Natanya (Tany) Milner – Head of Primary

Respect

At last week’s assembly, I spoke to the Years 3-6 children about respect and its fundamental importance in all that we do. We discussed types of respect and the children could identify that they can respect themselves, others and belongings/property. I would like to take the opportunity to raise this with you, as parents, because I believe it is such a vital conversation for us to all be regularly having with our children. Whilst many of our children show respect throughout their time at school, there are a number of students who need to think about the level of disrespect they show. Some examples include:

• Using kind and thoughtful language to each other, rather than verbal put downs
• Refraining from non-verbal put downs such as eye rolling
• Listening rather than speaking over others
• Accepting feedback and advice from teachers rather than answering back
• Arriving at school and to class on time
• Wearing their uniform correctly and with pride.

There are countless examples of ways to show respect and I feel certain that if we partner with families on the need to highlight the importance of showing respect, we will be more likely to see necessary improvements from some students. I would like us to work together to hold the children accountable for being the best they can be and ensuring that they are representing themselves, their families and their schools well at all times. Of course, as both a teacher and a mother, I am aware that children don’t always ‘get this right’. Please partner with us to guide the children and highlight when behaviours and responses need to change.

 Emma Hill

We have received lovely news that Emma Hill and her husband, Casey, are expecting their first child at the end of the year. We are thrilled with this wonderful news and wish them all the very best for for this exciting new chapter in their lives.

Emma has been teaching at Emanuel since the beginning of 2015. Over this time she has been an outstanding educator with a strong commitment to both student learning and extra-curricular programs. She has been instrumental in many of our new initiatives including the introduction of Seesaw and Science curriculum innovation.

We will say farewell to Emma at the end of Term 4 as she hopes to be able to complete the academic year with the children. We look forward to welcoming her back to Emanuel once she has completed her maternity leave.

 Poem in My Pocket Day

On Wednesday of this week, we had Poem in My Pocket Day. I did consider writing my entire article in rhyme but decided just a little bit may be a good start…

A day of poems and fun with rhyme,

Spreads across the School from time to time.

This week saw lots of poetry sharing,

Poems about animals and school and caring.

Some limericks and haikus and funny verse too,

Some had darker themes and a serious hue.

No matter what poem, the day was a blast,

With a joy in language that will always last.

I thank Debbie Cohen and her wonderful team,

For year after year, enacting this dream.