KINGSCLIFF PUBLIC SCHOOL
STAFF BULLETIN WEEK 4 TERM 1 2016
WINS
* Swim Carnival - AMAZING JOB ALL ! Thank You Simon and Alisha for the prep!
* First Wave Playgroup - first session - FANTASTIC ! Well done Lou!
* CLC Logo workshop at Fingal - well done Trace and Gloria!
* Stage 2 Parent Information session - great numbers - well done !
* Professional Learning on Wednesday morning - 'Learning to Learn' and 'Google Classroom' .... great collegial sharing and collaboration - Thank You!
* L3 Training underway for Kindergarten and Year 1 for 2016 - well done !
* Collaboration sessions utilising library resources, IT, Ipads, Computer lab, Mac lab ... underway - thank you!
* Library lunch time activities are looking amazing - well done Charmaine!
* THANK YOU ALL for the smooth start to another year ! Know it is always busy and getting back to our normal busy school pace does take a couple of weeks ... well done !
LEARNING
The best way for teachers to kick-start the partnership-building process with families is to conduct a brief one-on-one interview or meeting with the parents or carers of each child in your class. They offer a great opportunity to build rapport with parents while gathering important facts to help you fine tune your teaching to better meet the needs of each child.
Here are some essential tips to help you make these meetings rock. Share these with your staff as a quick refresher before undertaking these parent meetings:
1. Make the meeting space warm, friendly and welcoming
Prepare your interview space so that the meeting takes on a conversational tone. Meet around a low table with you sitting across from parents. If the meeting is in a classroom then move slightly away from your desk ensuring there is no physical barrier between you and the parents and carers you meet.
2. Go to parents to greet them
First impressions count so greet parents and carers at the door to the meeting space in a warm, friendly manner using a culturally-appropriate greeting. Show them to their chairs, gesturing to sit down and make sure you thank them for coming along and showing such an interest in their child. Remember your non-verbals are on show so make sure you smile, use good posture and keep you hands steady to show you are in control.
3. Keep the tone conversational
Let parents know that the purpose of the meeting is to get to know each other and also to gather information to assist you meet their child’s needs. This meeting is all about ‘their child’ so keep the focus on their child rather than about children in general.
4. Inquire how their child has settled in to the year
Give parents the chance to speak early in the meeting. Inquiring how their child has settled in to the year is a great way to get parents talking as well as provide you with some interesting feedback to guide your teaching.
5. Gather family details
An important function of the first meeting of the year is to help you build up your family knowledge. Essential family details include: an understanding of family circumstances (single parent family, step family etc.); number of siblings, a child’s birth position, preferred contact details and work arrangements. (Full members can find more information about Building Family Knowledge How to lay the groundwork for a productive year ahead workshop in the Helping Teachers section of the parentingideasschools education centre)
6. Establish parent goals for the year
Start your relationship building by listening to parents’ aspirations and concerns. Use good questions to help them articulate their hopes and goals for their child over the coming twelve months. (You’ll find three great questions to help parents articulate their goals and aspirations in the Put out the Welcome Mat handout in the Helping Teachers section of theParentingideasschools education centre)
7. Remind parents of the benefits of working together
Discuss the benefits of both of you working together in the best interests of their child. Don’t assume parents know or understand the research behind educational partnerships. Remind parents of the importance of providing you with early information if there are any learning issues, health problems or changes to the family circumstances.
8. Discuss how you will communicate and establish contact arrangements
Let parents know what to expect in terms of the regular group and individual communications you’ll have throughout the year. This early heads-up hopefully will keep parents on the look out for your regular communications. Be clear about your preferred way of being contacted, including your preferred contact times.
9. Give them something to take home
Create a ‘welcome pack’ for each family that includes an early sample of their child’s work; an easy-to-read handout about how they can help their child learn at home; your preferred contact details and something extra such as a bookmark or hand-written card with a welcome message.
10. Follow up with a thank you phone call or email
Raise the bar in terms of the experience you provide for parents by following up the meeting with a phone call or an individualised email or note thanking them for their attendance. Remind them of some key points such as the importance of letting you know early of any changes to their family circumstances.
The first meeting of the year with parents needs to be short, friendly and focused on them and their children. You may be busting to give parents information about the year ahead but save this for an evening group session to be held sometime after these information-gathering meetings.
Here's to a great year of strong parent-school partnerships.
Michael Grose - Parenting Ideas
Remember we have a school registration to access the resources identified if this is an area you are focusing some professional learning on ... could even be a goal on your PDP ?
User name: kingscliffps
Password: support
Login at :-
SCRIPTURE
Scripture will begin in Week 5 Tuesday Feb 23rd.
Scripture Groups :-
9.00 - 9.30 - Stage 2
3M - Combined
3G - Combined
4C - Combined
Library - Catholic
9.30 - 10 - Stage 3
5M - Combined
6E - Combined
Library - Catholic
10 - 10.30 - ES1 and Stage 1
KA - Combined
1A - Combined
2R - Combined
2N- Combined
Library - Catholic
NB The Scripture allocated classes are assigned to the classes with the highest numbers - lessens movement and supervision issues at these times.
The scripture class lists have been distributed by email.
All classes not listed above are Non - Scripture. You will most likely receive non scripture students from the scripture allocated class as a back fill... this information is on the planning sheet. The teacher with the scripture class will send you their non scripture students in the approx. numbers as indicated on the planning sheet.
NB Under the reviewed DEC policy students not attending .... "Students not attending SRE are to be located in a separate physical space from SRE classes. These activities neither compete with SRE nor are they lessons in the curriculum. Suitable activities include reading, private study and completing homework."
A lot of work in all this .... thank you for your assistance.
CALENDAR
Week 4 Term 1
Mon 15.02.16
Performance and Development Plans
P. & C.
Tue 16.02.16
Zone Cricket Trials
Wed 17.02.16
Staff Meeting PM – WH&S , Jobs / responsibilities
District Swimming - Tweed
Principal’s Meeting – School Director
Thur 18.02.16
Kingy Playgroup – 9am – 11am
District Basketball trials
Casuarina Cup – Ages 11/12 (no 13 yr old students) and 9/10
Fri 19.02.16
Exec. Meeting
New Exec. Induction and Professional Learning
Welcome BBQ & Disco 5.30pm – 7.30pm
CLC Meeting Kingscliff High School – 7.30am – 10.30am
Week 5 Term 1
Mon 22.02.16
Year 6 – Moving Into the Teens Program
NC PSSA Girls Cricket Sawtell
Tue 23.02.16
Scripture begins
District Tennis Trials - Terranora
Wed 24.02.16
Staff Professional Learning Workshops AM
Buddies 12.30 – K & Yr 5
SHE & Challenge Program
Aspirational Learners to Country Course Fingal
Thur 25.02.16
WH&S meeting – 8.15am – library
Kingy Playgroup – 9am – 11am
Fri 26.02.16
Exec. Meeting
Exec. Tweed Coast Leadership Session– 12pm
FNC Swimming – Murwillumbah
NRL Skills Session
PERFORMANCE AND DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
As we begin a new year it is quickly coming round to our next phase of the implementation of our individual Performance and Development Plans for this year. Last year we began setting goals, discussing ways of arranging collegial or supervisor observation as the first steps. This year we will move further along to the 'evidence' phase of these processes. This includes our individual responsibility to collect and show evidence of what we personally identified we would focus on.
One suggestion to assist in this is to consider setting up in your personal Google Apps a 'folder' of evidence that you regularly add to. If you go to a staff meeting, a professional learning session, a meeting, a reading, group planning .... you could consider
- uploading the agenda and / or information to your personal record of learning
- take a photo of some of the activity you engaged with or led
- samples of student results.... etc
If you regularly updated your evidence as part of your professional practice, habit .... you would be able to clearly show your professional learning, performance and development across the year and also take pride and value in the work you did and results achieved ....... something to think about !?
"Working Smarter ... Not Harder" ... Hope this idea may help.
Memo to School Staff and School Community Members - work health and safety
Under the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act 2011 there have been a number of changes to consultation provisions, and the Act includes provisions for issue resolution. The procedures have been developed to help workplace managers and workplaces implement these key provisions of the Act and the associated regulations for the Department.
The purpose of the procedures is to provide succinct, user friendly processes for workplace managers and workplaces to establish consultation arrangements and consult using these arrangements, and to resolve WHS issues that arise in the workplace, to help achieve a high standard of safety in all workplaces. The Department of Education and Communities (DEC’s) WHS Issue Resolution Procedures have strict timelines for the resolution of procedures, using the Department’s structure and the fullness of available resources. Having formal issue resolution procedures leads to safer workplaces as it ensures that health and safety matters such as hazards that have been identified will be addressed.
Kingscliff Public School Work Health and Safety (WH&S) Consultation and Issue Resolution Procedures
Kingscliff Public School has maintained the custom and practice of a Health & Safety (H&S) Committee. The Health & Safety Committee is elected and operates under the agreed framework of the committee.
We are required to confirm the custom and practice of the H & S committee in terms of the consultation model and the issue resolution procedures required.
To that purpose information was emailed to staff last week which included :-
· Kingscliff Public School Consultation Statement and Issue Resolution Procedures.
· Frequently Asked Questions WH&S Consultation and issue resolution.
If there are any concerns in regards to this information, practices or processes in regards to WH&S Consultation or issue resolution, clarification or support required in regards to this information, please contact either:-
H&S – Committee member/s
o Anita Ferguson (Teacher Rep / Chairperson)
o Simon Prichard (Teacher Rep)
o Jo Cabale (Teacher Rep)
o Melissa Duncan (SASS – Office Rep)
o Keith Muller (SASS – Grounds)
· Principal / Work Place Manager - Kiernan Houlahan
The School Staff Meeting on Wednesday 17th February will cover a number of Health and Safety issues we are required to review each year which includes this information attached.
Thank you for your awareness and assistance in these important Work Health & Safety matters.
WH&S Memo volunteers / visitors / workers on site for 2016.
Distributed by email last week - updated information sheet for volunteers / visitors / workers on site for 2016.
All helpers, volunteers etc are required to read and sign each year as well as completing annually the Working With Children Declaration form.
Both copies are to be kept by the school.
For your work area, activity responsibility / classroom, please refer any parent helpers, volunteers, visitors, workers to the school office where these forms are available and where they are required to sign and leave a copy.
Eg's include
Classroom assistants / volunteers
Hub Club
Library
Canteen
Office
Learning Centre
Playgroup
After Hours Activities
Visitors
Excursions
School activities
Web address for registration etc.
Log on protocol
Just a quick reminder on the network logon format -
Username - "your det name"@detnsw i.e. mine would be geoffrey.hardman1@detnsw
This is becoming more important so can you please ensure that you log onto the school network this way.
NB This includes students.
Geoff
WELCOME BBQ AND DISCO
Thanks
Sharing some Quotes ...
Nathaniel Barry
'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give'
Winston Churchill
HAVE A GREAT WEEK 4!
THE AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS
· Know the students and how they learn.
· Know the content and how to teach it.
· Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning.
· Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments.
· Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning.
· Engage in professional learning.
· Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community.