Published on: 20 June 2024

  • School Wide Positive Behaviour Support
  • Protective behaviours
  • Assessments

As part of our School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS), our boys are guided by the School’s Student Code of Conduct. The Early Learning Community (ELC) Code of Conduct outlines the boys’ rights and responsibilities in relationships, learning, respecting the school environment and what to do if they feel unsafe. The Code of Conduct for students in Years 3 to 6 adopts our four core values to outline how students can be the best version of themselves. The School’s four core values are Respect, Integrity, Excellence, and Care and Compassion.

Teaching protective behaviours in a primary school is essential for fostering a safe and supportive environment. It involves educating your sons to recognise and respond to potentially harmful situations, understand their right to feel safe and know how to seek help. Through age-appropriate lessons, role-playing, and discussions, boys learn to identify trusted adults, set personal boundaries, and develop assertiveness skills. Integrating these concepts into the curriculum enhances their awareness and confidence and builds a foundation for lifelong personal safety. Effective protective behaviour education empowers your son, promoting their wellbeing and resilience in various social contexts. During Semester 1, boys from Year 1 to Year 6 have been participating in the Protective Behaviours Curriculum through their Health and Wellbeing lessons. The program is underpinned by two core themes:

  1. We all have the right to be safe and feel safe at all times and,
  2. We can talk with someone about anything, no matter what it is.

Topics covered in the Protective Behaviours program include the Helping Hand and trusted adults, early warning signs, personal space, private vs. public, and safe and unsafe touch. Students engage in a variety of activities that aim to equip them with skills and strategies to identify and respond to a range of unsafe situations.

At Christ Church, assessment is an integral part of the teaching cycle. Assessments are carefully constructed to enable judgements to be made about student progress in ways that contribute to ongoing learning. Good assessments provide teachers with information about changes in student learning related to specific aspects of that learning area. They help teachers understand at which stage students are with their learning, and what they need to learn next, as well as identify any misunderstandings or misconceptions the boys have. It is this information that enables our teachers to plan programs that challenge boys to go beyond what they already know, understand, or can do to build knowledge, understanding and skills. It is assessments that lead to accurate and informative reporting. There are several ways students at Christ Church demonstrate their understanding including one-to-one conferencing, learning journals, performances, presentations, group work, written work, portfolios, and teacher-devised tests, as well as standardised assessments.

Congratulations to the Preparatory School Chess Team that competed in the IPSHA Chess Tournament at Guildford Grammar School this week. The team, comprising of Dhruv Sanjay, Neel Gadvi, Ayun Batahena and Vishnu Vyhunthan, achieved first place with Ayun being recognised as the best overall chess player for the day. Well done, boys!

Parents of Years 1 to 6 students, will have received an email and flyer regarding the new Co-curricular registration process. Please review all information, FAQs and activities for Term 3 on the Nexus page before registrations open Monday 24 June. Finally, best of luck to the JPSSA Inter-School Cross Country team competing at Aquinas College today.

Dr. Steven Males
Head of Preparatory School