Ms Sands...will you be at Assembly this week?

You know you've missed too many Fridays at school when little kids are asking if you will be at Assembly this week. 'Yes', I told her. 'I wouldn't miss this Assembly for any meeting in the world.'

Assembly; it's my favourite time of the week. A time for kids to shine, to get recognition from the rest of the school for a job well done, to have some fun, and to enjoy the learning of another class. Many people refer to Assembly as Parade - I never do. The term 'Parade' brings back memories of my first primary school in Australia where we had to march in time into a hot quadrangle and stand with our hands behind our backs for what seemed an eternity. If you were lucky, you escaped the sting of the cane on the back of your bare legs while Parade dragged on.

Today's Assembly was extra special. The whole school community turned out to support a little boy to cut his hair very very short in order to raise money for Shave for a Cure, the Leukemia Foundation's signature fundraiser.

From this....

To this....

In 10 minutes...

942 (or round about) kids cheering and supporting him.

Call it Parade if you like. To me, it will always be Assembly

What a difference a generation or two makes!

I know - I've said it before. I say it often actually... but I'm going to say it again - I love Assembly! Friday mornings are just great. It's the end of the week, the school is buzzing, everyone troops excitedly up to the Indoor Sports Centre, and for that one time a week, we are all together. 

And then there's the class item. This is my favourite part. There are dress ups, music, dancing, humour, and usually a multimedia presentation all cued up. Last week we also had placards and protests!

The messages in the presentations are often familiar as teachers cleverly link the performance and the practice it takes to perfect the choreography to the curriculum. This week's message was about reducing, reusing and recycling.

4M dressed in sixties and seventies flamboyant fluoro gear and staged a mock protest encouraging us all to take a good look at our environmental practices. I was horrified at some of the statistics 4M have unearthed - like 1000 sheets of paper equalling one tree and six billion plastic bags ending up as landfill EVERY YEAR. 

During their performance I reflected on and compared the issue with some of the placard protests of mid-to-late last century. In those days such protests focused on wars, the draft, free speech, and land rights. We still protest on those issues and we've also added a few others about caring for our planet. 

We are unlikely to solve those issues with placards - these days we teach children to be social activists. Protests are most effectively staged with information and communication skills. And it doesn't hurt to add a bit of fluoro and placard waving to get attention to start with. Good job, 4M!

What a week to have the flu!

I haven't had the flu since 2007! And I've probably gotten a little complacent - sure, I wash my hands 20 times a day and steer clear of sneezing people; I send my staff home when they are sick with severe admonishments about coming back to school too soon, but I don't have the flu jab every year and for the past few years have escaped unscathed.

But, no, this is the week I pick to get bedridden - the week our Indoor Sports Centre was finally open and we could have an indoor Assembly!

I've been talking about this possibility since our very first Assembly in January 2010. The fact we didn't have a hall like every other school in Australia at that time drew raised eyebrows from the then Minister for Education and Training, Geoff Wilson, when he opened our school on 12 February 2010.

There were lots of phone calls, emails and letters from me and pleas from the P&C Association which all seemed to fall on deaf ears; then suddenly one day in 2012 I was told the funding for our hall was in the state budget.

However, a budget year came and went and there was no sign of any activity at all. I had sat in on many meetings, chosen a plan, walked the site with builders and engineers but no one could say when it was going to happen.

Suddenly last August I received a call - 'we start next week' was the message. And it's been flat out since then. We've had a few hiccups - 'small' things like too many new enrolments and not enough classrooms, so they decided to put two classrooms under the centre, lots of dirt through classrooms driving our cleaners crazy, Prep H shouting at each other over the noise of diggers and trucks despite Ms Hollonds best efforts to instil 'whisper voices' in the classroom. But now it's finished. It's big and beautiful and exactly right for Assembly.

And I had to go and miss the first one!

I've seen a recording on You Tube though - thanks to Elaine in the office. It was so great to see all the students, parents and staff in there with room to spare! And everyone stood QUIETLY for the national anthem (this is my dream!) but maybe Elaine's recording wasn't so good for that section.

We are going to have a lot of fun in that space. It's a facility that will add to our already strong community spirit. But for now, I'm so happy to see it sitting there up high on the edge of our school.

I'm not missing Assembly next week - for anything!

5SH - the first class to have PE in the ISC

I'm sorry... such a powerful phrase when we mean it

It has been six years since the Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples was delivered on 13 February 2008 to Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for past laws, policies and practices which affected the lives of Australia’s First Nations Peoples and Stolen Generations.

The department has marked the occasion with a display of the National Apology in the Education House foyer, which is also available to read here.  I have reprinted the transcript of these historic words below.

Aboriginal Mosaic In Forecourt Of Parliament House, Canberra, Australia*

The apology has enormous significance for Indigenous Australians and every year at this time there is discussion in the media about whether we as a nation and as individuals really have embraced these words and moved closer to resolving the injustices of the past and harnessing the determination of all Australians to close the gap in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity. Many would argue that no, we haven't. In six years we haven't moved any closer to this goal, and one has to wonder how long it will take.

The education of children is instrumental in achieving this goal. At Peregian Springs we have only a small population of Indigenous children - and many would question what the plight of Indigenous peoples has to do with us. It has everything to do with all of us. Understanding the Apology and acting on its principles is about the health and prosperity of all Australians, no matter where they come from or for how long their families have resided in this country.


We acknowledge country at Assembly every week and I long for the day when one of our Indigenous children will feel they can welcome country. We assess and check the educational achievement of every child; we monitor absences from school; we teach the cross curriculum demands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures; we recognise and celebrate Indigenous peoples' special days and we are trying to do our bit.

Is it enough? Probably not - in fact almost certainly not. It's an area that requires constant attention and development. We've said we're sorry and these are powerful words. Powerful words can lead to even more powerful intentions - but they are only powerful if we mean it and being sorry translates into actions.

The transcript:
 I move:

That today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
We reflect on their past mistreatment.
We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.
The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.
We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.
For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.
To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.
We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.
For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.
We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.
A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.
A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.
A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.
A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.
A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.

* Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. http://year3history.edublogs.org/indigenous-art-forms/

Stop dragging my heart around...

This week for the first time in the history of our school I watched students walking past rubbish and litter on the ground. I watched adults doing it too. Well, that's a small thing, you might say - especially in a week where EVERY class settled quickly including Preps, where (nearly) EVERY kid was smiling about being back at school, and EVERY child was learning by 9.20am on Tuesday morning.

Actually, it's not a small thing. It's a big thing.

I talked about this on Assembly on Friday morning. If we are going to start walking past rubbish on the ground, are we also going to start walking past someone who is lonely in the playground? Are we going to stop insisting everyone uses common courtesies? Are we going to stop standing up for a friend and helping them if they are bullied? Are we saying it's okay to ride bikes and scooters and skateboards all over the school ignoring the safety of all?

Bystander behaviour is well documented in print and online literature. A bystander is someone who is present at an event without participating in it. It's dangerous behaviour as it leads to a tacit acceptance of the less desirable behaviour or values. Research shows that the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is than someone will take a stand. We have 793 children in our school, over 550 families and more than 70 staff - we can't afford for even some of us to just 'walk past'.

Image courtesy of Deposit Photos (see end note)

I loved 4H's Assembly performance last week. It was a clear demonstration of a simple sentence that can change a child's whole day - come and play with us! So simple and so powerful. The large heart being dragged around on stage was symbolic of how a lonely person feels. We encourage our kids to notice the children who are dragging their hearts around and work to include them - not simply leave it be.

Equally we encourage children (and adults) to pick up rubbish as they walk past.  Leaving litter on the ground says we don't care, and if we don't care about the cleanliness of our playgrounds, the next step is not caring about any of the core values that make our school so special.

At Peregian Springs we wear our core values of respect, responsibility, relationships and choice on our sleeves - we model them, talk about them, reinforce them, explicitly teach them. As we continue to grow as a community, we need to take a stand when someone walks past rubbish.

Image courtesy of Deposit Photos ((http://static5.depositphotos.com/1014680/489/i/950/depositphotos_4892724-Heart-collage.jpg)

Whole School Assemblies - a precious part of our culture

I love our Assemblies!

Assembly occurs every Friday morning in the Central Covered Games Area and involves every student and every teacher (unless they are at swimming lessons!) It's the one time of the week when we all get together in one place and celebrate our learning journeys.

Our Assemblies are full of colour and fun. They are not the time of the week when we use the opportunity of everyone being together to have growl - although sometimes there are some messages that everyone needs to think about!

Our Assemblies are a time when students get to practice appropriate audience behaviour - we teach these skills explicitly and expect every child to demonstrate them. And they do this very well - although I long for the day when they can all stand QUIETLY for the Anthem!

The items from the classes are always wonderful - the Preps are usually colourful and very cute and command much attention. The Year 7s usually manage to make everyone laugh and then occasionally, we have a student steal the show (like last week) with her stage presence and skill in commanding a large audience of wrigglers! The items classes present are entertaining and also often focus on a point of interest about out school - for example, this year already we've seen skits on using the Take 5 and on our Code of Cooperation and getting along in the playground.

Assemblies are a time when we celebrate the successes of our students - in sport (both individually and in teams), in music and in any other area of endeavour. I love to see kids really appreciate the achievements of others - as we did last Friday with our record breaking swimming students from the 2012 Swimming Carnival.

I love that parents come along - and when they walk up the pathway afterwards everyone is smiling.

We also acknowledge Country - a very important tradition for all gatherings in Australia, and we proudly sing our Anthem - both verses! We learn a lot from all being together at least once a week - over the last few years as we have grown from 264 students in 2010 to 464 students in 2011 to 511 students in 2012 to a record breaking 712 students in 2013, I've watched all the space in our Central Covered Games Area gradually disappear under a sea of uniforms. But I'm determined we will continue to meet altogether once a week and somehow find a way to make all those bottoms fit!

Check, check and check again

Wearing red at Peregian Springs State School

Yesterday was 'Day for Daniel' - a day when we all wear some red (a colour that has become synonymous with child safety) to promote awareness of the protection of children in our community. Daniel Morcombe was abducted at the end of 2003. Our children have lived with his disappearance all their lives. We, as parents and teachers, have lived with the tragedy and the heartbreaking sadness of the Morcombe family for nearly ten years. A sentiment this strong tends to create a climate of fear and a tendency to overprotect our kids by hovering over them, warning them and tethering them to us closely.

When you think your child has disappeared it is a gut wrenching, heart stopping, sickening feeling of total panic and loss of all rational reasoning. Shortly after Daniel disappeared my daughter (ten at the time) was supposed to be catching the bus from school just 3km into Noosa Junction to where my husband works - simple, just get on the bus outside the school, there's a teacher on duty, sit next to someone you know, get off the bus at the stop outside Dad's office - what could go wrong?

At 4.00pm Rick rings me (I was in Brisbane) and then came the news - 'have you got Maddie? She hasn't come here. I've been looking for her all over the Junction. I've rung the school. I've rung the bus company. We don't know where she is.' It was like a heart attack. I was at least a two hour drive away and Rick was in a mad panic.

After half an hour of madness, phone calls, checking with friends, checking with Maddie's friends, and rechecking all over again while trying not to scream at everyone who said 'no, we haven't seen her', we finally located her at the bus depot in Tewantin.

What the bus company hadn't told us was that the school bus went to the high school where she was supposed to get off and get on a different bus that went to the Junction. As the bus she was on sailed past the end of the Sunshine Beach Road she told the driver she needed to get off. 'No, we don't stop here - you'll have to stay on', she was told. Well, at least it was a happy ending. There is a bit more to this story that I'll tell another time but the point I'm trying to make is that as parents we need to check and check and check AND we also need to make sure our children are building the skills of resilience, self-reliance and problem solving.

Hovering, tethering and warning frightens them - as a parent said to me this week 'Gwen, they think there's a paedophile on every corner'. Of course, there isn't but our kids need to be able to recognise the signs that tell them something is a 'bit off' and then have some behaviours they have practised to remove themselves from the situation. Our student protection lessons at school are about this very thing and on Assembly on Friday 3L demonstrated this brilliantly with their three little skits.

So Day for Daniel is over again for another year, our awareness is heightened and our safety skills are honed...and at 4.10pm as we were all packing up at the end of a week in comes a Dad 'My daughter didn't get of the bus. We don't know where she is'.

Thankfully, another happy ending - she had missed her stop and had to stay on!

Common Courtesies... or just plain old fashioned good manners

I'm pretty big on good manners at school - or Common Courtesies, as we call them. Our Common Courtesies include greeting people when you first meet them for the day, saying please and thank you, knowing how to enter a room politely, using 'excuse me' in its correct context, using each other's names and a few others. At Peregian Springs we teach these to children explicitly, and everyone models their use. Our Common Courtesies are demonstrated everywhere everyday by students, teachers and other staff members - and we love it when parents reinforce these at home too.

Our students' manners is one of the things visitors to our school comment on nearly every week - visitors seem to be amazed at how polite and courteous our kids are. And I'm always terribly proud of them when they walk past me as I'm escorting a group of visitors and call out 'Good morning, Ms Sands', spontaneously and without any prompting! (This often happens in the supermarket in the afternoon too!)

Being consistent with our teaching of manners is important - those of you at Assembly on Friday would have heard me pull up the school and chastise them for talking and walking away while one of our Student Leaders was trying to close Assembly. I'm happy to say, I rarely have to do this, as mostly our kids are happy and polite students without being reminded. For me, though, setting and maintaining the standard is important.

Why do we think manners are important enough to teach? It's because a few common courtesies make the world a nicer place to be in - a smile improves a recipient's day; a please, a thank you and a polite knock on a door helps someone feel respected; the use of a person's name creates connection; and an 'excuse me' often leads to another feeling cared about.

Common Courtesies are the key to helping us function as a community - they demonstrate care and respect, and help us get along with each other harmoniously. A father said to me the other day about his son's discovery of the shower,  'He's just realised that smelling nice helps him get along with people better!' And this is what I think about manners - they help us get along with people better!