Jess and Susan’s Class: Term 1 Week 9

Dear Parents,

It was a very busy and fun week with the children individually managing their time to finish their artworks, artist statements, PIPs and persuasive writing pieces in time for the festival on Friday – and what a wonderful festival it was! Thank you to everyone for attending, despite the rain, and supporting the children. I think having the opportunity to publish their works made an enormous difference for the children as it provided increased purpose. By leaning into purpose we increase the authenticity of the work that the children produce – I wonder if you noticed this in the way the children engaged this term?

A very special call out to Kym (our music teacher) for supporting the children to showcase the song writing skills they’ve been working on in class this term. I hope these songs continue to be sung, shared, and enjoyed.

In other news, we’ve had a couple of conversations this week about changing bodies. I spoke with the children about how noticing differences in other people’s bodies is completely normal, but commenting on other people’s bodies is not appropriate—even when intended as a joke. We discussed how even a small comment can impact a person’s confidence and self-esteem. I explained to the children that if they had questions about differences in bodies they could speak to a trusted adult (including their parents, Susan and I) to find out more. It would be wonderful if you could support this message at home. I will explore topics related to puberty in greater depth later in the year.

One more week to go, when we’ll be reflecting on work, finishing up some textbook work, tidying up some final bits and pieces and hopefully finishing our novel (The WIld Robot). My last day with the children will be Wednesday, and Susan will finish the term with the children on Thursday. On the final day, the children will likely want to watch a movie, so we’ll stay in touch via email regarding this.

Warm regards,
Jess and Susan