Message from Michele Marquet, Head of Junior School

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are looking forward to seeing many of our families at the whole school Gala Concert, Fundamental, being held at Sydney Town Hall next Monday, 16 June at 7pm. The programme looks like it will be a wonderful night of musical celebration.

The term is rushing by amidst a plethora of wonderful learning opportunities and experiences. After Y3 and Y5 enjoyed camp last week, alongside the Y6 trip to Canberra, our Y4 and Y1 students also have planned incursions or excursions coming up in the next week.

Y3-Y6 Athletics Carnival
An enormous thank you to Mr Roughan, Mr Cohen, Mr Taylor, Mr Fryer and all the staff who organised and conducted the Y3-Y6 Athletics Carnival last Tuesday. We were treated to a glorious day and the boys showed fantastic spirit and enthusiasm.

End of Term
We remind parents that this term ends on Friday, 27 June at the normal time. Term 3 commences for all Pre-school and Junior School students on Wednesday, 23 July. All K-6 boys should return in full winter School uniform. Over the holidays, please check your son’s uniform items to ensure he has not accidentally acquired something that belongs to another student. The holidays are also a good time for the students to have a haircut. Hair length should be above the collar of the boys’ shirts.

School Reports
During the holidays, parents will receive their son’s Semester 1 report via email.

Friendship & Belonging
Learning how to make new friends and keep them involves a number of skills every young person needs to understand and develop. For some, these skills will come very naturally, allowing them to move easily between different friendship groups, sharing their experiences and opening up to new people. For others, this can be much harder to navigate. Belonging to a group that is like-minded with similar interests is highly beneficial to a young person’s wellbeing. It gives them a sense of security, helping them feel valued, which in turn builds their confidence.

Positive friendships are an important part of the journey to adulthood. Adult carers can support their child or teenager by providing guidance in the many social and emotional skills required for a healthy relationship. This will help them to obtain, retain and maintain friendships. However, not all friendships are regarded as positive. Sometimes young people develop negative or toxic friendships. Therefore, it is also important for them to learn how to identify, avoid or deal with such a friendship.

In one of the online articles on SchoolTV, adult carers can learn how to support their young person’s friendship, so that they experience a sense of belonging. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition, and we always welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the School for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the special edition https://cranbrook.nsw.schooltv.me/newsletter/friendship-belonging

We wish everyone a restful weekend.

Kind wishes,

Michele Marquet
Head of Junior School