Week 3 notices

Messages

It has been a busy start to Term 3, and it seems things will stay this way. The Canberra/Dubbo camp was extraordinary and the experiences and memories will live for a long time.
What is marvellous about smaller schools is the myriad activities and opportunities that we
experience. Having dynamic and dedicated staff and community as we do at Thargomindah State
School is a blessing and a recipe for success.

Next week (week 4), I will be attending a leadership program in Mt Isa. While I may not be able to
answer straight away, please text if needed. Please see below a few notes and some observations
which will be further addressed on my return.

School Opinion Survey has been emailed to parents, teachers and students. Please complete
these before August 12 to be counted. The results of this survey are published on the school
website.

08:30 student arrival. Concern has been raised about the supervision of students before
08:30. While we are pleased that students are keen to be at school, some students are
arriving by 08:00. Our teacher aides are rostered from 8:15. This is an opportune time for
staff to debrief and prepare. Our policies do not allow for students to remain unsupervised
whilst at school and we are therefore required to watch students as a priority. As a staff we
suggest that arriving to school from 08:30 is reasonable and manageable. If you have
concerns and require support before this time, please speak to teachers or myself.

Lunch box items. It has been alarming to witness the contents of lunch boxes lately. While
we understand providing fresh produce and/or nutritional options is difficult in a remote
community, we remind parents to consider healthier options. A treat or two is fine, however
each meal should contain a healthy item. Increasingly, research is proving the link between
diet and cognition, behaviour and mental wellbeing. I have attached an abstract from one
article at the end of this letter. 

Date Claimers

Diet links to health and behaviour

Abstract
Diet can affect cognitive ability and behaviour in children and adolescents. Nutrient
composition and meal pattern can exert immediate or long-term, beneficial or adverse
effects. Beneficial effects mainly result from the correction of poor nutritional status. For
example, thiamin treatment reverses aggressiveness in thiamin-deficient adolescents.
 In spite of potent biological mechanisms that protect brain activity from disruption, some cognitive functions appear sensitive to short-term variations of fuel (glucose) availability in certain brain areas. A glucose load, for example, acutely facilitates mental performance, particularly on demanding, long-duration tasks. One aspect of diet that has elicited much research in young people is the intake/omission of breakfast. This has obvious relevance to school performance. While effects are inconsistent in wellnourished children, breakfast omission deteriorates mental performance in malnourished children. Even intelligence scores can be improved by nutrient supplementation in children and adolescents with very poor dietary status. Overall, the literature suggests that good regular dietary habits are the best way to ensure optimal mental and behavioural performance at all times. Then, it remains controversial whether additional benefit can be gained from acute dietary manipulations. In contrast, children and adolescents with poor nutritional status are exposed to alterations of mental and/or behavioural functions that can be corrected, to a certain extent, by dietary measures.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15522161/ 

Some lunch box ideas

1.      Sandwich or wrap. Use a variety of fillings. Can be made ahead and frozen till
needed. E.g. ham and cheese, vegemite and cheese, egg, 
2.      Use left overs – Make a little extra for dinner, using the left overs as a lunch
option. Fried rice, pasta, mac n’ cheese etc make great additions to the lunchbox.
3.      Fruit and Vegetables – Include a mix of fruit and vegetables. Add in some
vegetable sticks with avocado, dip or cheese spread.
4.      Healthy Balance – School lunches should have a balance of all of the food
groups.
5.      Food ideas: rice cakes, yogurt, quiche, fruit / vegetable muffins, cheerios, fritters
(meat and veggie), mixed salad, boiled egg, cheese slices, salami sticks, cold
chicken drumsticks, cherry tomatoes, corn chips,
6.     Buy in bulk. Pack smaller amounts into containers or zip lock bags. E.g. yogurt,
raisins, rice cakes, 

Food Groups

Food Groups