What a start to the year!

The first few days saw families return to Barbreck, bringing in their books early, visiting their classroom, reacquainting themselves with their new teacher, and of course catching up with old friends and making new ones. Excitement was certainly in the air!

We welcome all of our new and returning families, as well as a new Class of Preps. Already, they have settled in well into the daily half schedule and seem very much a part of Barbreck.

Classes are well underway and it has been a very smooth start to the year. It was good to see the girls return fresh and ready for the school year. While there may be a number of tired girls at the end of the day, their smiles are still shining through.

We would like to thank all students who have self-isolated in response to precautions caused by the Coronavirus. The concern they have demonstrated towards our School community, their care for the health and welfare of classmates, and their families is valued and greatly appreciated. St Catherine’s is fortunate to have such caring students at Barbreck. We look forward to welcoming them back to school soon.

Access to Building Before School

The Junior School library is open to students for quiet reading before school from 8.10am. All girls using the library at this time are asked to leave their school bags outside as they can be a trip hazard within the space. At 8.20am when the bell sounds, students can then collect their bags from outside and make their way to classes.

Lunchtime Eating

During the warmer months, students will be sitting outside to eat their lunches with friends for the first part of the lunch break instead of eating in the classrooms. They will be sitting in their designated areas and will have 15 minutes of supervised eating time before a play bell sounds. At this time, lunch boxes will be placed into a tub and brought back into the building to hopefully reduce the Lost Property. Students in Years Prep and 1 will be closely supervised during this time to ensure lunches are eaten before they play.

Student Timetables and Packing Lists

Hopefully, the Daily Packing lists have now been received and are displayed prominently for quick reference. Please feel free to provide some feedback as to how they are working for you. We are hoping the Packing Lists will reduce the number of parents making the quick dash to School to deliver forgotten items.

Setting Up Routines

Week days can become quite hectic but there are many routines that can be developed to help smooth the rush. It may take some time to establish, however, the rewards are well worth it. This is what I developed with my children and I hope you might take some tips that work for you too.

Work out what the commitments are for each day after school so you can establish which days work best for homework. In the junior school years, school homework is usually given on a Monday and collected on a Friday so there is some flexibility.

1. Designate homework to the afternoons when you are home.
2. Once home, children can change from uniforms into something comfortable – taking uniforms to the laundry on their way to the kitchen for afternoon tea/dinner.
3. Homework should be completed following afternoon tea but before dinner. When children get tired, they process more slowly and become frustrated more easily.
4. Once homework is complete, the school bag for the next day can be packed. Use your packing list to do this. Include everything, except foods.
5. The uniform for the next day can be placed on a hanger, with shoes and socks found ready for when they rise the next day.
6. Now they can play and time is their own without worrying about homework.

I found mornings became a much calmer affair when this routine was in place. Starting the day being organised and happy will become a feeling they want and it reaffirms the benefits of the routine.

Good luck everyone!