APA News
From the APA’s desk….
With the creation of our Stop, Drop and Go this term I have been privileged to be able to greet and say farewell to students each day. I know that I am making connections with students via these daily interactions. Equally rewarding is seeing loved ones say goodbye or greet their child/ren at the end of the day. Seeing the students through their parents’ eyes helps to remind me of the importance of how our school community works to ensure students feel safe, welcomed, and connected when they are at school and transition away from their familiar home. Students need to have connections to adults in our school who they feel comfortable and safe with. Their classroom teacher is obviously the most crucial adult, however there are many other people in the school environment who are available for students to connect with. Mrs Constance Bailey our wellbeing officer, Mrs Croft our learning support teacher and Mrs Anne Woodcroft-Brown work tirelessly in this area to support students to feel engaged and connected within our community. Each Monday to Wednesday students are encouraged to visit the ‘Wellbeing Space’ that is now in the new library if they would like to participate in regulating, quiet activities whilst building connections with staff and other like-minded peers. Our ongoing whole school work with restorative practices and circle time is very much rooted in the importance of students having a voice in things that affect them and implementing ways to support them to use that voice effectively and appropriately. This work continues as we develop our wellbeing framework. Please reach out if you are concerned about your child’s well-being in the school environment and also remind them of adults in the school who can assist them.
When thinking about this article I was looking for definitions of community and the following quote from Chavis and Lee ( 2015) caught my eye": “Community is both a feeling and a set of relationships among people”. When we work together to ensure we are connected to each other, our sense of community at St Saviour’s will be strengthened.
Wishing all the Mothers and female role models within our community a lovely Mother’s Day on Sunday. Pope Francis expressed beautifully the essence of the mothering role when he described how Mothers show the world what it means to generously give oneself for others, to respect life and to display tenderness and moral strength in times of trouble. Thank you to all of the Mothers in our community.
Katie Hauser