Message from Head of Primary and Deputy Head of Primary - 24.6.25
NOTICE FROM HEAD OF PRIMARY
As Term 2 comes to a close, I want to thank all our families for their continued partnership and support of their children and our school. The term has flown by and I have seen excellent growth in the students both academically and maturity wise.
As always, we have finished with a flourish. Today we had teams compete in the IPSHA Chess competition at Guildford Grammar School and our cross country runners competed in the Interschool Cross Country that had been postponed from last week. I am sure all of our students tried their very best. Later this week we have our Year 3 Travel Expo. I know the students are really excited to showcase their chosen country and I thank all parents who are able to come in and see the event in person. Also on Friday is our ELC House Activity Day which is always a fun event for the children.
These holidays, work will begin on our new Year 2/3 playground. We are very excited about the design and I am sure the students will be eager to play on it when they return. I expect the build to go for a week or two after the holidays and will keep you all informed as this progresses.
The mid-year break provides a chance for families to rest, recharge, and reconnect. Holidays are a valuable time for children to enjoy unstructured play, build independence, spend time outdoors, and simply “be kids” – something that’s increasingly important in our busy world. Many students have already told me about the wonderful locations they are planning on visiting so I am sure there will be plenty of tales to share when we return.
A gentle reminder as we enter this three-week break: while it’s completely normal for children to enjoy some screen time – especially playing games like Minecraft or watching their favourite shows – it’s important that their use of technology remains balanced. Sometimes in the holidays children can have extended time on screens, particularly gaming and passive entertainment and these can displace sleep, physical activity, and meaningful connection.
Australian digital wellbeing expert Dr Kristy Goodwin reminds us that:
“Technology isn’t toxic, but how kids use it can be. We want children to be the masters of the technology, not its servant.”
During the holidays, aim for tech use that’s purposeful and creative, and set healthy boundaries that ensure plenty of time for play, nature, movement, and family interaction. According to recent data from the Gonski Institute for Education, children who use digital devices for more than four hours a day during holidays report lower physical activity and reduced overall wellbeing. Our library will open one of the days in the holidays for students to swap books - an excellent substitute for the iPad!
Have a safe and relaxing holiday.
Kind regards
Mark Douglas
Head of Primary School
NOTICE FROM DEPUTY HEAD OF PRIMARY - EARLY LEARNING
Learning Diversity & Inclusion (LD&I)
Commencing in Semester 2, there will be a change in structure of the Learning Diversity and Inclusion team. Cassandra Brown will be moving from the ELC to work with students in Years 5 and 6. Cassandra has held different teaching roles in the ELC over the past 18 years. We would like to thank her and wish her well as she takes her skills to the older years where she will no doubt come across some students she had met previously in the ELC and maybe even meet some of our current students in the years to come.
Replacing Cassandra in the ELC, we welcome Catherine Riddle. Catherine has over 30 years’ experience in education, teaching students aged 4-18 years of age, therefore, having a deep understanding of what helps young minds thrive! Her studies have included: Early Learning, Literacy, Gifted Education at Master level, as well as Leadership & Management (within Education, Business and Law). I look forward to sharing more about Catherine in Semester 2.
If you have any queries or documentation about your ELC child that required updating with the LD&I team, please contact Catherine criddle@stmarks.wa.edu.au in the future.
Please be reassured that there will be a thorough hand-over of student information, maintaining confidentiality, consistency and continuity for your ELC child.
Congratulations to Casey McIntyre
Edith Cowan University student, Casey McIntyre has completed her final Professional Teaching Experience in Pre-Primary Logan this term. Casey achieved the highest possible result of Outstanding across all areas. In the coming weeks she will complete her Quality Teacher Performance Appraisal at the ECU and will then then be a qualified Early Childhood Teacher. As a part of Casey’s Internship at St Mark’s, she will remain in our ELC for Term 3 to complete a special Dance project that encompasses all ELC classes, and she will also be a regular relief teacher when required. I’d like to congratulate Casey on her result and a fabulous term’s work in Pre-Primary. The children and staff have been blessed to have such an organised, enthusiastic and caring teacher to learn and work with. Congratulations also to our Kate Logan for her expert supervision and mentorship of Casey. Our ELC educators take pride in sharing their knowledge, skills and approach to educating young children with the hope of inspiring others to consider careers in this area of education.
House Activities
ELC House Activity morning will be held on Friday 27 June for Pre-Primary and Year 1 children. The children will be working in their HOUSE group, rotating through 4 activities focusing on emotional regulation, Dance, Digital Technology and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture. HOUSE shirts will be required on this day.
Kind regards
Linda Sweet
Deputy Head of Primary – Early Learning
