…..Engaged and resilient students learning in a safe and inclusive environment…..

This week I am going to give a more general acknowledgement of our teachers and the way they have worked with their classes through term 1 and into term 2.

Our statement above starts with the word engaged and this is a priority of our school this year. Depending on the topic/subject we obviously see different levels of engagement but what we try and achieve overall is for our classes to be settled and the majority of students participating in what is happening in class. This means that some students really have to practice at being resilient and I have seen in a number of classes the changes that our teachers have made to ensure a greater level of participation. Leading on from students just participating, they are then able to engage more in learning across different subjects. The old saying ‘success breeds success’ is certainly something that still applies in our classrooms today. The safest environment for most students at school is in their classroom with the teacher that they build rapport with each day.

Well done to the amazing work our teachers put into working on the 5 key components of our vision – engagement, resilience, learning, safety and inclusive.

Parking -Bundara Street Gates

It is very disappointing to continue seeing parents being disrespectful to some basic school and road rules each afternoon at the back gates.

While it is very easy to say ‘I will only be a minute’ we know this is not the case in most situations. Double parking, parking across driveways is illegal and is not fair for the number of people who do the correct thing.

We also have members of our community who have legitimate disabilities and have special exemptions for parking. If you are able bodied, then please ensure you park somewhere else and if it takes you a couple of minutes walk accept that this is not the end of the world. It is also a great time to talk to your child about the day as you walk back to your car.

This is a SAFETY issue for our school – for the students and parents leaving the grounds as well as for students still at school. We have students who have life threatening illnesses and if an ambulance needed to access them quickly and you are parked across the gates this would not be possible.

We encourage our students to practice kindness towards each other. Please consider being kind to fellow parents and do the right thing.

We also need to remind parents that driving into the top parking lot (staff parking area) to drop off students and pick up students is not permitted unless there has been prior approval given.

Queensland Engagement Survey

Each year we have our year 4-6 students participate in a wellbeing survey. This data helps us with school programming and gives us a chance to see what issues are impacting on our students. This survey will be conducted over the next couple of weeks.

NAPLAN

We received our preliminary NAPLAN results this week and overall we were very pleased with our results. Over the coming weeks our teachers will be looking at these results and comparing them with the work our students have done in class.

Colour Run

A huge thank you to Carly for organising her team and getting our colour run happening again this year. It was a huge success and Mr Weir and I are preparing to be ‘slimed’ by students who are drawn out of all those who raised over a certain amount of money. We are going to pick a winning child from each year level.

The company who organises the overall event commented that we had the most volunteers and were the best organised school that they had worked with. Well done Carly and thank you again for the huge effort you put into the success of this event.

Mothers Day Stall

We also have Hannah organising our Mothers Day stall this week. Hannah has sourced a wide range of gifts for students to purchase for their mums. She has a dedicated group of volunteers who are helping out throughout the days this week selling to the classes. Thank you Hannah for running this event for all our great mums, grandmothers and carers.

Student Feedback Meeting

Last week I hosted a feedback meeting that allowed our students to speak openly about issues at school that impact on them. We looked at some of the questions from our annual school opinion survey and discussed what engagement in classrooms looks like.

I would like to thank each of them for their input. Having some student voice means that we are better able to tailor different programs and as a teaching group, discuss different situations where students are able to learn to the best of their ability.

Congratulations

Congratulations to all those students who particapted in the Broadwater cross country last week. Special mention to Indie and Liam who have made it through to the next round.

Safety Second: Why “Safety First” Is Bad For Your Child – Dr. Justin Coulson.

Why “Safety First” Is Bad For Your Child

“Your children should be doing at least one thing each week that, if things go wrong, could land them in hospital.”

Provocative? Absolutely. But I’m not encouraging emergency department visits. I’m sounding an urgent alarm: our obsessive protection of children is harming them.

The Risk Paradox Explained

Here’s an uncomfortable consideration: “Safety first” is actually harming our children. How? The more we try to eliminate every risk, the more we compromise our children’s actual safety and success. Our anxiety about scraped knees and bruised elbows has created a generation that’s physically safer but mentally fragile – scared of everything.

Research from the University of British Columbia shows that children deprived of risky play develop poorer risk assessment abilities, decreased physical literacy, and—most alarmingly—heightened anxiety disorders. Professor Mariana Brussoni captures this perfectly: “Children should be kept as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible.”

Risky vs Dangerous: Know the Difference

Risky play involves manageable hazards that children can identify and navigate themselves. Dangerous situations involve hidden hazards beyond their developmental capacity to assess.

For preschoolers (ages 3-5):

• It’s risky to climb the tallest play equipment at the park while you watch from a distance.
• It’s dangerous to climb the same structure when it’s poorly maintained with broken parts or on concrete surfaces.

For primary schoolers (ages 6-12):

• It’s risky to ride bikes down steep hills or learn to use a pocket knife under loose supervision.
• It’s dangerous to ride bikes on busy roads or use sharp tools without any instruction or guidance.

For teenagers (ages 13-18):

• It’s risky to navigate public transport alone to meet friends across town.
• It’s dangerous to hitchhike or accept rides from strangers.

Three Ways to Bring Back Beneficial Risk

1. CREATE TIME for risk-taking adventures

According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, children’s free outdoor playtime has declined by over 32% since the 1980s, while screen time has more than doubled to an average of 4.5 hours daily for primary school children. Schedule weekly “adventure time” where risk is encouraged:

• A bushwalk where kids can climb rocks and explore without constant “be careful!”
• Beach visits where they can test their limits in shallow water
• Bike rides with gradually increasing distances and challenges
• An indoor rock climbing centre for supervised height experiences

For younger kids, 1-2 weekly adventures is realistic. Teenagers might manage more independent risk-taking daily.

2. SEEK OUT risk-positive environments

Not all play spaces are created equal. The best ones challenge children physically and mentally:

• Adventure playgrounds with loose materials
• Nature reserves with trees to climb and wild spaces to explore
• Community gardens where kids can use real tools
• Skateparks where falling is normalised and celebrated as part of learning

Avoid over-engineered playgrounds with rubber surfaces and predictable plastic equipment. They signal to children that risk is unacceptable and falling is catastrophic. (Plus, they’re boring.)

3. STEP BACK and honour developmental progress

Several years ago, my daughter Emilie, then 9, refused to ride the “donut” behind my dad’s boat. While her siblings loved getting whipped around and flipped into the water, Emilie was terrified. I coaxed her onto the donut with promises: “Pop will drive slowly. You won’t flip. I’ll be right there.” She reluctantly agreed, clutching the handles with white knuckles as my father crawled the boat forward. After 15 seconds, something remarkable happened: “FASTER!” she shouted. Then again: “FASTER!”

By honouring her initial fears and letting her control the pace, Emilie discovered for herself the exhilarating balance between thrill and terror. Had we flipped her immediately, she’d have never returned. Instead, she spent the afternoon demanding higher speeds.

This perfectly captures effective risk support: present but not controlling, encouraging but not forcing, and always respecting the child’s own developmental timeline.

Putting “Safety Second” for Healthier Kids

The world’s leading play researchers identify five essential risk categories children need regular exposure to:

• Heights (climbing trees, playground equipment)
• Speed (running downhill, bike riding, sliding)
• Tools (using hammers, scissors, kitchen knives appropriately)
• Getting temporarily “lost” (exploring just beyond sight)
• Rough-and-tumble play (wrestling, chasing)

Start with whatever makes you least uncomfortable, gradually expanding your comfort zone alongside your child’s abilities. Remember: “Safety first” might sound responsible, but it’s actually backwards. Our job isn’t to eliminate risk—it’s to introduce appropriate risk at the right developmental stages. 

The next time your heart races watching your child attempt something challenging, resist the urge to shout, “Be careful!” Instead, think: This isn’t dangerous—it’s the antidote to anxiety and the foundation of confidence.

Thank you to all the kids for their beautiful manners while purchasing their gifts for Mum/Nan/Grandma at our Mother’s Day stall this year.

Another thank you to everyone for supporting another one of our P&C events we are very lucky to have.

Dear Parents and Carers,

This term we will be holding our Student-Lead Conference process. These conferences provide an opportunity for your child to articulate their learning, express how they are progressing and ways that they can improve.  It is also a valuable occasion to reflect on your child’s current learning goals and discuss and form new goals with them. During this process, teachers will be monitoring the room to facilitate multiple discussions and provide assistance where required.

Your child will show you their work, their classroom learning environment & Bump-It-Up-Walls as well as anything else that they are proud of. 

Student-Lead Conferences will be held on one afternoon only this term;

Wednesday 21^st May 2025 from 3:15-4:15pm

You can attend your child’s classroom at any time between 3:15 & 4:15pm on this day. There will be no scheduled meeting times.

As a parent during these conferences, there are 5 key questions that you can ask your child;

1. What are you learning? Why?
2. How are you going?
3. How do you know?
4. How can you improve?
5. Where do you go for help?

These are five key questions that the children are becoming more familiar with and confident in answering about their work in class.

In the classroom there will be a short feedback form, and we would appreciate you providing us with some valuable feedback after the experience.

We look forward to welcoming you to this student-led afternoon.

Warmest regards,

Murray Gleadhill

Principal