Dear parents and carers,

During this week, we have been focussed on classroom-based activities.

Last Friday I attended the Rural and Remote Education Conference hosted by the NSW Department of Education in Wagga. There were a large number of participants from both government and non-government sectors in attendance.

Of particular interest was the discussion during the keynote presentation about the various stages of the motivation and engagement cycle that students move through when responding to learning that is challenging. One interesting note was that for the most part when an assignment is coming close to a due date, it is often the case that a student becomes more helpful at home …sometimes students are very able to create obstacles, that may need to be removed when working on a difficult or challenging task. Successfully completing tasks that are difficult leads to greater self-belief and hence greater effort.

Writing Project – tomorrow Miss Schneider and myself will be participating in the first session of the Writing Project being led by Colleen Caddey-Murphy from CE. We will be visiting St John Vianney School in Waramanga, and participating in workshops across the day.

You may also have had the opportunity to see the drama series currently showing on SBS called The Hunting. Whilst it is pitched at an older audience, many of the issues addressed may in some way overlap with how children make use of technology.

Please be aware that it has come to my attention that some students are making use of apps such as Snapchat to message each other outside of school. Continuing the conversation with your children about appropriate use of technology is appreciated.

As the football season draws to a close, our children have continued with their games at recess and lunch times. It has been excellent to see all age groups working together to have games during the breaks.

Yesterday, the children in K/1 enjoyed using the bikes – it was fantastic to see them take the initiative and arrange to get the bikes out and then to help each other get back into the swing of bike riding, especially when starting to peddle/move.

Open Day – we will be holding an open day on Friday August 16. This is an opportunity for family and friends to visit us at school and spend some time in class with us. Feel free to bring a friend – the flyer for the day is included in this newsletter.

Sincerely,