JS News: 4 May 2022

From Karen Mahar, Deputy Head of Junior School

One of our main objectives as a school is striving for all members in our community to feel connected through a sense of belonging. This is an ongoing process, and one we take pride in undertaking. Instilling a sense of belonging among everyone, and fostering an ongoing feeling of hope and personal value, directly influences how we feel about ourselves, how we feel and interact with others and how we engage and interact with the environment. Research reveals that achieving a sense of belonging to a school environment is an established protective factor for children, favourably influencing adolescent health, education, and social wellbeing.

Foundation Day
It has become a tradition for our Junior School students to plant a bulb each year on Foundation Day. The delayed and favourable impact this action has on our school setting is a gentle reminder about how so many small, subtle acts in life can have such a noticeable and positive impact, over time. The promise that a bulb offers – a flower in the springtime – is comparable to the idea that any good deed can often be rewarded sometime in the future.

Last Friday our students participated in the Star Relay. This is an action-packed House-based game that evoked great enthusiasm and House spirit.

Year 6 leadership

An IB education 'enables students to make sense of the complexities of the world around them, as well as equipping them with the skills and dispositions needed for taking responsible action for the future'. Following these ideals, our Year 6 students are embarking on the PYP Exhibition process.

The Exhibition has a strong tradition here at Radford and has become a powerful way for students to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skill with a broad audience.

This year, students will be engaging in the Exhibition process during Term 2. The overarching theme for this year's Exhibition is 'The Power of Now'.

All our Year 6 students were awarded their leadership badges last week. The students proudly wear these badges as a tangible reminder of the responsibility to lead well – lead themselves, their learning, and our Junior School.

Mother's Day
Mother's Day is an annual reminder to cherish the relationship we have with mothers and significant others who love, nurture and care for us. We look forward to gathering first thing on Friday morning to acknowledge them.

Mother's Day Breakfast details as previously advised in Nexus.

Winter uniform

Students are required to wear the winter uniform in Terms 2 and 3. The uniform policy states students are able to wear long or short sleeved polo shirts. Any undergarments should not be visible. The uniform committee is investigating a long-sleeve house shirt option. Families are reminded that students in Years 1–4 should wear black sport-style shoes, without logos or white soles.

Please ensure uniform items are labelled before your child wears them to school.