Dear Families, Caregivers and Students,

What a week! This week we appreciated how wonderful books and stories are and how amazing reading is to inspire wild and curious minds. Book Week is all about creating a community that celebrates quality Australian literature for children. The highlight of the week certainly was the dress up day. The efforts that families, staff and students put into their costumes is simply astounding and made the experience extra special.

This year we have had to change the way we live, the way we connect to each other, the way we educate our children and the way we run events. Next Friday 30th October is Sport Day.

Please support the school in making Sports Day a COVID safe event for everyone to enjoy.

All families attending Sports Day need to adhere to the following COVID safe measures:

• Any person (child/student, staff member or family member) who is unwell or symptomatic must not attend Sports Day.
• All adults need to adhere to the SA Health social distancing requirements of 1.5m. This means that families cannot join students in the team marquees.
• All adults need to sign in upon entering the oval for COVID-19 tracing purposes only.
• Do not share food and drinks.
• Maintain good hand hygiene. Hand sanitizer will be readily available.
• Greet people without making physical contact.
• There is very limited shade available, please provide your own shade and ensure you wear hats and sunscreen.

COVID marshals will be in attendance. Please follow their instructions when asked.

With or without COVID in our world, children continue to need stable, supportive adults in their lives to teach them to cope with the ups and downs of everyday life and help them grow resilient. We build resilience in our children firstly by modelling it in our own lives instead of giving up or throwing our hands in the air when things get difficult. Secondly we need to encourage some failure, the saying goes: ‘He who never made a mistake, never made anything.’ Making a mistake or not being the best is ok at times. Thirdly we need to make time and talk things through with our children. It is my experience as a mother that no matter how flat the pancake is, it still has two sides. The story my child tells me at home is very rarely accurate; she tells me her version of events. If I am concerned about what she tells me, I contact her teacher or the school and ask for clarification, this way I won’t make unnecessary or incorrect assumptions about the situation or other children involved. The brain is wired in a way that it holds on to negative experiences much longer than positive experiences. A child can have a wonderful day filled with many positive experiences, yet that one unkind thing fills and occupies their mind and they cannot think about anything else. When having a conversation with your child about their day at school it helps to get them to first tell you what was fantastic about it. You can then ask them about any bumps in the road they have encountered and what they did to move through them. Instead of emphasising what other children did to them, bring the focus back to your own child and ask them what skills they used to make friends that day or how they treated others. It may take some practice at first but having these conversations with your children not only provides them with an extensive problem solving toolbox, it will also become apparent that, at times, your own children’s actions fill and occupy other children’s minds and they can't think of anything else.

As a principal it is my job to look at all children through kind eyes and see individual potential, provide everyone with nurturing support and advocacy to ensure all children in my care are given the opportunities to grow and thrive. Plans to start a parent support group within our Lady of the River School are in the works. This group will be for parents of all children in the school but can be especially important for those with students that experience difficulties in social and emotional learning. The aim is for parents and children in our community to not feel isolated and have access to support. Participation is completely voluntary. More information will go out to families soon.

Simon Hutchinson from Climbing Tree visited Our Lady of the River School last week to help us realise plans for a nature playground. Studies show that natural play contributes to the overall physical, cognitive, and emotional development of children and leads to beneficial growth in physical and mental health and happiness. A Nature Play committee is being established to give voice to all within our community, including the children, to collaboratively design a playground that is unique and caters to the needs of our community. If you are interested in being part of this committee, please contact me.

I want to take a moment to inform you that James Preece and Cobie Drogemuller have taken the opportunity to embark on a new adventure in 2021. James and Cobie have been part of the OLOR team for several years and during their time here have contributed greatly to the school community and student learning. We thank James and Cobie for their time with us and wish them well for the future.

It is with delight that I am able to announce some changes to our teaching team in 2021. I extend a very warm welcome to Lisa Rayner, Kimberly Smith and Thomas Charlton who will join the Our Lady of the River staff Team in 2021. Lisa is making her way back home to South Australia from the Northern Territory and will bring with her many years of teaching experience. Kimberly Smith is local to Berri with three years of teaching experience under her belt. Kimberly is a keen dancer and has been dancing with Rosie Clark for many years. She is excited to join us at Our Lady of the River and share her love of learning with students and teachers alike. Thomas Charlton, a graduate teacher from Port Lincoln will bring an enthusiasm for teaching and learning as well as a love for sport to add to our strong team of educators.

Please join me in congratulating Lisa, Kimberly and Thomas and welcome them with open arms into our wonderful community.

There are still plenty of events to look forward to before the end of 2020 like Sports Day, Year 4 camp, Transition, Year 7 Graduation, Year 7 camp and Carols.

Enjoy your weekend.

Nanda de Winter