There are lots of benefits that come from being in a group or team, be it a sports team, a hobby group or a group immersed in an intellectual pursuit. Participation helps children to build friendships, develop communication skills, feel a sense of community and learn to respect others. It also teaches the importance of being a responsible team member.
At Richmond we strongly believe in the importance of ‘belonging’ and we try to offer opportunities to students in a range of areas.
This year we are operating running club before school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Over 30 children regularly attend. Our popular lunchtime gardening club will begin on Thursdays as soon as the weather cools down a bit. This year they will be growing herbs. Chorale is also up and running before school.
We will field teams this year in swimming, soccer, AFL, netball, cross country, cricket and athletics.
Additionally, we have leased our facilities for after-hours programs that we feel will benefit our students: On Mondays and Wednesdays it’s lego workshops with Bricks 4 Kidz; OSHClub continues to operate before and after school each day; and Marshalls Tennis continues to offer lessons before school. Details of all of these programs can be found here: Out of Hours
Extension classes are starting in PEAC and Instrumental music (violin, viola, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, cello, flute), and timetables have been sent home for relevant students.
At Richmond we have access to a number of online programs, which students can access from home. They have all been given their logon details for Mathletics and Reading Eggs – two interactive literacy and numeracy programs sponsored by the P&C. They also have their logon details for online language learning website, Language nut. This is a fantastic international digital platform to learn new Italian vocabulary and consolidate classroom learning. At one point last year Richmond climbed the Language nut table to be fifth in the world! Exciting. To access the website, enter your child’s user name and password here: http://www.languagenut.com/au/login
It’s also great for parents to be part of a group, and it’s good role modelling for children to see you participating. All classes are looking for class parent reps to help organise social events to build community. It would be lovely to get a big turnout for the P&C Annual General Meeting, which is this Tuesday at 7.00pm in the library. The AGM is an opportunity to see who is standing for positions, have your vote and have a say in the direction of the P&C for 2020. You can also get onto the P&C mailing list for minutes and agendas. Don’t worry – you won’t end up with a job just by coming along to the AGM, unless you nominate yourself.
Classes seem to have settled really well and teachers are very much looking forward to meeting parents at their year group meetings. All the details have been sent out on Connect. If you have misplaced your Connect password, Lara will happily reset your account on request. Please do feel free to also book an individual meeting to discuss your child with their teacher if you wish.
Thank you for your role in our smooth start to 2020.
Lisa Dentith