Market Day (Week 5)

Our Student Representative Council (SRC) student have been working hard behind the scenes to coordinate the Market Day, which will be held on Friday of Week 5 (17th November). All applications have been received and approved, and every group who applied for a table will be receiving an approval form this week. Each group will receive all the information they need to run a successful Market Day stall in the coming weeks. 

Car Parks and Street Parking

Thank you to all the responsible people who have been using our neighbouring streets and our car park sensibly and carefully. Your support in caring for our students as they come to school and leave at the end of the day is greatly appreciated. Please keep in mind our neighbours when parking along our surrounding roads and streets. Your courtesy ensures our relationship with the residents in our area remain positive. If you are concerned about driving behaviours or parking, please contact the relevant authority, either SAPOL or the Salisbury Council. Thank you for keeping our students safe.

Navigating The World of Technology - Boundaries for Kids

Have you noticed that our entire lives are now on our phones. Our emails, work details, personal contacts, to do lists, banking and most other things! This brave new world of technology has made our lives so much easier on all levels, however it can be tricky to navigate regarding our parenting. When it comes to our children, how much screen time is too much? What apps do I allow my child to engage in and at what age? It can be overwhelming at times. 

There’s no doubt that our children need boundaries when it comes to screentime, mainly because the nature of technology is very addictive. Games are designed to draw you in by promising level after level, social media allows us to scroll and scroll for hours, and YouTube presents us with an infinite number of new videos on any topic. Giving clear screentime boundaries to our children helps with their social interaction with peers and family members, developing their social skills, maintain concentration, fostering imagination and creation of new ideas. 

How can I have technology boundaries at home? There are 3 main areas to consider: content, time, and supervision.

Content: Ask yourself these questions…What is my child engaging with? Who is my child engaging with? What is the principle idea of this app or game? Is it healthy for my child socially and emotionally? Could it be detrimental to their friendships and relationships? Will it add value to their character or is it subtly teaching my child something harmful? There are new fads all the time, so it is a good idea to educate yourself on what they are playing with.

Time: As I mentioned above, technology is addictive even for adults. Hours and hours can be wasted scrolling away on our phones. As parents, it is best if we are in control of how much screentime we give our children so it doesn’t encroach on time with family or friends. On a practical level, you may choose to set app limits and time limits to their devices. Perhaps you may be the only holder of the passwords, so you stay in control.

Supervision: Be mindful that your child may be on a site where they can communicate with other people. It is helpful to be in proximity to your child to see exactly what they are doing from time to time. 

Technology in our children’s lives cannot be avoided and it has proved to be a wonderful asset to their learning too. Let’s continue to enjoy technology with our family in a healthy way.

Transitions

Some of our Year 6 students have begun their transitions into secondary school, with scheduled orientation days to visit their school for 2024. Our primary students will have their transition day in Week 9. Change can be exciting, but it can also be daunting for some students, and sometimes, parents! In previous newsletters, tips and strategies to navigate the feeling of uncertainty or fear of change have been provided. If you feel that your child is feeling a degree of trepidation for the new school year, please speak to your child’s teacher. The Wellbeing Team are here to help too. You or your child’s teacher can refer the concern to the Wellbeing Team via the Admin office staff.

I wish you all a wonderful week!

God bless you,

Deb Clifford
Deputy Principal

Each year Bethany holds a Jump Off Day to raise funds for the Heart Foundation which is a great cause. This program promotes participation and exercise which allows the students the opportunity to learn about skipping whilst keeping their hearts healthy.

This year’s jump off day was held on Friday 27^th October (Week 2, Term 4). It was an awesome day where everyone had a great time. Throughout the day our students participated in lots of skipping and jumping activities using both short and long ropes and having a turn on a jumping castle.

The Sports Department would like to acknowledge and thank the following people for their contribution to the success of this day:

• Mr Grieger
• 6W students for their support
• The Maintenance Team
• The teachers for their help leading up to and on the Jump Off Day itself – we really appreciated your support
• Every student for your participation, encouragement, and awesome attitude on the day
• Parents, families and friends for your support through sponsoring the students and all your encouragement. We raised a great amount in 2023 for the Heart Foundation

Congratulations to everyone who donated!

Well done to the two highest fundraisers:

Rohan D (RM)  |  $408.15

Jameson M (RHAY)  |  $389.00

Overall, 41 students contributed to our OVERALL FUNDRAISING TOTAL of $3935

All money goes to a great cause! Well done, Bethany!

It was a great day out for the 3/4 Gold team. The boys meshed well as a team, taking on the highs and lows together. It was great to see the boys take on feedback, adjust their games as needed and playing to their roles. Can't wait to see the boys continue to grow as a whole squad.              

Mr Tothill

Well done boys on playing a great style of basketball. It was brilliant to see them move the ball around, and work as a team – moving into space and creating opportunities for each other.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all work well together as a team into the future!

Mr Hannaford

It was a fantastic day with the team of boys that we had. There were some wonderful games that we played, and we played well as a team and got some great wins, while other games challenged us. Although we had some losses, the effort and attitude didn't change, even when the boys were tired and run off their feet. They kept trying and gave it their all in every moment. It was great to see a good display of sportsmanship and encouragement of each other shown throughout the entire day. Well done to the boys, they represented our school and our values well and should be proud of their effort.

Mr Mertin

I was so impressed with all the girl’s determination and commitment. They played as a team every game, supporting and encouraging each other. Our first game we won 14-4 against Hope Gold. Second game against Kings was close the whole game, even coming down to 10-10 in the final minute. Unfortunately, in the final 10 seconds of the game Kings scored the winning goal. Although we lost, the girls showed amazing sportsmanship. Our third game against Prescott we won 22-0 and our last game we won against Tyndale 13-2 which meant we came 2nd in our division. With the two divisions then crossing over, we played our final game against Cedar and won 10-0. A great day all round! Well done girls!                                                                                                     

Ms Moore

Congratulations, boys! You competed so well and played as a unit all day! After narrowly missing the finals, it was great to see you compete well in your final cross over match. Well done to Elijah on leading the team so well all day and working hard to make sure that the team was well prepared for each match.

It was a pleasure working alongside the group and I look forward to seeing how you go at future carnivals.

Mr Hannaford

Great day of basketball. Our Year 5/6 girls worked together to be very competitive throughout the day. There was a lot of fun and learning for our group as we came up against teams with more basketball experience. The girls were enthusiastic and encouraging with each other. Well done girls!

Mr Richardson