William Street, East Maitland 2323 Phone: 4933 7524 Fax: 4934 5012 Email: maitlande-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Respect, Responsibility, Learning, Co-operation and Participation

21 September 2016 No. 29 (Week 10 Term 3)

Educating Communities

Newsletter Week 10

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Holidays and Return to School This is the final week of Term 4. School will close this Friday, 23 September for a two week holiday period. School will resume for students on Monday, 10 October 2016. We wish all students and families a safe and happy holiday. Bush Tucker Garden Opening

You are invited to celebrate the

opening of our Bush Tucker Garden.

Date: Friday, 23 September 2016 Time: 9:30am

Place: EMPS Bush Tucker Garden

Band Last Thursday, our EMPS Band visited Beresfield Public School and played for the staff, students and community

members. It was another wonderful opportunity for our students to perform and they proudly ‘flew the flag’ for

East Maitland Public School in the wider community. Congratulations to all involved and thank you to those

parents and staff members who transported the students to and from the event.

SDD Thank you for your cooperation in assisting with our attendance at our combined staff development days last Friday. Both the administrative and teaching staff attended professional learning sessions which were very valuable and productive. The administration staff increased their knowledge and understanding relating to the new office management system, and as a ‘flagship’ school, being one of the pilot schools in the area, staff were also able to share their knowledge, experience and expertise with their colleagues. The teaching staff participated in presentations and workshops covering topics including: building communities, global trends in education, the work of teams, embracing change and innovation, facilitating growth for diverse learners, and innovation for better learning. We all look forward to putting our learning into place over time and working together to provide rich and rewarding educational and community experiences.

By Michael Grose

Five ways to know you are over-parenting

Here’s 5 tips to find a more balanced approach to over-parenting or helicopter parenting and encourage children to become independent young people.

Times have changed!

When I began as a parenting educator over two decades ago the biggest issues I spoke about in the media

generally revolved around under-parenting. Neglected kids; kids with poor or delinquent behaviour and

raising kids that lived on society’s margins were popular media topics in the early 1990s.

Now two decades later it’s over-parenting that captures the main media attention. Spoilt kids; kids with a

false sense of entitlement and parents that place excessive demands on schools are among the popular

media topics right now. These all fit into the over-parenting, or more colloquially helicopter parenting

category.

Is over-parenting new?

While we hear a great deal about over-parenting at present it’s not a new phenomenon. Parents of past

generations have been overly protective and over-indulgent of their offspring at times, however it does

seem many parents today are a little over-enthusiastic in their endeavours to optimise the future

prospects of the current generation.

In fact, the defining feature of twenty-first century parents is a fierce determination to provide children

with the best possible childhood and the best possible start in life. In pursuit of these admirable goals a

parent can easily over-extend their role entering areas of children’s lives that would have been off-limits

to parents a couple of generations ago.

How to know that you are over-parenting

It’s a quirk of twenty-first century parenting that we need an objective measure to assess our parenting.

Past generations were satisfied with more subjective measures such as whether their kids were happy;

whether they got good marks at school; whether they were employable; and whether or not if they stayed

out of trouble (read goal in extreme cases)! It’s safe to say the parenting waters were far clearer in the

past than they appear to be now. But the parenting industry has come a long way in a short time so we now

have stringent indicators that let us know what parenting track we maybe on. And that, for many people,

would appear to be the over-parenting track.

You know you are over-parenting if:

1. You take on all, or nearly all, of a child’s problems.

Kids are good at handballing their problems to their parents. They’ll bring disputes with siblings for you to

sort; expect you to take forgotten school lunches to school and pester you to organise their after-school

lives. Mums and dads that over-parent invariably end up sorting out all their children’s problems which may

make life easier in the short-term, but can mean kids become more dependent on their parents than

children in the past.

Point to remember: Leave some problems for kids to solve

PARENT ONLINE PAYMENTS (POP)

Our online payment system is now available. This facility is available through the school website. It is a great way to make payments if you are unable to get to the school and is very user friendly.

2. You regularly do for a child the things he or she can reasonably do for themselves.

It’s an irony of modern life that the busier parents get the more we tend to do for kids. In the race to

get things done we dress young children; prepare children’s snacks and accompany them on trips outside

the house even when they are old enough to do these activities themselves. If your child is becoming more

rather than less dependent the older he becomes then it’s probably time to reassess your parenting.

Point to remember: Never do regularly for a child the things they can do for themselves.

3. You take on too many of your child’s responsibilities

Let’s see how you go with these questions! “Who’s responsible for getting your child up each morning? Who’s responsible for packing lunches and bags? Who is responsible for cleaning away children’s toys?” If

you answered “My children, of course”, then congratulations; you shifted responsibility to where it

rightfully lay: with kids. If not, then you guessed it. It may be time for a parenting reassessment.

Point to remember: If you want a child to be responsible then give responsibility to him.

4. You know too much about your child’s life

Being an attentive parent of a small family invariably means that you know in minute detail every quirk and

vagary of your child’s life. “He didn’t eat all his breakfast this morning. Hmm! That’s not good.” “She seems a bit grumpy after school. What’s wrong?” “ They left their jumper at home. I’d better take it to them.” Kids benefit from having some emotional and physical space from their parents. It gives them chances to

rely on their own resourcefulness and develop the skills needed to get by on their own.

Point to remember: A little bit of benign neglect can benefit children’s development.

5. You parent the individual and not the gang

If you are constantly trying to make sure life is smooth for each child then you are probably parenting the

individual, rather than for the good of the whole family! I’m not talking about ‘playing favourites’, but

having an intense focus on meeting each individual’s wants can often be at the expense of family life in

general. For instance, you allow a child to go on a sleepover rather than attend the birthday of a sibling.

Parenting the gang means that children need to fit into the patterns of family life and don’t always get

what they want.

Point to remember: Raise your small family with a big family mindset.

Most of the research indicates the authoritative approach as ‘parenting best practice’. Authoritative

parenting is a mix of firmness and warmth; discipline and nurturance; high expectations and relationship

building. It’s an approach that sits… surprise, surprise… somewhere between over-parenting and under-

parenting. Yep, as always a balanced approach to parenting, as to most things in life, seems to be the best

way to go. Who would’ve thought it!

If you are unable to come on your day please

phone or msg Jacki - school 4933 7524 or mobile 0419143528

Canteen Roster

10/10 Georgia Fletcher Nina Maurirere

11/10 Adora McDonald Fiona Daley

12/10 Katherine Cant Gail Leckie

13/10 Emma Johnson Linda Boardman Judy Drapp

14/10 Connie Kavanagh Janee Binnie Hayley Lindsay

K Aqua

Amelia Cummings

Ryder Hill

K Burgundy

Eamon Browne

Emily Fitzgerald

K Rose

Jackson Prentice

Ryley Grace

K Violet

Billy Goodwin

Heidi Probert

1 Cyan

1 Mauve

Zack Hookway

Zac Hamilton

1 Scarlet

Bailey Whyte-Southcombe

Leah Walsh

1 Tangerine

Holly Ford

Jacob Lane

2 Denim

Chase Bouquet

Dekota Scott-Drosd

2 Emerald

Noah Hawke

Aiden Quennell

2 Indigo

Zakk Neumann

Tahlia Martinez

2 Plum

Coby Gardiner

Tiarna Taylor

3 Holt

Ewan Watts

Zarah Williams

Milly Lee

3 Gorton

Macey Streeter

Ethan Bradley

Owen Cox

3 McEwen

Jarrod Spinks

Royce McDonald

Lachlan Lawrence

4 McMahon

Jack Berthold

Jacob Affleck

Abbie Booth

4 Whitlam

James Williams

Angel Hoffman

Jack Williams

Finn Schumacher

Catie Faulkner-Tranter

Emilee Miles

4 Menzies

Byron Hookway

Zane Williams

Christian Ebril

5 Hawke

Jasper Vile

Caitlin Card

Isaac Collins

5 Fraser

5 Keating

Macayla Johnson

Jack Studdert

Patrick Mennie

6 Rudd

Blake Richardson

Jessica Curtis

Elijah Redding

6 Gillard

Caitlin Newall

Morgan Stuart

Riley King-Saunders

6 Howard

Samuel Mulligan

Kasey Wilson Roper

Cameron Conibear

Linen Roster Term 3 Linen Roster

23/09: Jodi Smith

Term 4 Linen Roster

14/10: Katie Brown 21/10: Sarah Davis 28/10: Jo Proctor 04/11: Grisel Milford - Chilvers 11/11: Deslie Groves 18/11: Jodi Smith 25/11: Katie Brown 02/12: Jo Proctor 09/12: Grisel Milford - Chilvers 16/12: Katie Brown

If you are unable to change the

linen on your allocated date let me know and I will

arrange a swap.

Thank you

Katie Brown

Mutual Banking Students need to drop their bank books off first thing Tuesday morning.

Events / Reminders

21 Sept Yr 2—Reptile Park Excursion

22 Sept Yr 1—Reptile Park Excursion

23 Sept Last Day of Term 3

10 Oct First day of Term 4

28 Oct Colour Run 5-6pm

P&C News 2017 Uniform Shop Volunteers Wanted

In order to keep our school's Uniform Shop open in 2017 we are putting the call out for some more volunteers. It only takes 40 mins and you can get rostered on as many times per month as you like (normally we try for twice a term). “Newbies” will be rostered on with someone with experience, but there isn’t much to the job. If you can help in 2017 then please email us or leave your details with the office ladies. From Term 4 our Tuesday afternoons will be from

2:15-2:45pm. Our Thursday morning hours will

remain 8:30-9:00am.

The uniform shop has NO EFTPOS facilities so please

bring cash.

Term 3 Tuesday afternoons 2:00-2:30pm as well as Thursday mornings 8:30-9:00am thanks to our wonderful team of volunteers! If you are interested in helping please email us at any time.

Our school’s P&C is made up of a great team of volunteers of busy parents and carers. If you have a suggestion, an idea or a concern please email us, leave your contact details with the office ladies or come along to one of our meetings. We are constantly planning fundraising events throughout the year to be able to purchase items for our kids. New readers, iPads, comfy classroom mats, sharing the cost of the electronic school sign and sporting uniforms are some of the things we have purchased in the last 12 months. Future funding projects include wall art outside the library, a new cooktop and stove for the multi categorical unit, plus ongoing maintenance with the Garden Club. If you have an idea that you would like us to fundraise towards, please let us know.

Email details: eastmaitlandpublicschoolpandc@gmail.com

Thermomix Raffle

Win yourself a Thermomix! Tickets are $10 each. Don't miss out on your chance to win this time saving cooking machine. We have extended our draw date to 31 October as we still have a few tickets that need to be sold. If you think you would like one, then simply fill in the entry form and pop it in an envelope with the correct money and drop it into the front office. We will be sending ticket receipts home for all those who have purchased before the big draw. Good luck! Bookkeeper Position We are currently looking for a Bookkeeper. Our current bookkeeper will not be involved with the school next year, and has offered her full support and handover to the new position holder. If anyone is interested in this position that covers the canteen, uniform shop and fundraising activities you will need to have the following:- Competent with MYOB or similar to complete –

entry of income and expenditure, bank reconcil iations, payroll, BAS, monthly management reports and yearly payment summaries.

Superannuation reporting procedures, preparation of Workers Compensation documentation and Insurance Renewals

Preparation of financial reports to present to monthly P&C meetings

Any questions, enquiries or applications to be emailed

to eastmaitlandpublicschoolpandc@gmail.com.

Tues 2:00-2.30pm

Thurs 8:30-9:00am

Week 10 20/9 Connie and Grisel 22/9 Hayley and Kath

Kindergarten Enrolments 2017

It’s that time of year again when we start to gather information about our 2017 enrolment. If you have a child to begin Kindergarten in 2017 would you please contact the office to register your interest. If you know of somebody who may wish to apply for enrolment at East Maitland Public School in 2017, then please have them contact the office for further information.