Westlawn Public School

Newsletter Term 2 Week 6

4th June 2019

Strive to Achieve

North Street, Grafton. 2460 6642 7466 westlawn-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Last week I talked about mindsets and in

particular, the growth mindset. I included some

tips on how to help your children to develop a

growth mindset including praising the process not

just the result, embracing failures as a way to

improve results and explaining that the brain is

like a muscle – the more you use it the more it

grows. I hope you’re finding some opportunities

to give these ideas a go with your children.

The opposite of a growth mindset is a fixed

mindset. For those of you (like me) who are visual

learners, here’s the link to a short video that

explains the difference between the two. As

parents and carers, you are your child’s ‘first

teacher’. Children will model on you. Which

mindset do you fit into? Are you are a bit of both?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1CHPnZfFmU

I saw an excellent example of how working at

something with consistent effort and great teacher

support, results in success at last week’s assembly.

Mr Giggins’ Kindergarten class were performing

their Eisteddfod verse speaking items – two quite

lengthy poems. The level of precision, focus and

above all enjoyment evident in each and every

child was a joy to behold. As a past Kindergarten

teacher myself, I know just how much effort

would have gone into such an impressive

presentation. The class worked together not only

as a well-oiled machine but also one with loads of

individual personality shining through. Now that

really does float my boat!

I believe the young are born with a growth

mindset. You can see that in Kindergarten

children, even though they wouldn’t be able to tell

you what a growth mindset was! If you believe

you can achieve anything, then you have a much

better chance of doing just that. When you ask a

five year old what they want to be, they will

answer everything from an astronaut to a fireman.

Ask the same child as a fifteen year old and the

answer has often changed to “I don’t know”. I

wonder what happens in the years between early

child hood and adolescence that can move a child

from a growth to a fixed mindset.

At Westlawn PS we help children to understand

that ability can be developed through effort and

the application of good strategy (that’s really

where the teachers have great impact). So it’s not

“I can’t do that” it’s “I can’t do that, yet”.

Good luck with the growth mindset. I’m

continually working on mine!

Kind Regards,

Sandra

TRAVELLING SAFELY TO AND FROM SCHOOL

Whether your child travels to and from school by

car, bus, bike or foot there are rules to keep

everyone safe. It has been brought to the school’s

attention that there have been instances of

children riding pushbikes in the Cranworth and

Principal’s Message

Strive to Achieve

North Street, Grafton. 2460 6642 7466 westlawn-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Powell Street areas in an unsafe manner. If your

child rides a bike, please speak to him or her

about bike safety. If he or she is involved in an

accident with a motor vehicle, the results could be

fatal. Teachers have spoken with all students at

assemblies and in classrooms multiple times this

year about safely travelling to and from school but

there are a few children who have not heeded the

warnings.

STRANGER DANGER

Thank you for discussing the importance of

keeping safe after school with your children

particularly whilst walking to and from friends’

houses. There has recently been an incident in the

area where a student was approached by a

stranger whilst walking home from a friend’s

house. The incident was reported to the police and

the child was not harmed. The key to protecting

your children is good supervision and explaining

the risks involved when unsafe choices are made.

PARENTING INFORMATION FROM MICHAEL

GROSE

As I sat in the back of the classroom, I saw a fourteen-year-old student taunt his teacher in a way that only young adolescent boys can do. The teacher asked the student to get back to work and stop disturbing others, reminding him that his behaviour was out of order. The student grudgingly resumed his task. But just before he put his head down, he threw out a comment about it being a stupid piece of work that he had to do.

This young fella’ threw down an ‘imaginary rope’ (the last word, a taunt, a jibe, a joke) for the teacher to pick up. “Don’t pick it up! Just let it go!” I thought as I sat in the back of the room. He was getting back to work. This was the boy’s way of saving face in front of his mates. The teacher picked up the imaginary rope and began a tirade of discipline.

I detected the slightest grin on the student’s face that said “Gotchya!” The teacher’s remarks were like water off a duck’s back. He revelled in them and I watched as his status

amongst his male peer group just went up a number of notches.

The hard part of dealing with kids, whether you are a teacher or a parent, is to ignore some of their ‘last wordedness’ and the verbal comments they throw our way. I am not suggesting that we ignore all taunts or rude remarks but there are many occasions when we should just leave the ‘imaginary rope’ where it lies. Usually when we ‘pick up the rope’ we turn into a child! ‘Throwing the rope’ is so effective as behind most conflict between kids and adults are the deeper issues of:

Power (“I want to make you do this”), Position (“I’m the adult so you should

listen to me”) and Prestige (“I want others to think I’m doing

a good parenting job”).

Arguments, last-wordedness or comeback lines, which are often about kids saving face, threaten our position or prestige as parents or teachers. “You can’t say that to me, I am the adult,” is the type of thinking that brings us undone every time. They are also a way of kids saying that I will acquiesce to you but on my terms, which is about power.

Four alternatives to picking up the rope:

1. Stop, smile, ignore and walk away.

2. If the issue was important, choose the right time and place to talk to your child about their behaviour.

3. If it’s not important, let it pass. Some kids just value the fight so don’t fight.

4. Use humour to diffuse the situation. Self-deprecating humour works well; sarcasm doesn’t work.

Next time a child ‘throws the rope’ by having the last word or using a quick throw-away line, realise what is happening. Look at the imaginary rope, smile and refuse to pick it up.

Strive to Achieve

North Street, Grafton. 2460 6642 7466 westlawn-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

That is the adult thing to do. Hard work, but essential if we are going to be successful at bringing out the best in kids’ behaviour.

For more ideas to manage last-wordedness and make other improvements to children’s behaviour check out my book One Step Ahead, my behaviour management tome.

NSW PSSA Boys Hockey Championships

We wish Kade, Reece and Hayden the very best of

luck as they play for the North Coast Hockey team at

the NSW PSSA Boys Hockey Championships in

Lismore this week. We will report on their

experiences next week.

North Coast Netball Trial Result

Congratulations to Eliza on

her selection in the North

Coast Netball Team. Eliza

played outstanding netball

last Wednesday for the

MN C side. The MNC coach

described her as a gutsy

player who gives 100% all

the time. Eliza will travel to

Orange to play in the NSW PSSA Netball

Championships next term.

MNC Cross Country Results

Results from the MNC Cross Country Carnival at

Nana Glen on Friday 24 May. Competitors had to

finish in the top 6 to progress to the North Coast

carnival to be held at Nana Glen on Friday 21 June.

Ruby - 2nd, Riley – 25th, Taj – 19th, Thomas – 26th,

Ashlea – 9th, Poppy – 16th, Summah – 22nd,

Chase - 22nd, Shanae – 3rd, Isabella – 23rd,

Breanna – 6th, Lily – 8th, Alice – 19th, Ryder -19th,

Riley – 24th , Ted – 25th, Seth – 26th,

Congratulations to you all. Good luck to Ruby,

Shanae and Breanna at the NC carnival.

Boys Cricket Knockout Result

Westlawn PS travelled to Macksville last Friday to

take on Macksville PS in round 4 of the cricket

knockout.

A very cold and chilly morning greeted the teams at

Donnelly Walsh Oval. Our captain, Kade, won the

toss and decided it would be best to have a bowl.

After a decent warm up (none too keen to put their

hands in front of a hard cricket ball in the cold!) the

teams were ready to play.

Zane and Ted opened the bowling. Zane was

swinging the ball a long way, helped by a cold breeze

pushing across the pitch. Ted was able to snare the

first wicket when Zane took a fantastic catch at fine

leg. Zane chimed in with an LBW in his second over.

Macksville were 2 for 18 after 6 overs. It was clear

that scoring on a field that was in need of mow was

going to be difficult. Singles were definitely the order

of the day. Boundaries were going to be very hard to

come by!

Kade and Blake continued the good bowling. Kade

was on fire, taking 3 wickets in 3 overs. He was on a

hat trick at one stage. Blake bowled with plenty of

zip and was unlucky not to grab a couple of wickets

too. Macksville PS went to the drinks break at 5-35

after 12 overs.

Our next pair of bowlers, Jaiden and Wilson,

continued to keep pressure on the opposition

batsmen. They missed out on the wickets but kept

the runs down.

Eli bowled exceptional line and length and he was

rewarded with a caught and bowled. Noah bowled

an economical over as well and Macksville plugged

away to be 6 for 54 after 18 overs. A run out by Sam

and Reece towards the end of the allocated 25 overs

gave Macksville a total of 7 for 64.

Bowling figures finished: Zane 1 – 1 from 5, Ted 1 – 9

off 5, Kade 3 – 9 from 5, Blake 0 – 12 off 4. Jaiden 0 –

5 from 2, Wilson 0 – 7 off 1, Eli 1 – 4 from 2 and

Noah 0 – 3 off 1.

Reece and Kade opened the batting for Westlawn.

They were very watchful and batted to the

conditions, accumulating plenty of singles. They got

Westlawn off to a terrific start to be 0 -19 after 6

overs. Reece received a lovely yorking delivery that

snuck under his bat and he was bowled for 5 runs.

Sam and Kade kept the scoreboard ticking over with

plenty of off side stroke play, pushing the score to 31

Sporting News

Strive to Achieve

North Street, Grafton. 2460 6642 7466 westlawn-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

before Kade was bowled for 15 runs.

Zane and Sam toiled away to edge us closer to

victory but Sam fell victim to an LBW on 13 runs.

Westlawn were 3 for 49 after 13 overs. Eli strode to

the crease and he and Zane entertained the crowd,

players and umpires with a number of ‘mix ups’

when running between wickets. After a few close

calls, the boys sorted it out. Using some sort of

advanced mental telepathy to call each other

through for a run, they were able to steer Westlawn

to victory. It was highly entertaining stuff! Zane

finished 11 not out and Eli was unbeaten on 9 runs.

A great victory.

The competition will now enter the winter break and

Westlawn will play the winner of the Maclean PS v

Wyrallah Rd PS match in October.

A huge round of applause to Mrs Jones for scoring.

Thank you to Mr Moran and Mr Buggy for helping

the team warm up.

Rugby League Gala Day

Westlawn’s Rugby League side will compete in the

PSSA Classic Shield Gala Day at Geoff King Motors

Oval, Coffs Harbour tomorrow. The day will serve to

cover the first 4 rounds of the PSSA Rugby League

Knockout. Westlawn PS will play South Grafton PS in

their first match. A win will secure a round 2 game

against Maclean PS. A victory in that game would

see Westlawn PS take on either Frank Partridge VC

PS or Macksville PS. Good luck boys!

NSW PSSA Basketball Knockout

Our boys and girls teams will be in action this Friday

at the Grafton Indoor Centre. Led by coach

Salvestro, the boys will play South Grafton PS and

the girls will take on Grafton PS. This is round 2 of

the competition for both teams as they had a bye in

round 1. Good luck to you all.

Primary Sport for Term 2

Stage 2 and stage 3 are close to completing the trial

process for long jump, high jump, shot put and the

200m sprint. There are limited entries for these

events on the day of the carnival. Once the trials are

complete, the students will be informed of the

events they have qualified in.

Please ensure your child has suitable footwear for PE

and Sport sessions.

Other dates to remember – plan ahead!

The North Coast Cross Country Carnival will be held

at Nana Glen on Friday 21 June (T2, W8).

Westlawn Primary Athletics Carnival will be held on

Monday 24 June (T2, W9) at Terry West Athletics

Field.

Student Portfolios

Please return your child’s green student portfolio

to the class teacher in readiness for the reports to

be sent home later this term.

Library

The Library is looking for volunteers to cover

books. If you are able to assist please contact the

school office.

Cross Country

Ruby 2nd, Shanae 3rd

and Breanna 6th

Congratulations

Strive to Achieve

North Street, Grafton. 2460 6642 7466 westlawn-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Term 2 Week 5

Volunteering is such an important part of a

school. Every parent or community

member, who volunteers or supports our

school in many varying ways is valued.

Many people’s volunteering is behind the

scenes, not in the public eye, however just as

crucial.

Volunteering is essential to the effective

operation of our school canteen, organising

school functions and assisting with

fundraising. The only reason we volunteer

is to help the children of Westlawn School.

Canteen News

Our canteen Manager Amy has

unfortunately decided to step down from

her role, effective immediately. On behalf of

the P&C I would like to sincerely thank

Amy for her many hours of voluntary

service to our canteen. I would like to make

special mention of our appreciation of all

the hard work Amy has voluntarily carried

out in reorganising the canteen menu and

liaising with other stake holders to make

our canteen compliant with the new

Healthy canteen requirements. Thankyou

Amy.

Belinda Oxenbridge has generously agreed

to take over as a care taker canteen manager

for one month, until this matter can be

considered next week at our P&C meeting.

This means that our canteen can continue to

operate, thanks to Belinda’s assistance.

There are three positions that are vacant in

our canteen:

Canteen Manager

Deputy Canteen Manager

Function Coordinator.

(If anyone is interested in any of these

voluntary roles I am more than happy to

speak to them)

Caryn Dunston (P&C President) 66447916

or mobile 0435 978 836.

Canteen Roster

Wednesday 5th June -

Gary Palin, Debra Watts

Thursday 6th June -

Debra Watts, Campbell Kenneally

Friday 7th June -

Kassy Viskers, Kelly Williams, Jan Tucker

Monday 10th June – Public Holiday

Tuesday 11th June -

Debra Watts, Sue Tobin, Debbie Tobin

Westlawn Public School P & C

Newsletter

Strive to Achieve

North Street, Grafton. 2460 6642 7466 westlawn-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Student of the Week

Trinity – 3/4T

Diary Dates

Week 6

Friday 7 Jun Infants Fun Sports Day

Week 7

Mon 10 Jun Queens Birthday Public

Holiday

Tues 11 Jun CSI

Wed 12 Jun Canteen and P&C Meeting

6.00pm

Thurs 13 Jun Multicultural Public

Speaking Competition at

WPS