Dear all,

It is a real pleasure and a privilege to be able to chair Annual Review meetings and to hear about the progress that the students have made and everyone's aspirations for the future. I would like to thank all parents for their support and constructive feedback during the annual review meetings. It is wonderful to hear from you what a difference our hard-working teams are making in your children's lives.

As always, views of the student and family on students' strengths, progress and stretches are central to the discussion about their long term outcomes and IEPs. Following the annual review meetings teachers will write new Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for Term 1, 2022 and will share them with parents by the 20th of June.

I would like to invite all parents to the Principal Meet-Up on the 30th of May at 5 pm (details below). We want to continue with the co-creation of curriculum and sharing of knowledge to support our students, and your children’s, learning process.

This week our staff School Improvement Teams have shared the key successes and next steps in the areas that they were working on this year. I am very proud of our staff and what they have accomplished since the start of the year for every student to be the best that they can be.  Please click here to find out more about our key achievements, impact on students and our future plans.

Warm regards,

Anna

We want to create various opportunities for us to engage families in supporting the learning and contributing to the curriculum to listen to and create mindful engagement with parents.

Please join the next Principal Meet-Up on Monday 30th of May at 5 pm, which offers an opportunity for parents to engage in a personalised, small group session to chat with the Principal, Anna Smakowska and other school leaders on various whole school topics.

The theme for the next session will be student agency (student's voice) in supporting learning. The key questions for this session will be:

• What is going well for your child right now in relation to directing and taking responsibility for their learning? What is something you feel proud of?

• What should we know about your child to improve the way the student's voice is visible in the learning design?  

• What feedback do you have for us to build on opportunities for student agency?

The meeting will be on Zoom and will be limited to 15 parents. If you want to attend please sign up on this form.

Target audience: Families of students aged 16 and above but all are welcome.

JCSRS will be hosting an online information session with two external centres: The Rock Foundation and YES: Youth Empowerment Service.

Both centres offer programmes for JCSRS students following graduation.

Please note The Nesbitt Centre - an alternative centre - is currently undergoing renovations and unable to support placements for our students at the current time.

Information session details:

Date and time: Wednesday May 25th, 4.00 - 5.00pm

Venue: Zoom (link will be shared after sign-up)

Please indicate your intentions via this sign-up form. Sign-up closes Monday 23rd May at 4pm.

Over 300 ESF parents attended the recent webinar focusing on how parents can support their child’s emotional wellbeing upon returning to school. The presentation slides are shared here for your reference.

If you would like to discuss any aspect of your child’s emotional wellbeing - please be sure to include it in your Annual Review meetings.

This school year the Speech Therapy department received a range of communication equipment, generously funded by the PTA.

The Speech Therapy department was looking to start a new initiative of an AAC lending library. 

Children at JCSRS communicate in a range of ways and are supported by our total communication environment. One aspect of this is using high-tech AAC. This could be an iPad with a specific communication app, dedicated communication devices or eye-gaze technology. Purchasing this equipment is a financial commitment for families, therefore we wanted to provide the opportunity to trial this at home and school before purchasing, thus the lending library. Due to the funding from the PTA, we were able to purchase several iPads. This has been a great success this year, with several families loaning devices. We have seen increased use and therefore communication of all students involved. The lending library also includes items such as GoTalk 9.

The ability to use high-tech AAC relies on the ability to access the equipment. In school we currently have an eye-gaze system; however, the frame to hold the device was not portable or accessible in different seating/environments. The funding from the PTA allowed us to purchase an adaptable, flexible frame that could be used in a range of contexts. We have seen increased communication and engagement in lessons since using this equipment.

SNN Presents: Supporting your child with special needs through the teen years

Presenting a session for parents with teenage children and also those with younger children who are wondering what challenges the coming years may bring!

Join us to learn about the changes in children during the teen years, some of the challenges your teenage child with special needs or disabilities might encounter, and possible solutions you might consider to maximise your child's growth in this exciting period.

Time: 25 May, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Location: Webinar

Ticket price: $15

Further details at the event registration page.