P-5 Update

Chess continues to be a popular activity for students at the College. Chess lessons are run by Chess Mates after school on Tuesdays and large numbers of students are participating in tournaments and playing chess during breaks.  On Sunday, 5th August, the Sunshine Coast Women and Girls’ Chess Championships 2018 were held.  The tournament hosted by the Suncoast Chess Club, is one of the longest running events on the Coast Chess calendar, and again was a great success. A number of PLC students participated in the event. Congratulations to all participants and particularly the following students who placed or received awards.

• U-10 Division -  Maddison Clues (Year 4) placed 1st
• U-8 Division -     Hannah Walsh (Year 2) placed 2nd
• Catherine Maclean (Year 2) placed 3rd
• Ribbon Awards –Elizabeth Maclean (Year 6) Amelia Walsh (Year 2)

As part of the chess program at the College students can this week register for the Sunshine Coast Inter-School Teams Chess Tournament which will be on Monday 10^th September at the Kawana Community Centre. 

Restorative Practices at PLC

At the College addressing any problem between students focuses on dealing with any issues which may arise through an emphasis on a restorative approach, developing resilience in students and creating a culture promoting students supporting each other rather than standing by.

The Restorative approach starts from the point of view of

• What happened?
• Who’s been harmed? and
• What needs to happen to repair some of that harm?

In this approach to dealing with wrongdoing, the focus is on the harm that has been done and the obligation this brings on the part of those responsible to ‘right the wrong’ as much as possible. It’s an approach that seeks to develop in the wrongdoer an understanding of the breadth and depth of the harm their behavior has caused to others so that they can best try to make amends to those most affected. In this way, it’s an educative approach. It also ensures that those who have been most affected by the wrongdoing have the opportunity to be involved in working out what has to happen in order to move forward. 

Through a restorative approach (focused through restorative conferences and circles), conflict or wrongdoing is seen as causing harm to people and relationships, and there is an obligation first to repair this harm in order for the people involved to move forward. It is a way of educating students towards self-regulated right behavior that is respectful of all concerned. In particular, it puts the onus back on the wrongdoer to be truly accountable for their behavior and to repair any harm caused to others.

If students who treat others without respect fail to moderate their behavior after being given an opportunity to do so then a more punitive path which could ultimately lead to exclusion will be followed. As a footnote, research now clearly articulates that short-term ‘solutions’ alone, like punishing the student doing the bullying, do not improve the relationships and social factors which allow the bullying to happen. Although the bullying may stop in the short-term, unless these factors are addressed, it is very likely to reoccur or become covert.

P-2 Athletics

All P-2 students are busily preparing for their Athletics Carnival which will be held on Monday 3rd September.  The Carnival will start at 9am and will be completed by 10.30am. Parents are most welcome at this exciting event.

Year 4 Camp

Year 4 Camp will be held on 23rd and 24th August at Alex Park. A letter giving details of the camp, permission slips and medical forms was forwarded home last week. Should you have any questions regarding camp please contact your child’s teacher or myself.

Mr David Druery, Head of Staff and Students P-5