Natanya Milner – Head of Primary

I was recently reading an article by Michael Grose about the rules we should have around digital devices. There were some valuable ideas worth sharing:

“Children’s digital technology needs to be managed and monitored by parents. That means we need to have some rules and guidelines in place. Each family makes up their own rules to suit their circumstances but the following suggestions will help you put some order into the digital devices that come into your home.

1. Be prepared to learn

Giving a digital device to a child has more parent strings attached to it than say, giving a box of Lego or most other items of play.  With most toys you can leave them to their own devices to play by themselves, which is the basic point really. It’s not so simple with a digital device. Be prepared to learn some new games and stay up-to-date with social media trends.

2. Put rules in place first

This is an interesting one. If you give your child a device, then later place restrictions on when it is overused or used poorly then there’s every chance that you’ll be seen as the bad guy/gal. Better to put restrictions on in the first place and loosen them later, or better still reward their responsible use with greater freedom. Timing is everything.

3. Change rules if need be

Most families seem to have a child who thinks that rules are made to be broken so they always push boundaries, limits and parent patience. Parents, on the other hand, should work from the notion that rules are made to be changed. Be prepared to change your rules based on your child’s behaviour, maturity, sleep patterns, incompletion of homework, bullying or other issues that will invariably crop up and cause you to realise that the rules you set just aren’t working.

4. Keep digital technology out of bedrooms

If there was one rule that you should stay firm on, then this is the one. Many of our children are in sleep deficit as it is, without bringing digital devices into the frame. They may say they want to charge their device in their room.  It is better to keep the charger in a public place. They may even want to use their mobile or tablet to wake up in the morning. I applaud them for taking on this task but insist they use an alarm clock instead.

Digital technology is now an integral part of our lives, but it’s not the only option we have to be entertained, informed and to communicate with others. Before we help our children, it’s best to look at our own digital habits to make sure we are providing them with what they need – that is, the provision of balanced role models who know when to use and when not to use technology. They are more likely to walk our walk than follow our talk. I hope for you that’s not a scary proposition.”

ASISSA Swimming

Mazal tov to all the children who represented Emanuel at this week’s ASISSA Swimming Carnival. I believe there were some fantastic swims and the children showed wonderful sportsmanship and enthusiasm. Congratulations to the children who have made it through to the next level at the CIS carnival. I would like to thank Stuart Taylor for organising our team and participation on the day.

Camps (and other excursions)

It has certainly been a busy week for camps and excursions. On Wednesday Year 3 braved the weather to visit Taronga Zoo. They had a wonderful time learning about ecosystems, investigating animal enclosures to learn more about dependence and interdependence and learning about the ways zoos assist to protect endangered animals. Thank you to Emma Hill and Julia Tritsch for organising the excursion. Thanks to Adam Carpenter, Lior Misrachi, Jodie Gien, Yael Barnett, Valerie Smaller and Masha Yakubson for their amazing help on the day.

Welcome back to Years 5 and 6 who both went on camps this week. Year 5 visited Bathurst for 3 days, where they learnt about the Gold Rush and experienced a little of outback NSW. Year 6 went to Canberra to learn about Australian History and Government as well as some of the other wonderful sites Canberra has to offer. Thank you to the teachers who gave up their time and attended these camps to look after the children. Thank you to Rebecca Gaida, Adam Ezekiel, Tanya Jeckeln, Sophie Poisel, Tali Silberstein and Gabi Wynhausen for your efforts on Year 5 camp. Thanks to Hugo Adrian, Diane Clennar, Anna Economou, Helen Maynard and Karon Rom for your wonderful contributions to Year 6 camp. I look forward to reading their reports in an upcoming Ma Nishma.

Upcoming Dates

• 22 March: Primary Open Day for prospective parents
• 23 March: Y6 Jilkminggan Information Evening, Millie Phillips Theatre 6:00-7:30pm
• 23 March: CIS Swimming Carnival
• 23 March: Y3 Swimming, Allsorts Fitness Centre 1:15-2:45pm
• 24 March: YK Pathways Ceremony, MPH 8:20-9:30am
• 24 March: Primary Anti-Bullying Day
• 27 March: Parent Teacher Interviews, MPH 4:00-9:00pm
• 29 March: Parent Teacher Interviews, MPH 4:00-6:30pm
• 30 March: Y3 Swimming, Allsorts Fitness Centre 1:15-2:45pm
• 31 March: Y1-2 Swimming Carnival, Des Renford 10:30-2:15pm
• 31 March: YK Back to Preschool Day
• 3 April: Y6 Seder (students only)
• 4 April: Y5 Seder 8:50am Theatre, Y3 Seder 11:10am Angles Leadership and Learning Centre (LLC), Y4 Seder 2:00pm Y4 classrooms
• 5 April: Y2 Seder 8:50am LLC
• 5 April: Y6 Gratitude Day
• 6 April: YK Seder 9:30am LLC, Y1 Seder 2:00pm LLC
• 6 April: Y3-6 Cross Country, 10:00am-1:00pm Queens Park
• 7 April: Last Day Term 1
• 27 April: First Day Term 2, Primary Lice Check

K-2 Assembly 2:00-2:50pm in Millie PhillipsTheatre

Term 1

• 24 March (Week 8): Y1 Hebrew
• 7 April (Week 10): 2Y Mrs Esra

Term 2

• 5 May (Week 2): eActive Dance Group
• 19 May (Week 4): Y2 Hebrew
• 2 June (Week 6): Shavuot, school closed
• 16 June (Week 8) 2T Mrs Strub
• 30 June (Week 10): Music Assembly