Natanya (Tany) Milner – Head of Primary

Fresh starts and new beginning

Welcome to the 2019 school year. We are so excited to see the children settling in and meeting their new teachers and peers for the year. We hope everything has gone smoothly for you and your children and look forward to a year of learning and engagement. We see our partnership with you as very important so please ensure that you communicate any important information to your child’s class teacher.

 Mindful starts

Our Staff Development Day this year included a presentation from Gillian Coutts about Harnessing the Potential of Your Mind at Work. Gillian leads the Potential Project and spent time with us to examine the power of mindfulness. She discussed that life today is pressured, ‘always on’, information overloaded and distracted. In this environment, the brain attempts to multitask. Gillian explained that multitasking negatively impacts efficiency (due to switch time), work quality, prioritisation, creativity, energy and wellbeing. Multitasking rewires your brain, so practising it means that you are more likely to multitask and therefore not be able to focus as well when required. Research shows that 47% of the time, our minds are not focused on what we are meant to be doing. Gillian reinforced the importance of finding the space to choose our responses and manage our own attention. She reinforced that the impact we make is based on actions we have taken. These actions are based on the choices we have made. Choices are based on where we have placed our attention. This flow reminds us of the importance of carefully choosing these 4 steps – from attention to choices to actions to impact.

The ultimate attention goal is relaxed alertness. Gillian recommends mindfulness techniques as ways to assist with the development of this goal. The technique helps us to sustain and regain attention and become more metacognitive. She presented much research about the benefits of mindfulness including health, memory, productiveness

Her main message was that attention is like a muscle and is a precious commodity – so the more we can train and use it, the better.

She presented 2 rules of mental effectiveness:

1. Focus on what you choose
2. Choose your distractions mindfully (at times, it is okay to be distracted – make sure you choose these carefully).

Her final point was about the importance of giving the brain a mindful or intentional break to improve energy, focus and effectiveness. This connects with what we teach the children about ‘sharpening the saw’ so we work optimally.

In the Primary School, we currently use programs from MiSP (Mindfulness in Schools Program). These focus on training our Year 2 and Year 6 students with intensive programs.

This year we are also introducing ‘Grow Your Mind’, which will also ensure resources and techniques are used across K-6.

OOSH and the library

Emanuel OOSH will now be located in the Primary Library. Please use the Portal for further OOSH information.

Meet the Teacher

We look forward to seeing you at our Meet the Teacher Evening on 18 February.

6.00-6.45 pm: Years K-2 in classrooms

6.45-7.30 pm: Years K-6 in Lehrer Family Multi-Purpose Hall (MPH)

7.30-8.15 pm: Years 3-6 in classrooms

8.15 pm: Jilkminggan Meeting in Year 6 classroom (optional for Year 6 parents)

Photo day

Individual and class group photos will take place on Wednesday 6 February and absentee and sibling photos will take place on Friday 15 February. Students from Years K-4 are asked to wear their full summer uniforms and students in Years 5 and 6 are requested to wear their summer uniforms with ties and blazers. All students are expected to be neatly dressed with hair tied back and shoes polished. Boys are reminded to wear their kippot for school photographs. If there is PE or sport on the day, students are asked to bring their PE uniform (or at least sneakers) and change for the lesson.

School photographs are taken by Advancedlife Photography. Orders for sibling photographs can be placed securely online at www.advancedlife.com.au using our School’s unique 9 digit Online Order Code: TPM ETQ DKZ. All details will be available in Ma Nishma in the coming weeks.

Should you wish to purchase a sibling photograph online, the order must be placed no later than the day before photography day. Sibling photographs will only be taken if an order has been placed.

Staff Development Day lunch

Thank you to the P&F and canteen for a wonderful start to the year by providing the staff with a beautiful lunch.

Shabbat Shalom