PRIMARY COORDINATOR

Dear Parents,

I would like to thank you all for your support during this term. The last few weeks have been busy with a few incursions and celebrations of events like National Day of Action Against Bullying and Harmony Day.

National Day of Action against Bullying:

19th March was the National Day of Action Against Bullying and here at Sirius we spent the week focussing on spreading the Anti-Bullying message by participating in an incursion (Virtual Reality Room), painting a wall mural with our pledge to use our hands to help others, not for hurting others. Students also created posters on their personal tips to stop bullying. However, an important aspect of last week’s Anti-Bullying theme was ensuring that we had a shared understanding of what the term bullying means. Sometimes we label any unkind or upsetting behaviour as bullying, but that can actually make it harder to tackle the real issue of bullying.

A simple but effective approach to identifying bullying is to use the following questions about a behaviour or incident:

Was it on Purpose? Was it Personal? Is it Persistent?

Bullying behaviour is usually planned and intentional. Bullying is aimed at a particular victim or victims and happens over time and involves repeated actions. Asking these questions can easily rule out certain types of behaviour, which, whilst unkind and hurtful, should not be seen as bullying. For example, a child who plays too roughly might hurt others, but this does not mean they are bullying them. Similarly, if someone is in a bad mood they might say something unkind, but again this does not make them a bully.

By teaching the children the above three P’s and helping them to better understand what constitutes bullying, we can also help teach them as well as empower them on what to do if they or someone else is being bullied. It is important that children feel confident about speaking to an adult at home or school about their concerns. Therefore, we do not just talk about bullying during one week of the year but recognise it as something that needs to be revisited often.

Through working in partnership with parents and having a shared understanding of bullying, I am confident that we can make our school a Bully Free zone.

Attendance/Punctuality

I would also like to emphasise the importance of being in school on time as there have been numerous incidents of some families routinely arriving at school at 9.00 a.m. or later and collecting their children at 3.35 p.m. or later.

School starts at 8.55 a.m. every day. Children need to be in their class at 8.55 a.m. so that they can start their lessons promptly. Children who arrive late are greatly disadvantaged because they miss starting the day with their peers and the beginning of lessons. This means that they are often unsettled and confused about tasks. They might miss out on important instructions, discussions on a topic or even reading time in their class. It is essential that you ensure that your child arrives at school on time to prevent disruption to your child’s own learning and that of others.

It is also very important that children establish good routines and habits in preparation for the rest of their lives. Punctuality is a life skill that they need to develop whilst they are young.

We understand that there may be rare occasions when you are unavoidably late due to unforeseen circumstances. On these occasions, please make sure that you report to the school office before your child goes to class.

Have a safe and enjoyable holiday with your family!