GSPS NEWS 20th FEBRUARY 2026

Eron Chapman
5 hours ago
4 min read

REMINDERS

Check Compass for all up and coming events
If your child is having challenges, in the morning, before school, please let the office or their teacher know. We understand that things happen in the rush of getting ready and to school. In order to help us be ready to help your child regulate for learning, it is really helpful to us if we have a heads- up from families.

Awards Winners

Birthdays

Get To Know You Conferences

Thank you to the many families who made the time to attend our recent Get To Know You conferences. Your commitment to sitting down, discussing your child’s learning goals, and building a shared understanding of how we can work together makes a genuine difference. When school and home work together, students feel supported, confident and motivated — and that partnership is powerful.

We know life is busy, which is why we especially appreciate the effort families made to prioritise these conversations. Your presence sends a clear message to your child that their learning matters.

A number of families were unable to attend and did not make alternative arrangements. Children are asking when they will have their conferences. These meetings are an important part of supporting student progress, and we strongly encourage all families to connect with their child’s teacher if you have not yet done so. It is never too late to be part of the conversation. You can call the offcie or email your chil'd teacher through Compass.

Together, we can ensure every child feels known, supported and ready to achieve their best.

Compass

At Gowrie St we use COMPASS to help keep you up to date with what is going on at school, and is a way for you to keep in contact with us. We are trying to move away from sending things home on paper, as it is not only very expensive- money we can use in a much better way for students- it also uses valuable natural resources. It also creates significant amounts of waste with us finding things we send home, all over the school grounds, not having made their way to you.

Please let us know if you need any help with logging in, if you have lost your log in, or if you are not sure how to use Compass- we are here to help.

We also use COMPASS to send messages to your phone if you don't use the app. You will notice a message from COMPASS- it is from us and for important things. Please check these. We can't ring all our families each day if we have important things to let you know.

Screen Time

At Gowrie Street Primary School, we want to ensure every child starts their day ready to learn. One significant factor that affects focus, emotional regulation, and engagement is screentime—both in the morning and before bedtime. We are seeing numbers of students who say they want to be back at home on their devices and it takes teachers and ES signficiant amounts of time to help regulate these students so that they are ready to learn. We are alos seeing a higher than usual number of students falling asleep, even first thing in the morning due to lack of sleep at night.

Morning Screentime

Using screens (such as tablets, phones, TVs, or gaming devices) before school can make it harder for children to focus, follow instructions, and settle into learning. The fast-paced visuals and stimulation from screens can lead to emotional disregulation, making the transition to a structured classroom environment challenging.

To support your child’s learning and wellbeing, we encourage families to create a screen-free morning routine. Instead of screens, children can:

· Have a relaxed breakfast together- or pop in to our brekky program to eat and talk with friends

· Read a book or listen to a story

· Play with toys, draw, or do a puzzle

· Get fresh air with some light movement- walk, ride, or scoot to school.

Night-time Screentime

Screens before bed can also impact learning by disrupting sleep. The blue light from screens reduces melatonin levels, making it harder for children to fall asleep and get the deep rest they need. Poor sleep can lead to tiredness, difficulty concentrating, and increased frustration at school. We are seeing numbers of students falling asleep during the morning session due to lack of night-time sleep.

To help your child get a good night’s sleep, we recommend:

· Turning off screens at least one hour before bedtime

· Creating a calming bedtime routine with reading or storytelling

· Keeping devices out of bedrooms overnight

By reducing screentime in the mornings and evenings, we can help students arrive at school feeling calm, well-rested, and ready to learn. Thank you for working with us to support your child’s success. If you are struggling with establishing screen-time routines please give us a call and speak to Bron, our Wellbeing Leader.

Every Day Counts – An Important Update Coming

Every day at school counts. Regular attendance builds routines, strengthens friendships, supports wellbeing, and most importantly, ensures students don’t miss key learning that is difficult to replace. Even a day or two each fortnight can quickly add up to significant lost learning time across a term.

Next week, we will be sharing with families an updated, easy to ready, attendance response process. This will outline how we follow up on student absences, how we communicate with families, and the supports we will put in place to ensure every child is at school and ready to learn. Our intention is to work in partnership with families to remove barriers and maintain high expectations around attendance.

Thank you in advance for your support in making school attendance a priority. When students are here every day, they give themselves the very best opportunity to succeed.