The Term has got off to a great start, with the exception of ridiculously cold temperatures which have caused some of us to wonder whether we should be asking for a refund on our emigration. I certainly didn’t emigrate to Australia only to be scraping frost off my windscreen!

The Monday before the students return is a really good time for us as teachers to reflect on what’s important, as well as to plan ahead for the second half of the year.

I thoroughly enjoyed the professional learning incursion arranged by Morah Benn in the Primary School with Jill and Eli Rabinowitz, who involved the staff in their ‘In My Pocket’ activity. We heard some historical background about the kindertransport from Morah Galanti, after which Jill took us through the book by Dorrith Oppenheim Sim, who was only seven when she travelled from Kassel in Germany in 1939 to end up with a new family in Scotland. Staff were engrossed in the workshop which is normally enjoyed by Year 5 or 6 students, including the second half in which they paint a fabric pocket illustrating the journey of the child Dorrith and her toy dog. The story brought home the awfulness of the children having to leave their parents at such a young age, but also provided positivity in that her new life included friends and hope for the future. It was an excellent, thought-provoking session. We are very grateful to Jill and Eli for sharing their knowledge with us.

In the High School, Ms Birch worked with teachers to discuss how we look after the wellbeing of the teenagers in our care and to explore a wellbeing resource from Monash University (click here to access). Staff have been working for some time on the creation of an instructional playbook which details various HIT (High Impact Teaching) strategies and this resource enabled us to discuss HIW (High Impact Wellbeing) strategies, how they can be implemented during the school day and whether their effectiveness can be measured.

It's invaluable for teachers to have the time to come together and discuss and learn. As life long learners, the staff of ¼«Æ··´²îæ» are wonderfully open to learning and with only eight weeks left in this short term, I am hopeful that the students have made an equally positive start.

Shabbat shalom.

Dr Julie Harris

Principal