Principal's Report
Dear Parent and Carers,
Congratulations on making it to the end of an entire term of flexible learning. You have continued to do a remarkable job working closely with our great school to support your clever children to learn during Term 3. We are so proud of you and your children!
With confirmed cases of COVID-19 continuing to grow in our area the clear message from NSW Health continues to be that families should be keeping children at home unless it is absolutely necessary for them to attend school. These current guidelines reduce movement of students, staff and families, and keep our community as safe as possible. To date with your cooperation our school has remained operational everyday in Term 3 to support children of essential and critical workers. We sincerely thank you for ensuring children are in attendance only when absolutely necessary.
Returning to School
Looking ahead, the Premier has announced the return to school roadmap for students in NSW. All students will return to face-to-face learning either through a ‘full return’ or ‘gradual return’, depending on NSW Health conditions in their area. We will notify you as soon as this is announced.
Scenario 1 - Full Return (Level 3) -Anytime between 5th and 22nd October
Areas across NSW that are removed from stay-at-home rules will return to school under Level 3 settings. This is a full return for all K-6 students to school, with reduced mingling and on-site activities.
Scenario 2 - Gradual Return (Level 3 plus)- Gradual from 25th October
Where stay-at-home rules are still in place but high community vaccination and low transmission conditions are met, students will return to school in a gradual way. This is a gradual return for prioritised cohorts, with no mingling or on-site activities.
Scenario 3 - Local Government Areas of Concern
Identified Local Government Areas (LGAs) and suburbs of concern operating under Level 4 plus restrictions will continue learning from home until we are advised otherwise by NSW Health.
Order of Return
Under scenario 2, students will return to face-to-face learning in a gradual way with NSW Health-approved COVID-safe settings on school sites in the following order:
From Monday 25th October 2021 (Week 4) – All Kindergarten, Year 1, all GPS Support Unit and Year 12
From Monday 1st November 2021 (Week 5) – All Year 2, 6, 2-6Cox and 4-6Poncard and Year 11
From 8 November 2021 (Week 6) – All Year 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10
The school based online and paper pack work will cease for individual grades as each grade returns to school in Term 4.
The return to school roadmap is subject to change depending on new information expected through the Public Health Order and additional advice from NSW Health. We will be providing further advice as we develop our plans for this gradual return.
Vaccinations for School Staff
To ensure a COVID-safe return to school, all NSW public school staff on-site to support the gradual return of students will be required to be fully vaccinated. Moving forward any contractors, volunteers or people on site who require a Working With Children Check will also be required to have 2 doses of vaccination.
Learning from Home
We understand the pressures of parents both supervising learning from home as well as completing their own work. We commend you for everything you have done to keep your families safe and at home when possible. While our staff will continue to provide online and paper work leading up to the gradual return, we appreciate that parents are the best judge of what is appropriate for your child to be doing at home. Be flexible and make it work for you. I have included a graphic that has been shared on social media that provides a positive analysis of the current situation. Please don’t be too hard on yourself or your children.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher if you need further guidance or something is not working for you. Week 1 Term 4 drive thru paper work pick up will operate 8:30am -9:15am on Tuesday 5th October. Thank you to our dedicated teachers and office staff who have worked continuously to ensure online and paper work packs were available every Monday during Term 3.
Kindergarten 2022 Transition
We are currently working on some online videos to help support you with Kindergarten 2022 Transition. More information will follow next term.
When enrolling your child online you are required to supply proof of address (residential check) . We require proof such as council rates, water bill, electricity bill, lease agreement, phone bill or Centrelink statement. (Drivers license is not acceptable).
Our school’s Enrolment Procedure is located with the map of the school’s intake zone on the School’s Website under Our School, Enrolment. Our school’s current enrolment cap is based on the number of permanent classrooms. Therefore, under the N.S.W. Department of Education policy requirements, with current enrolments, the school is unable to accept any non-local enrolment applications, this includes non-local siblings of older brothers or sisters already at the school. Non-local applications will require exceptional circumstances to be presented for them to be considered or approved. We understand the concern this may cause and will work with you and your local school to ensure a smooth process.
Tell Them From Me Parent Survey
Each year we ask for your feedback. I invite to complete the 2021 Tell Them From Me survey to provide us with your valuable input to help us to continue to improve our wonderful school.
Holidays
Please take a well-earned rest from school over the 2 weeks of school holidays commencing on Saturday 18th September. Don’t forget Monday 4th October is a public holiday. Please stay safe and enjoy the beautiful Spring weather.
We sincerely appreciate your ongoing cooperation and support.
Mr Clenton and the staff of Gorokan Public School
Health News
These uncertain times create a lot of anxiety for children and parents. One valuable resource that can make a difference in our lives is called the BRAVE Program. It is an interactive, online program for the prevention and treatment of childhood and adolescent anxiety. The programs are free, and provide ways for children and teenagers to better cope with their worries. There are also programs for parents. It is supported by the Beyond Blue initiative and can be an asset in helping families through these tough times. Please see the link below to access the program.
School of Psychology - University of Queensland
The UQ Psychology Clinic is open to the public and offers psychological assessment and therapy services to people of all ages, including children, adolescents, adults and older adults.
I hope all students and families have a safe and restful holiday and will see you back at school during Term 4.
Fiona
School Learning Support Officer Health
P & C News
Thank you to everyone who supported our very first P&C Father's Day Raffle.
I would like to also extend a very special thank you to Emma McBride MP for her generous $200 donation.
Congratulations Again to our Raffle Winners
1st Prize $200 Bunnings Voucher - P Reeson
Ticket Number: #511
2nd Prize $150 BCF Voucher - N Swinfield
Ticket Number: #856
3rd Prize $100 JB HiFi Voucher - C White
Ticket Number: #717
4th Prize $50 Supercheap Auto Gift Voucher - S Little
Ticket Number: #319
After expenses we made a profit of $1,702.04!
This will pay for the Year 6 2021 Yearbooks.
Although times are challenging at the moment I would like to wish the community a very happy holiday. Stay safe and see you next Term.
Kind Regards,
Jasmine Daunt
P&C President
Parenting Ideas
A parenting style for our times
by Michael Grose
I spoke to a mother recently who was struggling to find the right balance in her parenting approach. She was frustrated that she always had to nag her children to get cooperation. More disturbingly, she felt a lack of connection to her children, which concerned her given the challenges we are now experiencing.
I suggested that she should “guide like a cat and nurture like a dog”. She loved what I had to say so I thought it valuable to share my ideas with the Parenting Ideas community.
You have some cat and dog in you. It’s just a matter of accessing those parts and bringing them out when we need them.
Find your inner cat to guide and manage
The cat is the credible side you all have, but find difficult accessing. It’s expressed through your non-verbals – your tone of voice, your posture and your head position.
A cat speaks with flat, clipped voice. Your head is very still and body upright and confident. The quickest way to access your inner cat is to speak with your palms facing the ground. You’ll find you’ll naturally speak with a clipped voice, still head and body and a serious expression on your face. This is your credible (and calm) side.
When you speak from your cat side people will usually believe what you have to say. The cat side gives you authority.
Australia’s former foreign minister Julie Bishop was a good example of using cat behaviour. Whether you liked her or loathed her you couldn’t deny that she oozed authority. That’s because she accessed the cat side of her nature in public.
Guide like a cat by speaking calmly, quietly and staying still when you speak. ‘Cats’ will also withdraw eye contact rather than stand and argue so look away or respectfully move away rather than become involved in a pointless argument with a child.
‘Cats’ also look for ways to manage visually (with such things as rosters or charts) or by moving close and whispering, rather than repeating themselves. If ‘cats’ repeat themselves, they are more likely to lower their voice than raise it to get attention. These cat behaviours work well when guiding and managing children and teenagers.
Use your inner dog to nurture and build relationships
We also have a dog side to our nature. This is the approachable, conversational, relationship-building side. When you access this side you’ll speak with lots of inflection in your voice. Your head will bob up and down. You’ll probably lean forward as you speak and you’ll smile a lot. The quickest way to access your dog nature is to speak with your palms up. You can try it now. Stand up, put your hands out with your palms up and start speaking. You should notice a big difference in how you deliver your message from when you spoke with palms facing down. If not, alternate speaking with palms up and down until you see a difference.
The dog side of our nature is what many of us feel more comfortable with. If you are in a management position at work, you probably spend more time accessing your cat than your dog. Although effective managers will move seamlessly between the two, accessing their dog when networking and relationship-building, then finding their cat for negotiations or when making decisions.
Actor Hugh Jackman is an example of a public figure who is dog-like as he usually speaks with lots of up and down pitch in his voice, a big smile and open body language. However, he can switch to cat mode in interviews when talking about something serious. He will speak quietly, calmly and his head will stay very still. We believe him when he speaks. He’s no lightweight. It’s his ability to switch from cat to dog and back again that makes him so charismatic.
Bring your cat and dog to your parenting
Effective parents can make subtle adjustments to their communication. That is, they alter their style to suit the situation rather than let their moods dictate their communication styles. This is not necessarily conscious. Do it often and you’ll find switching from cat to dog and back again becomes an ingrained parenting pattern.
Get your cat and dog wrong and you’ll be ineffective. Guide like a dog and you’ll do one of three things – whine to get cooperation, become angry if they ignore you, or do nothing because you don’t want to offend your children. Build relationships like a cat and you’ll be seen as distant, stiff and unapproachable.
Get the mix right and you’ll be able to give your children exactly what they need. That is, the leadership and safety that cats provide and the nurturance and encouragement that comes naturally to dogs.
Michael Grose, founder of Parenting Ideas, is one of Australia’s leading parenting educators. He’s an award-winning speaker and the author of 12 books for parents including Spoonfed Generation, and the bestselling Why First Borns Rule the World and Last Borns Want to Change It. Michael is a former teacher with 15 years experience, and has 30 years experience in parenting education. He also holds a Master of Educational Studies from Monash University specialising in parenting education.