PRINCIPAL’S COMMENT

Monday 3rd

November 2014 The Westport Chess team consisting of Travis Pascoe, Lachlan Higham, William Beard and Marianne Gona defeated Mullumbimby P.S 6 boards to 2 and won the North Coast Regional Chess title last Friday. This places the school in the 5 remaining teams in NSW in a competition which attracted over 1200 entries from all schools across the state. They are now one win away from the Country Final in Sydney on the 28th of November. Left in the Competition are four country schools from Southern NSW, Western NSW, North Western and Hunter and One Sydney School which is waiting to play the Country Champion. The team has shown consistent performance throughout the year and is beginning to peak ready for a run at the major state titles again. They were also invited to the 2014 Hastings Sports Awards recognition breakfast last Friday. Although they did not win their achievements are nothing short of fantastic.

Thankyou to the P&C and all the helpers who made Friday night’s ‘Disco’ so much fun and of course to all the students who came along and had a great evening. Dean Sneddon Principal Michael Grose Tips The thing that I love about the RULER Program is that it’s totally evidence-based. Its effectiveness is backed by mountains of scientific evidence, so credibility is assured. Speaking of evidence-based, it’s timely to share 10 research-backed tips for raising, what most parents want, happy, successful kids. 1. Birth order matters Birth order is something parents need to work with. Disregard your child’s birth order and you miss a vital clue to your parenting puzzle. Eldest children as a cohort experience greater mental health problems, particularly anxiety, than children in any other position. Happiness can be elusive for this group so they require a parenting style that is cognisant of their drivers, and that releases rather than places extra pressure on them. 2. Positive peers matter Your child’s friends impact heavily on their well-being and frame of mind. When peer relationships are smooth children seem to be happier, more content and even learn better. Recent research I was involved in demonstrated that the well-being of teenage girls is highly influenced by their peer groups. A positive peer group is usually equated with high life satisfaction regardless of what other factors where at play.

3. Parent mental health matters If you want happy kids then you need to get yourself happy. Parent anxiety and depression is linked to behavioural problems in kids; it also makes our parenting less effective. Parent well-being begins with attending to your own needs at least in short bursts and not feeling guilty for doing so. 4. Siblings relationships matter Relationship-building is important but how do you go about teaching kids to get on. Start by encouraging children to build small acts of kindness, which builds empathy. Help them mend relationship problems that have broken down. Start with siblings first. For only children, make sure you build these skills through interactions with peers. Research shows that over the long haul healthy relationships makes kids happier. 5. Developmental matching matters A number of studies point to the fact that much of what is considered poor parenting has actually got more to do with poor developmental matching. Put simply, a parent who raises an eleven-year-old like an eight-year-old may find that conflict and resistance becomes their constant companion; and unhappiness accompanies their child. 6. Good parenting matters Permissive, laissez faire, autocratic or authoritative parenting? These are the parenting styles most parents use at some point. If you want your child to be happy and succeed over the long term then extensive British research shows the way – the links between authoritative parenting (a mixture of firmness, warmth and family participation) and children’s happiness and well-being are strong. This is the approach Parenting ideas consistently promotes and our strategies fit this framework. 7. Family dinners matter Yes, you’ve got to eat. But you need to eat together. Significant research links family strength and children’s well-being to regular family mealtimes. Importantly, there is a high correlation between teenagers that eat with their family at least five times a week and good mental health. 8. Fun matters Kids get precious little unstructured time these days. Play that is not initiated by adults is more than just mucking around. Kids learn and grow through play. Researchers believe that the dramatic drop in unstructured playtime is in part responsible for slowing kid’s cognitive and emotional development. Unstructured play helps children learn how to work in groups, to share, negotiate, resolve conflicts, regulate their emotions and behaviour, and speak up for themselves. 9. Helping others matters The Positive Psychology movement know what they are talking about when they put volunteering at the forefront of an individual’s well-being.

Helping others makes you happy over the long term. Same goes with kids. Just don’t let their grumpiness put you off when you expect them to help. 10. Emotional intelligence matters Emotional intelligence is a skill, not an inborn trait. Thinking kids will just naturally come to understand their emotions (let alone those of others) doesn’t set them up for success or happiness. Kids learn best when they have concrete tools to assist their learning – whether it’s learning to read (books come in handy), play sport (a ball and some goalposts helps) or learning to dance (some suitable music helps). The wonderful tools in RULER Program toolkit make learning emotional intelligence accessible for kids.

******COMING EVENTS TERM 4 ******

Mon 3rd November to Fri 14th – Intensive Swimming Scheme

Wed 5th Nov – ATSI Parents afternoon tea 2pm in Mingaletta Room.

Thurs 4th December – Splendour in the Hall

Tue 9th Dec – Presentation Day

Wed 10th Dec – K to Yr2 Treat Day at Majestic Cinema

Mon 15th Dec – Yr6 Farewell at Westport Club

Wed 17th Dec – Yr3 to Yr6 Reward Day at Wauchope Pool.

Wed 17th Dec – Last Day of Term for Students

Term 4 – Week 4 Merit Awards

KB – Iszac Gordon, Aytac Lister KL – Jaydin Lister, Billy Kefford K/1H – Haley Warren, TJ Dee-Orr 1/2B – Darsh Khetani, Hayley Pankiewicz 1/2R – Kyuss Gow, Erin Curry 1/2S – Trey Higham, Ben Mussared 2/3J – Latrell Inglis, Brenton Harry 3/4OW – Moira Burdon, Declen Dorrington 3/4T – Denae D’costa, Grace-Anne Pegler 5/6W – Jayme Atkins, Garielle Brown Congratulations to all these students! Westport Swimming Scheme Our swimming scheme commences Monday 3

rd

November until Friday 14th

November. Please make sure your child is prepared for each day with swimmers, rash-shirt, a hat, sunscreen, googles, a towel and appropriate footwear. If your child is attending lessons and requires an asthma puffer please ensure they bring it to school to take with them. Mr Pepper

Afternoon Tea for ATSI Parents There will be an afternoon tea held on Wednesday 5

th November at 2pm in the Mingaletta room. All

parents are welcome to attend and bring a friend along also. Aunty Marilyn Canteen News Roster: Tues 4

th Nov - Sharon, Allan

Wed 5th

- Richelle, Amanda

Thurs 6th

- Richelle, Krystal Fri 7

th - Richelle, Donna, Jessica

Mon 10th

- Liza, Jan, Jessica We now have volunteers for Tuesdays so the canteen will be opening. Please contact Richelle at the school canteen on 6583 8506 if you are able to volunteer your time. Your help would be much appreciated. Thank you. Richelle Year 6 Farewell This year Stage 3, (Yr5 and Yr6), are invited to attend a dinner and disco at the Westport Club for our Year 6 Farewell. The date for this event is Monday 15

th December, 6pm – 8.30pm. The cost

will be $16.00. More information will go home later this term. Mrs Osborne Lawn Bowls Program The students involved in the bowls program are having a great time and learning the ropes of playing a sport completely new to many of them. Thank you to Port City Bowling club for hosting this program.

Former student of Westport It was really lovely to receive a phone call from a former student of Westport, Caitlin, now in Yr9 at Melville. Caitlin rang to let us know that she entered a writing competition – Write 4 Life – and her poem titled “Blind” has been shortlisted for the major prize. Caitlin was also very excited about her poem being selected to be published in their yearly book.

Our library will be very proud to purchase a copy of this book when it is released next year and to see one of our former student’s work published in it. Congratulations Caitlin! Debbie Bradtke Yrs5 & 6 Gold As part of the curriculum Yrs5 & 6 are learning all about the Gold Rush era. Their teachers have prepared some real life experiences for them and they are having a great time with the hands on activities as you can see from the picture.

Milo Cricket The students who attended Milo cricket last week had a great time and learnt lots of new skills too. It was a well organised day, thank you to the Milo Cricket organisers.

COMMUNITY NOTICES Camden Haven Triathlon festival 22nd/23rd of November. Junior races to suit all ages and abilities from 1pm Saturday along with an ocean swim and senior/teams sprint triathlon on Sunday morning. For more information and entry forms visit www.portmactriclub.com.au