At St Pius X, we are committed to continuously improving our school environment and fostering positive experiences for our students. A new playground roster is one of the many ways we seek to provide a vibrant and inclusive learning space for all students.

New Playground Roster: More Choice, More Fun!

Starting this term, children will have the opportunity to choose which playground they would like to play on during each break time. This means that they will no longer be restricted to their grade levels and will have the chance to interact and play with peers from different classes. This new roster hopes to foster a greater sense of community, encourage new friendships, and provide diverse play experiences for our students.

Evaluating the Trial Period: Your Feedback Matters!

We want to ensure that this new approach to the playground roster is working effectively for our students. Therefore, we are treating this as a trial period. Our teachers will closely monitor the playground activities and interactions and collect valuable playground data over the next few weeks. After the trial period, we will reevaluate the impact of the new setup based on this data and, importantly, the feedback from students and parents.

PB4L at St Pius X

The first few weeks of term find classrooms at St Pius X revisiting our school rules and expectations, discussing routines on the playground and in classrooms as part of our PB4L processes. This is especially important as we are trialing a new approach to our playground set up. 

Positive Behavior for Learning (PB4L) is an evidence-based framework aimed at promoting positive behaviors and improving the overall well-being of students, teachers, and the school community.  It is an essential part of our school's commitment to the development of the whole child. At its core, PB4L focuses on teaching and reinforcing positive behaviors rather than solely reacting to negative behaviors. 

Key Aspects of PB4L:

1. Preventative Approach: PB4L emphasizes a proactive approach to behavior management. Instead of waiting for challenging behaviors to arise, our school community actively works to create an environment that fosters positive behavior and social-emotional growth. These are addressed through class base units of work and reminders at whole school assemblies. 
2. Teaching Behavior Expectations: Clear behavior expectations are established and taught throughout the school. Students learn what positive behaviors look like in various settings, such as the classroom, playground, library, and more. The whole school are involved in this especially at the beginning of each term.
3. Recognition and Reinforcement: We believe in celebrating and reinforcing positive behaviors. Students receive recognition, praise, and rewards when they demonstrate the desired behaviors, encouraging a cycle of continuous improvement. Children at St Pius X receive house tokens for recognition of positive behaviours and twice a term receive a whole house colour reward.
4. Intervention and Support: For students who may need additional support, our PB4L program provides targeted interventions to address their specific needs. These interventions are designed to be proactive and help students develop the skills to make positive choices. These are in line with our tiered approach to learning and children may receive support whole class, small group or individually depending on need.
5. Collaboration with Parents and Community: Parents play a vital role in PB4L's success and we encourage open communication between home and school via newsletter, Compass and parent teacher meetings.

How Parents Can Support PB4L at St Pius X:

• Reinforce positive behavior at home by acknowledging and praising your child when they display positive actions and attitudes or when you hear about positive behaviours happening at St Pius X.
• Communicate openly with teachers about your child's strengths, challenges, and any factors that may affect their behavior.
• Encourage and model positive behavior at home, reinforcing the same values your child learns at school.

Christine Nunes

Assistant Principal