From the Principal
Staffing 2025
After a selection process I am pleased to announce that Mr Owen Gerrard will be our new Curriculum Co-ordinator and part of the school executive team from 2025. Mr Gerrard has been doing a terrific job upskilling teachers and working on our English curriculum. Our current Curriculum Co-ordinator Mr Greg Angus has stepped down from his role but will still be on staff as our Music teacher & K-2 Learning Support Teacher.
Miss Rowena Atkinson will leaving us at the end of the year to take up a role as a Mathematics teacher at Trinity College. We thank her for all her efforts and wish continue success in her new role.
Miss Grace Irving will be joining our staff in 2025. She is currently working at the Southern Highlands Christian school in the Southern Highlands. She is very excited to become a part of our school community. Mrs Brown & Mrs Yeo will be returning part time from maternity leave in 2025. Mrs Emily Delaney, Mrs Jenifer Hewitt, Mrs Emma Huggett and Mrs Nicola Bensley have all been given permanent positions from 2025. With our growing numbers we have been very lucky to attract great teachers to our school.
An Interesting Article from the BlackDog Institute - Advice for Children with Anxiety
Supporting your child’s mental health: We are in this together.
Raising kids to be mentally healthy can be hard. This is where Black Dog Institute comes in. Australian Primary Principals Association is leveraging Australia’s leading organisation for mental health research and the voice of mental health science to provide insights on children’s mental health. Black Dog Institute is providing a series of practical, research-based articles tailored for parents and school staff, empowering them with the knowledge needed to foster better mental health in children. Together, we’re working to raise mentally healthy young Australian’s who are ready for life’s challenges and opportunities.
Does my child have anxiety?
The answer to this question is yes, definitely. Every child and parent will feel anxious sometimes. It’s a normal and important part of being human. Words like anxiety, fear, worry, and feeling scared all describe this feeling. Anxiety might not feel good, but it helps us face tough situations. It’s a natural reaction when our brains think we might get hurt or someone we care about might get hurt. This hurt can be physical or emotional, like being laughed at, making a mistake, or doing something wrong. Anxiety can give us the energy to deal with these situations.
The Long Game
When a child feels anxious, it’s natural to want to avoid what makes them anxious. For example, if your child is nervous about public speaking, they might not want to present at the school assembly. But the interesting thing is, the more your child avoids what makes them anxious, the more anxious they can become. Avoiding situations keeps the anxiety going, no matter what caused it in the first place.
Avoiding teaches the child that the situation is unsafe and should be avoided, even if that’s not true. Because of this, your child may miss out on learning how to cope with anxiety. By avoiding the situation, children miss the chance to create new, strong, and safe memories about it.
It’s important to help children break the cycle of avoidance by having new experiences, even if they feel anxious at the time. This way, they can learn that they can cope, and that anxiety is a feeling that comes and goes.
When Does Anxiety Become a Problem?
Anxiety can become a problem when it happens a lot and disrupts everyday life. For your child, anxiety might stop them from going to school, playing with friends, or they might have trouble being away from you. Anxiety can also make your child very upset or cranky. If you think anxiety is affecting your child, it’s important to know that there are ways to help. Research shows that getting help early and using strategies can reduce their anxiety.
QUICK FACTS:
7 out of 7 children, parents and teachers feel anxiety.
At least 1 one out of 7 children experience anxiety that disrupts their everyday life.
Children and young people seeking help for anxiety has increased – the number of parents seeing a doctor about their child’s anxiety has doubled in 5 years!
Need more help?
If you feel like you need more support your GP about your concerns. Your GP can provide suggestions about mental health professionals. There are also a number of free online help services available:
Black Dog Institute https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/news/understanding-anxiety-in-children/
