From the Head of the Junior School
Dear Parents and Friends of the Junior School,
Thank you to the many parents, friends and family members who supported our boys through attendance and participation in Junior School events over the last week.
What a spectacle our boys and creative arts teachers put on for us to enjoy last Friday evening at the Festival of the Arts! If you haven’t yet seen the extraordinary quality and diversity of art pieces, they remain on display in the corridor. The musical performances by our groups were very impressive, showcasing considerable talent and teamwork. We were also treated to a tight tussle in a Super-Mario robotic match-race! The evening represents Trinity’s commitment to providing opportunities that foster authentic artistic expression, application and collaboration because these are integral to a young man’s development in mind, body and spirit. Each boy in Junior School is learning to express himself in constructive, thoughtful and positive ways and in doing so is also learning to listen; to reflect; to look inwards and outwards; to work together with others; to negotiate; to appreciate differences; and respond to the ideas of others. Congratulations to all the boys and to the staff involved in supporting and guiding them. The spectacular displays of art were also appreciated by many ‘yet-to-become’ Junior School families who attended the Open Day on Wednesday morning at which there were many positive comments offered about the artwork, learning spaces and interactions with our students. Well done, Junior School!
We are grateful to Mrs Voysey for her work in preparing some special learning experiences for boys to mark Science Week. Year 6 travelled to the Preparatory School to complete a Design Thinking Challenge in collaboration with the boys from the Prep School who will become classmates next year. By all reports they loved the challenge and opportunity to work with the Prep boys in their learning spaces. This morning, Dr Simon Crook, a friend and parent of the Junior School, dazzled Year 5 with some eye-catching and curiosity-arousing experiments. Thank you, Dr Crook and Mrs Voysey!
It was lovely to be joined by many fathers and boys this morning for the Kindergarten – Year 4 Father and Son Breakfast. For some of our fathers, this was three times in one week after also being at the Festival of the Arts and the Open Classroom experiences hosted by Years 3 and 4. It is impossible to miss the enthusiasm and excitement evident in the boys for any event when parents are in attendance. Not everyone can attend everything but I assure all parents that whenever you are able to do so, your son is most appreciative…even if as he gets older, he may be less demonstrative in communicating his appreciation.
Parents in Kindergarten – Year 5 received an invitation today to book a Week 9 Learning Conference with your son’s teacher to discuss his growth and view his results across this year’s MAP Growth assessments. This conference is an opportunity but not an expectation. We make this data and these opportunities available twice per year, so if you do not take up this opportunity, you will be able to do so in Term 1 of 2023. On this occasion, these will be 3-way conferences for Years 2-5 and students also attend and contribute to the discussion. In Kindergarten and Year 1, the conference will be exclusively between teacher and parent/s although conversations about individual learning goals do occur between teacher and boys at all ages. Parents in Year 6 and 5B have been notified that their conferences will be held early in Term 4.
I wish our boys and their accompanying teachers a wonderful three days at Years 3 & 4 Camp, at Galston next week. Camps serve as an opportunity to develop and extend relationships as well as participate in a wide variety of adventurous activities, including individual and team challenges. Camps assist in the boys’ development of independence, collaboration, responsibility and life skills as well as providing wonderful social experiences beyond the confines of the classroom. Camps can also be the first step for parents in allowing boys greater responsibility and freedom as they stay away from home, possibly for the first time. Please ensure that packing lists, arrangements for departure and pick-up are carefully noted. Any medication should be given to the class teacher with completed permission to administer instructions prior to departure. I have no doubt that our boys will rise to the challenges ahead of them. Please note that teachers will only be using Seesaw very sparingly from camp, allowing them to focus on their main responsibility of caring for the boys, and also allowing the boys the chance to tell you their camp stories for themselves when they get home!
Next Wednesday’s ‘Cuppa’n’chat’ with the Junior School Executive (Mr Hoare, Mrs Ormes, Mrs Richards and myself) will be from 8:45am-9:30am. Parents are welcome to take up the opportunity to ask questions or raise matters, or simply enjoy morning tea with us and one another. Please use the link for registration provided earlier this week. Also, next Thursday is the parent Auxiliary Meeting. If you would like to assist with planning upcoming events, raise issues to my attention or simply enjoy a coffee and the company of other parents, please join us at Café Envy in Summer Hill at 9am.
We also have many special visitors joining us next Friday…our grandparents. We look forward to hosting our Nans, Poppas, Grandmas, Pas and Nonnas for a Chapel service, sporting activities, classroom activities and morning tea at K-2 Grandparents’ Day from 9-11am. Please let the Office know in advance if special access provisions can assist any of our guests.
To all the Junior School Dads, Happy Father’s Day! I hope your son finds his own way of making you aware of how special you are to him and just how much he appreciates you.
Mark Dunn
Head of Junior School
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
1 John 3:16-18
