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Following on from my article in the last newsletter I would like to share some research with you, recently published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health.

The research not surprisingly discovered that limiting screen time and improving sleep have the biggest positive impact on childhood cognition.

Canadian researchers analysing data relating to 4520 American children aged between 8 and 11 years of age found that only 1 in 20 met the following 3 important recommendations:

  • 9 to 11 hours of sleep per night;
  • Less that 2 hours of recreational screen time each day; and
  • At least 1 hour of physical activity every day.

These are incredibly disturbing statistics. The researchers discovered American children engaged in an average of 3.6 hours of recreational screen time per day.

“We found that more than 2 hours of recreational screen time a day in children was in fact associated with poorer cognitive development”, says Jeremy Walsh from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, urging greater efforts to limit children’s screen time.

We know that the overuse of technology and sedentary behavior is considered one of the biggest health risk factors in the world – the silent new addiction some people have called it. There is now clear proof that devices are impairing childhood development and cognition.

It is imperative that children follow the following strict guidelines about technology if they are to maximise their health and wellbeing.

  • No screen time for children under 2 years. This is an important time for children’s brain development. Interactive play and connection with other children and adults is the best way for them to learn language skills, to learn to think creatively, solve problems and develop fine motor skills. Passive media viewing may keep toddlers entertained but it doesn’t teach these important skills.
  • One hour maximum for children under 5 years. Programs and games should be selected and monitored by parents and not include violence.
  • Two hours maximum of recreational screen time for children 5 – 18 years. This is in addition to screen use for school.

David Hine
Head of Junior School

Dates to Remember

31 October 6.30-7.30pm Year 3 Concert
1 November 9.15-11.00am
12.15-1.00pm
Open Morning
Chapel Service for Years 4-6
2 November 9.30-12.15pm Reception – Year 2 Sports Day
5 November 8.30am
7.30pm
Year 4 Camp departs for Finniss
Junior School Friends of Saints meeting
6 November Year 4 Camp
7 November 2.30-3.15pm Years 3-6 Assembly in Memorial Hall
8 November 12.15-1.00pm Chapel Service for Year 1-3
9 November 7.00-8.15am
11.00-11.15am
2.30-3.00pm
Junior School Friends of Saints breakfast
Remembrance Day Ceremony
Reception – Year 2 Assembly in the Junior School Hall
12 November 6.00am
9.30-10.30am
6.30-7.30pm
Year 6 Tour to Canberra departs Adelaide airport
Reception transition session
Parent Information evening for new boys in Years 1-6 in 2019
13 November Year 6 Tour in Canberra
14 November Year 6 Tour in Canberra
15 November 12.15-1.00pm Year 6 Tour in Canberra
Chapel Service for years 4 and 5
16 November 9.00-12.00pm
2.30-3.00pm
Year 4 visit to Walford Anglican School for Girls
Reception-Year 2 Assembly in the Junior School Hall
Year 6 Tour returns from Canberra

Staff News
We welcome back Mr Travis Burridge and Mr Sam Tirrell from Long Service Leave. We also welcome back Mrs Sally Menadue who will teach 3N this term while Mrs Angela Norman takes over the role of Head of eLearning at Saints.

Junior School Summer Uniform
Boys are reminded to return to School in Term 4 dressed in their summer uniform, which includes:

  • Short sleeve banded shirt with school crest (R – 6)
  • Summer grey shorts (R – 6)
  • Brown sandals or long summer socks and black shoes (R – 6)
    (boys in Reception and Year 1 may wear velcro black shoes)
  • Saints hat for play, PE lessons and school sport (R – 6)

A Call for Junior School Volunteers
The Junior School runs a very successful Learning Assistance Program (LAP), which is supported by a regular group of Volunteers who provide an hour and a half (1.5 hours) of their time from 8.45 – 10.15am once a week. This program is of significant benefit to a number of boys in Years 2 – 6 with their literacy development, and only operates with the generous support of our Volunteers. If you are interested in becoming a Volunteer at the school and would like more information about joining our friendly and supportive LAP team, please contact:

Geraldine Waldron, LAP Coordinator
P: 8404 0415 or E: gwaldron@stpeters.sa.edu.au

Traffic Safety
St Peter’s College is situated in close proximity to the CBD of Adelaide, and adjacent to the Botanic Gardens. The School campus sits between two high-traffic roads of North Terrace and Hackney Road. The safety of our boys is of paramount importance and caution must always be taken when walking, riding or driving in this vicinity.

Pedestrians
When boys are crossing North Terrace on their way to and from School, they must always cross at the pedestrian traffic lights situated near Trinity Street. Boys should not cross the road at any other place, even when traffic is stopped for the lights.

Boys who need to cross Hackney Road must use the traffic lights on the corner of North Terrace, or walk under the bridge (over the River Torrens) to the north of the School. Alternatively, boys should use the pedestrian island opposite the entrance to Plane Tree Drive.

In the Junior School, parents should use either the North Terrace or Hackney Road car parks. Parents are asked to respect any designated spaces signed for Staff parking.

The Junior School Avenue is open for parking until 9:30am. It is then closed for traffic throughout the day and reopens at 2:30pm.

Drop-offs
Parents may drop boys off inside the School grounds in the Hackney Road carpark, North Terrace carpark or in the Avenue. Please note there is no parking in the Avenue.

Photographs on Social Media
Out of respect to other families within our School community, St Peter’s College asks that photographs taken at any School event or function that contain images of other students not be published, distributed to others or placed on any form of social media, without the consent of the relevant student’s family.

Outside School Hours Care
The Before School Care Program at St Peter’s College operates from 7:00-8:15am each school day. The After School Care program runs from 3.00-6.00pm school days.

From 2 July 2018, the Government has replaced the Child Care Rebate (CCR) and the Child Care Benefit (CCB) with the single Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

There are now three key things that will determine how much subsidy each family will receive.

  1. Your combined family income
  2. Your fees (Hourly rate caps apply for each service type)
  3. Your fortnightly activity

More information is available at:

https://www.education.gov.au/ChildCarePackage

To find out how these changes affect you please contact Centrelink or visit:

www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/child-care-subsidy

Car Parking

  1. I would like to remind parents of the regulations regarding use of the Junior School carpark. People using the carpark need to stick to the 10km/h speed limit and follow the arrows to assist us with the safety of our boys and their families.
  2. Could parents who are collecting boys in the area near the School Uniform Shop please ensure they do not park around the round-about at the end of the road and also do not park in front of cars that are parked in marked car parks, making it impossible for these cars to leave the car park.
  3. Could parents please respect and take note of the fact that there are disabled carparks in the Junior School. We currently have parents parking in these bays who do not have the appropriate permits.
  4. Parents have indicated that there are parents who are driving whilst on mobile phones in our school carparks, and potentially endangering the safety of our Junior School boys. Obviously we would ask that parents do not engage in this illegal practice.

Playground Supervision
Each morning teachers supervise the playground from 8:15–8:30am before the boys go to class for the start of the school day. Boys who arrive at school before this time should go to Outside School Hours Care (OSHC). After school there is supervision of the exit points to 3.40pm. After this time, any boy not at a co-curricular activity or still waiting to be collected by a parent will be taken to OSHC by the teacher on duty.

Parents are responsible for the supervision of their son on any playground equipment after school, as teachers are rostered on duty at various exit points in the Junior School. We do ask that boys do not play on the equipment outside the Years 3 and 4 classrooms until after 3:15pm. 

Lost Property
We have 4 lost property bins in the Junior School.

  1. One near the photocopy room outside 1G.
  2. Two in the Bickersteth Building opposite the 3N classroom (for all clothes).
  3. One outside the Art Room (for all lunch boxes and bags).

We would encourage boys to check these bins for any lost property, as all left-over items are donated to charity at the end of each term.

Term Dates for 2018

Term 1             30 January – 13 April

Term 2             1 May – 29 June

Term 3             24 July – 28 September

Term 4             16 October – 7 December

Term Dates for 2019

Term 1             30 January – 12 April

Term 2             30 April – 28 June

Term 3             23 July – 27 September

Term 4             15 October – 6 December