Newman News Term 2 Week 4: From the Deputy Principal Primary
Gardening Club
Last week, the Year 2 students participated in an incursion hosted by Indigenous Tours WA. The children learned about the local Wadjuk People and the important Dreaming trail that is the Swan River. As the Year 2s are currently in the process of setting up the Gardening Club in our main playground, it was a great opportunity for them to develop a greater understanding of the connection between Indigenous people and the land, while also sharing some great information about native Australian plants. The children were also able to view a variety of bush tools and implements and learned how they were made. We were very proud of the Year 2s for asking some excellent questions during the presentation!
WELLBEING
What are the Zones of Regulation?
The Zones of Regulation is a conceptual framework designed to teach children self-regulation. A large part of self-regulation is identifying our emotions which can assist us to communicate to other’s how we are feeling. The Zones of Regulation provides us with tools and strategies which are explicitly taught to help regulate ourselves if needed.
The Blue Zone: is used to describe low states of alertness and ‘down’ feelings such as sad, sick, or tired.
The Green Zone: is used to describe a calm, alert state and feelings such as happy, focused or content.
The Yellow Zone: is used to describe a heightened state of alertness such as excitement, silliness, or stress.
The Red Zone: is used to describe a state of extremely high energy and intense overwhelming feelings that are harder to control such as anger, devastation, or panic.
We have probably experienced all these zones at one time or another and that’s ok! In The Zones of Regulation, we teach the children to identify which zone they are in and how to regulate these feelings to gain a sense of wellbeing.
Last week, 1 Green hosted the Marian Assembly and shared their own learning in The Zones of Regulation. We learned about the different colour zones and what emotions we may experience in these zones. Congratulations to 1 Green for a fun and informative assembly.
Edwina Battersby & Justin Kirry (Leaders of Wellbeing)
Welcoming Parents into Classrooms
As part of continuing to build community, we will be welcoming parents back into classrooms from next week.
As mentioned in the previous Newsletter, parent rosters have already commenced in many of our ECE classrooms. Our students are now settled and familiar with the Mindful Mornings routine when they arrive at school and so we are providing parents the opportunity to visit their child’s classroom during our Mindful Mornings time.
As of next week, parents are able to visit classrooms in the morning on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during the following morning times:
Kindy & Pre-Primary: 8:45-8:55am
Years 1-6: 8:30-8:40am
This morning time as listed above is provided to any parents who may wish to visit the classroom to view their child’s work, view the classroom environment or to participate in a small activity with their child.
This period of time is not the opportunity to speak to your child’s teacher about their progress or the time to socialise with other parents. We ask that parents are respectful of our Mindful Mornings routine and join in the activities or view the classroom in a quiet and calm way with their children. If a younger sibling is attending with you, please be mindful of them as they move around the room with older students, and be aware of the play/work spaces that teachers have set up for their students to be used later in the day so that these aren’t interfered with.
When it is time to leave, we ask that parents quickly exit the classroom to ensure students are able to separate quickly from their parent. It may be worth speaking with your child over the coming days about how you may come into the classroom every now and then, but then when it is time for parents to go and class to start, the children will need to give their parent a quick hug/kiss and say goodbye. Preparing your child for this will be helpful in minimising any separation anxiety that may occur at this time.
We are also exploring further opportunities for parent engagement in the classroom later in the year.
We look forward to welcoming parents back into the school to view the amazing learning spaces our teachers and students have created.
Marian Colouring In Competition
In celebration of the College Production, The Lion King JR, we are excited to hold a colouring-in competition for our Marian Campus students.
One winner will be chosen from each year group from Kindy to Y2. The wonderful prizes include a Family Pass (4 tickets) to the matinee performance of Lion King JR, a backstage VIP tour and a unique photo opportunity with the cast.
Submissions will be accepted online through our College Website link found here
Download the colouring in image here
