Head of Primary P-4

The Primary campus has been a hive of activity so far this term with many learning opportunities for both our students and staff. Some of these exciting initiatives you will read about in this edition of Veritas Voice and some in the next one. 

They include:

  • Curriculum information ­– Gradual Release of Responsibility Model (Pearson and Gallagher (1983) 
  • Our campus theme this year: Kindness
  • Year 4 Student leadership
  • Friendology program
  • The Kindergarten tradition of Dancing on Dom’s Plot 
  • Initial Lit Program expanded to include Year 2

Friendology

This year our theme is kindness which links perfectly to our new initiative URSTRONG Friendology. Relationships are at the heart of social and emotional wellbeing. Friendology is a whole-school strategy that empowers students with friendship skills to create communities of kindness and belonging. Last week the teachers began the training in this program which will be implemented fully in Term 2.

Friendology explicitly teaches children how to develop healthy friendships and manage conflict in a respectful way. Managing friendships and conflict effectively is key to creating safe, caring learning environments. The program inspires students to feel empowered, and develop a strong sense of self, while learning to manage one of the most important things to them…their friendships. 

In professional learning sessions, teachers are receiving training in the unique language, skills, and strategies to implement the lessons. Teachers also study the science and research supporting social-emotional wellbeing. We look forward to implementing this program in the coming weeks and sharing the learning that is happening in our classrooms with our families. Below is an overview of the core concepts of the program. Below is a brief overview of Friendology and I look forward to sharing more information as the program is implemented.

School Captains

Last week we commissioned our 2023 school leaders. All Year 4 students have a leadership role on the Primary campus. In accepting a Leadership position, the students are making a commitment to live the mission and values inherent of our rich Dominican tradition, in both their words and actions. The Leadership teams the students serve in throughout the year are based on our four Dominican Pillars.

Students learn about the qualities for effective leadership and the significance of action and service. Service to fellow students, and to the larger community, both in and outside the school. As such, students are able to grow both personally and socially, developing skills such as cooperation, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and creative and critical thinking.

Our two Primary Captains for this year are Esther Chiew and William Kategiannis. As a community, we congratulate these students and their families. Our new captains have been very busy already since their commissioning and have led an assembly and will be attending a Leadership conference at Sydney Olympic Park this week. This will be a combined learning opportunity between Gioia House captains and St Patrick’s College Strathfield Junior School captains.

Lost Property

The lost property box has been relocated to an area outside the office. This allows parents easy access to the box to claim missing items after school. I hope that parents find this useful. 

Parent Helpers

A huge thank you to all of our parents who have volunteered to assist in our Reading and Library parent helper programs. Your generosity of time is greatly appreciated as we work in partnership to support our students learning. 

Joanne Gianinni
Head of Primary P-4