A message from the Head of Primary School
Dear Parents and Carers
Primary schooling has many highlights for students. Across the course of the school year there are many opportunities for students to get involved with a variety of activities and these are often the most memorable parts of the year. This week we have a number of these events that I believe our children will look back on with very fond memories.
Firstly, after much practice and dedication our Finding Nemo Jr superstars showcase their musical in three separate shows. This will no doubt be a highlight for many children and their parents as they see them sing, dance and simply have the time of their lives whilst delivering an outstanding show. The first of these is the matinee performance this afternoon and walking amongst the children this morning I know they couldn't be more excited!
Today and tomorrow is also our Interschool Athletics Carnival. We have a large group of students who will represent St Mark's at this event and I know they are ready to do their very best for our School. Today the event is hosted by Peter Moyes, and tomorrow at WA Athletics Stadium which is always a highlight for our budding athletes.
Later this week our Year 4's will have their Endangered Animals Expo. This showcase of student work and project based learning will combine many subject areas including English, Geography IT, DT and Art. This event is always very well supported by our parent community and the sheer volume of people and buzz of excitement will make it a wonderful experience for our Year 4's.
I would like to thank all of our staff and parents who have been involved in all the events over the last few weeks. It has been extremely busy and our students have taken up the opportunities presented to them. These activities can only be done with the support of parents and our staff so I thank everyone for their ongoing support in this area.
Most of our students are very much looking forward to the upcoming holidays where they will have a chance to relax and spend quality time with their family. As always, I would like to remind our community about the need to limit screen time over the break. I recently heard the term ‘time vampires’ when talking about digital devices. I am sure everyone can relate to intentionally looking up something purposeful, only to still be on the device ten minutes later and looking at something completely different. In the home, the ten minutes can become thirty minutes, then an hour very easily and while I'm sure families do not purposely intended for children to spend many hours on a screen in one go, inevitably this can still occur. Digital devices are time vampires.
Almost all digital devices have a screen time limit built in, often in the settings, and this is an easy way to find the Goldilocks zone of device use. Not too short and not too long. Taking five minutes out to set up this function will have a positive impact on the children in the holidays. Of interest to me was an article from prominent educator, Daniel Willington, who after looking at the research around digital devices and children’s attention span, believes that the more screen time a child receives, the more likely they are to perceive non digital activities as boring. It may seem like common senses to many, but after a few hours on a digital device, the play in the backyard does not seem as exciting! Limiting the screen time will help this considerably.
Fortunately the warmer weather is now upon us so being outside is easier than ever. I wish all of our families an enjoyable holiday.
Kind regards
Mark Douglas
Head of Primary School
