Poseidon Primary School Page: PoseidonPrimarySchoolHeathridge Poseidon Primary P&C Group: PoseidonPrimarySchoolP&C

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Peter Blackford Principal

Peter

Volume 10, 29 June 2017

Upcoming Events

TERM 2, 2017

Friday June 30 Yr 1’s Rm 4, 5 & 6 Mrs Isbister, Miss Sentonas & Miss Ward’s Assembly END OF TERM 2

TERM 3, 2017

Monday July 17 SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT DAY – NO STUDENTS ATTEND

Tuesday July 18 START OF TERM 3

Tuesday July 25 Photo Day Kindy Yellow & Yr 6 Graduation Students

Friday July 28 Photo Day Kindy Blue – Yr 6 Students Sibling Photos

Monday July 31 P & C Meeting 7:00pm

Monday August 7 Spelling Competition

Friday August 11 Assembly

Thought of the Week Why is it that listeners always know when a speaker should stop and he/she seldom does?

Dear Parents and Carers What a busy and exciting term we have had with swimming and dancing lessons, NAPLAN, interschool sport and the lightning carnival which was held last Friday. All these combined with the meaningful and creative learning programs that teachers have been implementing in all classrooms throughout the school. I know that both students and staff are looking forward to the holiday break after such a challenging, rewarding and productive semester of learning. As this is the last newsletter before the end of term, I would like to thank ALL staff, for the dedicated and professional manner in which they have worked together as a team, to provide high quality education for all our students. I hope that all families have a relaxing, enjoyable and safe break from school and look forward to seeing everyone again on Tuesday July 18, when school resumes.

Lightning Carnival Throughout the term our school teams have completed the round of fixtures against our neighbouring schools. Not only did all teams continue to improve their skills and ability to play as team, but on reflection it has probably been our most successful year with all teams recording more wins than in recent years. Last Friday June 23, all teams competed in the annual lightning carnival which was held in perfect conditions. Not only was it pleasing to see that all teams had tried their hardest and participated to the best of their ability in every game, it was our most successful carnival. Congratulations to both our AFL football and A Netball teams who went through undefeated to be awarded the champions pennants for 2017. Our Netball B team were second this year by the narrowest of margins.

Results: AFL Football Champions Netball A Champions Netball B Second Hockey Fourth Soccer Third

School Watch Due to safety and security reasons, the school grounds should not be used during school holidays, with the exception of the school oval and basketball court. Using areas around the buildings is not permitted and should be reported. WA Police work in partnership with our community. Please report criminal or suspicious behaviour to School Watch on 1800 177 777 or Police on 131 444.

Cross Walk Attendant Thankyou

As the semester draws to a close we would like to thank Bruce, our very loyal and hardworking cross walk attendant. Bruce is out there rain, hail or shine caring for the safely of our children. We are so fortunate to have Bruce as part of our school community.

Focus on Cooperative Learning Showdown Showdown is a cooperative structure, which is used in the Year 3 Room 20 class. Working in teams, the captain reads a question supplied by the teacher. The team members write their answer on a whiteboard. When the captain calls “Showdown”, team members display their answers. The team then celebrate if the answer is correct or coach the student with the incorrect answer, then celebrate. This structure can also be used with the teacher calling out the question to the class and each student or team displaying their answer.

ROC Reading ROC Reading will be up and running from week 2, Term 3. In order to run this very successful program, we require parent help. This would involve listening to a child read, asking questions and talking about experiences related to the book they are reading. The children involved are in Year 2 or 3. ROC will run on Wednesday and Thursday between 8:20 - 9:00am. If you think you could help on one, or both of these days, please let the office or Sarah Wakeb (Room 17) know. We would really appreciate your help. ROC Team.

Dance Program Finale

Another very successful finale was held on Monday June 26, in the undercover area. It was great to see lots of parents not only enjoy seeing the students strut their dancing skills around the undercover area but also joining in for a dance or two. The canteen offered a special lunch menu which was enjoyed by students, parents and staff.

The $647.70 raised from the gold coin donations for wearing free dress will be donated to children’s cancer research.

School Photo Day Friday July 28, 2017

Poseidon Primary School Order Code is: USZVEH

Our School Photo Day will be on Friday July 28, 2017 for Years Kindy Blue – Year 6. The photo day for Kindy Yellow will be on Tuesday July 25, 2017. Every student will be receiving a Kapture Photography order envelope to bring home today. The recommended method of ordering your photos is online through Kapture’s website as your payment is secure and can be easily verified at any time. Alternatively you can pay by cash and return the provided envelope to the school on the photo day. You have the remainder of the current year to order, however if you order 5 days after photo day a late fee will apply. Please check the website. You also have the option to order a sibling photo package online, however please be aware there may be a limited number of sibling orders that can be placed due to time constraints on photo day. We suggest you place your online sibling order the moment you receive your personalised envelopes. Refer to our website for your sibling closing date. Late requests cannot be granted. Kapture offer a money back guarantee for any parent who is not fully satisfied with their photo package. Should you have any queries before or after photo day, please direct them to the Kapture office on 9240 1714 or email enquiries@kapture.com.au. All students will be photographed individually on photo day for school administration records AS WELL as included in their class group photo available for purchase to all families. Should there be any reason why your child should NOT be included in the photo shoot –please contact the school office.

Kindergarten & Pre Primary Enrolments 2017 Say ‘Hello’ to learning – Apply now to enroll. Application and enrolment forms are now available from the office. See the table below to find out when your child can start school. Please don’t wait to enroll as places are filling fast.

My child was born My child can start Kindergarten

My child can start Pre-Primary

1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012 2016 2017

1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013 2017 2018

1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 2018 2019

Direct Deposit School Payments You can now make payments by direct deposit for incursions, excursions, swimming fees, interschool sports, Yr 6 graduation shirts and voluntary contributions.

Bank: ANZ Account Name: Poseidon Primary School BSB: 016494 Account Number: 340975592

Please remember to use your child’s name (first name AND surname) and what you’re paying for as a reference. For example: Joe Bloggs Dance, Jane Doe Swim or John Citizen Vol Contributions.

Parenting Ideas This week’s Parenting Ideas article is on – Anxiety in Primary School Kids. Anxiety affects people from all walks of life, and lots of kids have it. If that’s what’s happening in your family, your little one is lucky that you know, care, and are seeking answers.

Primary Music Institute Music Lessons

P & C News

Next P & C Meeting Monday, July 31 at 7:00pm

If you are interested in finding out more about what the P & C is, what they do and how you can be a part of it, come along to one of our meetings in the staff room. We are also on Facebook - simply search for Poseidon Primary School P&C and request to join our group. Alternatively you can contact us via email at poseidonpandc@gmail.com.

Canteen The canteen will be open for recess only on Friday June 30, to enable our wonderful canteen the opportunity to defrost fridges and clean ready for the start of Term Three.

Uniform Shop The Winter Uniform has now arrived and all orders have been filled. If Parents/Caregivers could please collect their orders by Friday (end of term) would be greatly appreciated. The Uniform Shop will be open until 9:00am this Friday.

The opening times for the Uniform Shop in Term 3 will be Monday to Friday 8:30am – 9:00am. If you are stuck and need something urgently, you are more than welcome to email us at poseidon.uniforms@gmail.com so that we can accommodate you.

Anxiety affects people from all walks of life, and lots of kids have it. If that’s what’s happening in your family, your little one is lucky that you know, care, and are seeking answers.

The idea that one of our kids might be experiencing anxiety sets off all sorts of alarm bells in us as parents. It’s fair to say it makes us anxious ourselves, and has us asking all sorts of questions like “What does it mean?”, “What’s ‘normal’?” and “What can I do to help?”

Like anything else in life, the more informed we are about anxiety, the calmer and more empowered we’ll feel, enabling us to support and advise our precious kids through their challenges and seeking help when needed.

That’s what this article is about. Giving you the facts and helping to settle your mind so that you can begin to help them settle theirs.

Before reading on, I want you to close your eyes and take three long, slow breaths in and out… Depending on what you’re up to right now, you may indeed be experiencing a level of anxiety at the moment, and this breathing exercise will help.

Okay, let’s get you some answers to those questions.

Anxiety, what is it anyway? Anxiety is a feeling. We’ve all experienced it. It’s a completely normal reaction under dangerous or stressful circumstances. Perhaps you’ve narrowly avoided a car accident. Your heart pounds, your breathing becomes shallow and fast, your body floods with adrenaline to put you on red alert, your blood pressure goes up, you might perspire, and glucose dumps from your muscles into your bloodstream. All of this is preparing you to face up to the ‘threat’ or run like heck in the other direction. This is ‘fight or flight’ in action.

This reaction is a survival instinct dating back to early times when life-threatening situations were ever present. These days we can experience anxiety when we’re under pressure to meet a deadline, preparing to talk in front of our colleagues or for a job interview, or simply noticing how many emails are awaiting our reply. Our lives are not in danger but our bodies react as if this were the case. The same can be true for our kids.

Anxiety is a normal response to a threatening situation. All of these physical changes happen instinctively as a tiny part of our brain called the amygdala tells the sympathetic nervous system to take over and fire

parentingideas.com.au now we know.

Anxiety in Primary School KidsBy Dr Jodi Richardson

POSITIVE PARENTING

us up so we can do what we have to in order to survive.

Do you know the feeling? Perhaps it happens to you now and then. But maybe, if you’re one of the two million-plus Australians (including me) who experience an anxiety disorder, your body and brain respond like that more often, more quickly and more intensely than others.

Trust me, it feels awful. I’ve experienced anxiety since I was a child, still do and always will. My parents didn’t even know anxiety existed when I was a kid and it took me until my early twenties to be diagnosed. Now that I know, I can, and do, take action to manage it. I have my ups and downs like everyone else but on the whole I live a rich, full and meaningful life. Your kids can too. Anxiety is common, it’s treatable and there’s so much we can do to help as parents.

Our kids are lucky. They have great parents (that’s you) who know to look out for their mental health, and who have access to lots of great resources.

Anxiety affects people from all walks of life, and lots of kids have it. If that’s what’s happening in your family, your little one is lucky that you know, care, and are seeking answers.

POSITIVE PARENTING

How do I know what’s ‘normal’?All kids experience fear and worry about things. It’s understandable given that so much is new for them; new experiences, new places, new people, new teachers, new skills, new challenges to name just a few. What we need to look out for is when their amygdala (remember that tiny part of the brain?) is causing them to react anxiously to situations where there is no danger. Signs of this include:

• Their worries and fears begin to outweigh the situations and challenges that they are facing.

• Their anxiety starts to interfere with their participation at school and the activities, sports, parties, playdates and events than other kids their age are enjoying.

• They’re more anxious, and anxious more often, when compared to other kids their age.

• They’re obsessed with symmetry or cleanliness and they repeat behaviours like hand washing.

What does anxiety feel like for them?Our minds and bodies are interconnected and are now considered as one, not separate. How we think and what we think affects us physically, regardless of age. Anxious kids can complain of tummy pains, diarrhoea, headaches and difficulty getting to sleep. They are easily upset and often like to stay close to you.

Some anxious kids will worry a lot, mulling over and over their thoughts which only serves to fuel their anxiety.

They can also look to us as parents to help them cope by seeking our reassurance that the scary thing won’t happen or avoiding a confronting and anxiety-provoking situation.

Okay, so how can I help?1. Spend regular quiet time with your primary schooler to foster a loving and open relationship while giving them time to share with you their thoughts, fears and worries. You can also help immensely by remaining calm under stressful situations (I know – easier said than done sometimes!)

2. If you think your primary schooler is experiencing anxiety, talk about it and go together to see your GP and have a conversation about what’s been happening.

3. Teach your child about anxiety so he/she knows what underlies the thoughts and feelings. I highly (highly) recommend Hey Warrior! A book for kids about anxiety, by Karen Young. Anxiety is not nearly as frightening when you understand why.

4. Because breathing becomes shallow and fast with anxiety, a simple yet incredibly effective way to show the amygdala that everything is okay is to take deliberate, slower breaths (in for 3, hold for 1, out for 3). After all, no-one can do this when their life really is in danger!

5. Mindfulness is a superpower for the anxious brain (any brain in fact!) and there are lots of great ways to help kids practice mindfulness. One fun game is lying on the floor, eyes closed and asking them to tune into their ‘Spidey Senses’, listening carefully

for any sounds near or far, feeling any sensations under their hands and body and smelling for any scents in the air. Mindfulness reduces the size of the amygdala among other incredible changes in the brain.

6. If they are worrying about things over and over in their minds – let’s say it’s about presenting to their class – instead of saying, “You’ll be fine, I’ve heard your presentation, it’s wonderful,” or, “Don’t worry, all the other kids will be nervous too,” or similar, try this instead: “I understand how you’re feeling, that’s so normal. I’d feel the same way; is it helpful to keep thinking about it?” No! “Okay, then let’s focus our attention on something we can do to help, like practicing more, making cue cards or going outside to bounce on the trampoline.” They need to know that you understand, that you ‘get’ it, and that they’re not alone.

“Is it helpful?” is a great question (when asked compassionately), followed up with asking your child what they can do that will help the situation, or engaging him/her in something meaningful and enjoyable, making a positive step forward.

parentingideas.com.au now we know.

Anxiety in Primary School Kids

Visit our website for more ideas and information to help you raise confident and resilient young

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© Parenting Ideas 2017

Dr Jodi Richardson Jodi is a happiness and wellbeing speaker and writer, retreat facilitator and mum to two primary school aged kids. For more great ideas on flourishing mental health for the whole family, subscribe to her newsletter at drjodirichardson.com.au and say hello on facebook.com/DrJodiRichardson. Enquiries to jodi@drjodirichardson.com.au