade preparation occurs. Any computer connected via an Ethernet cable that can be ‘woken up remotely’ on Monday night will have the agent upgraded. All other computers will receive the agent as they are turned on or reconnected to the network at a later date i.e. staff notebooks/netbook etc. not available during the initial update period. There should be no appreciable difference in the way the computers look and operate with the exception of a new program added to each computer