Bullying - Taking the topic to the Parents and Friends

Last night we opened discussion on Bullying with our parent community. The aim of the meeting was for parents to come away with a definition of bullying and an awareness of what bullying is and what it is not.

The discussion was positive and encouraging. We were able to explain the Shared Concern Method and the positive outcomes this method has on children.

It was great to also be able to state that the children in our school are generally very well adjusted socially and do display empathy towards their peers.

Our task now is to collect data ensuring that we are becoming more aware of the children who may be reaching out for support on the playground or in the classroom.

Playground Expectations

This week we had a whole school practice of the playground expectations before school. The students were quite responsive and it will be interesting to monitor their behaviour in the morning period over the next couple of weeks. It is becoming apparent that the Infants grades need a whole group lesson about the play periods of recess and lunch. Kindergarten are not as yet familiar with the expectations and are still very much in a pre-school mentality that play time means I can do anything I like!

The Year Ahead

2008 is off to a great start. We have an action plan ready to go which is based around the results of the survey at the end of last year. One of the main areas for action was to help teachers to develop skills around conducting Functional Behaviour Assessments.

Once again teachers have begun the year addressing the Expectations Matrix to ensure consistency of teacher and student expectations across the school.

It's full steam ahead!