Greetings from Shaun

It’s that time of year again, where illness rears its head and spreads through grades and cohorts like wildfire. A reminder that if your child is sick, or is displaying covid symptoms, please conduct a RAT test and keep your child home whilst they are unwell. 

The school has also been heavily impacted by staff absences due to illness. Whilst we try to secure replacement teachers when this occurs, the education industry, like many other industries, has been severely impacted by workforce shortages and, consequently, we are facing difficulties in securing casual relief teachers. When this happens, there are times when a class is ‘split’ to other classes, usually within their own cohort. Thankfully, the small class sizes here at Northcote mean that we are able to do this whilst still maintaining manageable classes sizes. All year level classroom teachers undertake planning together and deliver a consistent teaching and learning program across the cohort so please be assured that when children are split to other grades, they continue on with the learning that they have been undertaking throughout the week.

Fundraising

Hopefully you will have all seen that the Community Sub-Committee has launched a pasta fundraiser to round out term 2 and to raise money for a new bike shed AND if we raise enough money, a new marimba set for the music room. If you don't know what a marimba is, I will give you a clue, its a musical instrument. For more clues, make sure you find Anita some time soon and ask!

If pasta isn't your thing, don't forget that the Parents Battle of the Bands is taking place this Thursday the 8th of June. Be quick though because tickets are selling fast. 

If you've been to the Little Local recently for a morning coffee, you might have also noticed that we made the Northcote Social Gig Guide. The Nits may just become famous worldwide!

Student Attitude to School Survey

It’s that time of year again when we provide our Year 4 – 6 students with the opportunity to provide feedback about their experience at school. The survey allows the students to share their feedback in the areas of learning, peer and social relationships, relationships with staff, along with mental health and wellbeing. 

Later this year, when results come through, this data provides the school with important information about student perceptions of their school experience and points of future focus and growth. 

We are aiming to complete the survey next week for our year 4-6 students. Please reach out if you have any questions about the data collection process.

Making our school a positive, respectful and safe environment

As we come towards the end of term 3, I wanted to reach out and thank you for your involvement in making our school a safe, inclusive and vibrant learning environment for our students.

I also wanted to take the opportunity to talk again about how we all share responsibility for making our school a positive, respectful and safe environment for our students to learn and thrive. 

As adults, it’s important that we take the time to periodically reflect on the school’s Statement of Values and School Philosophy and consider how we can model our values for our students. The Statement of Values and School Philosophy is available on our school website, and in hard copy from the front office on request. 

We expect all members of the school community to communicate politely and respectfully with all other members of the school community. Please remember that communicating directly with, or confronting another parent or child about concerns or perceived issues between children is not consistent with our school’s values and expectations. 

While we understand that every parent and carer wants to advocate for their child, in our experience as educators, direct confrontations and accusations rarely help to resolve the underlying issues. As children grow, they learn valuable social skills that will help them for the rest of their lives. It is common for young children to navigate occasional negative interactions, hurt feelings and changing friendship groups at school, and we are always here to help support them to develop and grow in these areas. 

If you have any concerns about your child, please communicate with their classroom teacher in the first instance. You can also contact the office if you would like to arrange a time to speak with me.

Thank you all for partnership in supporting our students in their learning and in creating a positive and caring school community. 

Shaun.