Dear Parents and Carers

Positive relationships are the foundation of a thriving school community. I want to emphasise the importance of building and nurturing connections with the people who are involved in your child’s education, from the classmates seen every day to the many support staff who might interact with your child occasionally.

Positive relationships foster a sense of belonging and enhance our overall well-being.  Some ways we can encourage and cultivate positive relationships within our school community include:

1. Respectful communication: Encouraging students, teachers, and parents to actively listen to one another and express themselves respectfully. Clear and open lines of communication help build trust and understanding. Reading newsletters, checking diaries, attending meetings, discussing homework – these all help to create personal involvement in your child’s school life- a place where they spend most of their awake time each week!
2. Creating a culture of respect and empathy: Encouraging students to respect each other's differences, celebrate diversity, and practice empathy. Teach the importance of kindness, inclusivity, and acceptance. Guide your child through the many differences they experience with a spirit of curiosity and an openness to learn about things you don’t know much about.
3. Encourage collaboration: Providing opportunities for collaborative learning and group projects, where students work together, learn from one another, and develop teamwork skills. Do you actively support friendship connections for your child that involve both in and out of school peers and mentors?

Parent involvement: Encouraging parents and carers to actively participate in school activities. This could be volunteering, helping with sports, following school social media accounts. Adult support and involvement help to strengthen the home-school partnership. Your child will come to learn that these two important places are working together to help them with learning.

Celebrate achievements: Recognise and celebrate the achievements and efforts of students, teachers, and the wider school community. This fosters a positive and encouraging atmosphere. This is not always about having a merit certificate; it can be about the little personal things like improving at times tables or completing a speech in front of the class.

When Life Throws a Curve Ball: Sometimes families face challenges, these can be short lived or long term. It is always very helpful for the adults who care for your child each day to have awareness of difficult times. It may simply mean there is no homework set or that sleep routines have changed and your child may be more tired etc. Connection encourages empathy between the adults which empowers your child to feel safe whist at school.

By actively working together to build positive relationships, we create a supportive and nurturing environment where students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

Kindest regards
Robyn Dixon
School Counsellor