Mr Irwin's Message

Hello families,

Welcome to the final edition of the newsletter for Term 3. This term has had a sense of deja vu to last year and I’m sure many of you are feeling tired and drained as we head to holidays.

Despite these feelings I want to take the time to acknowledge our community. Last newsletter I highlighted the fantastic NAPLAN results our students achieved. Well, our 2021 data continues to arrive and this week I received our Attitude to School survey data which is an annual survey our year 4-6 students complete.

Like the growth in our NAPLAN data it was pleasing to see we had strong improvement in these survey results too, which is another promising sign we continue to support our students effectively in these challenging times. Of the 19 areas this survey measured, 11 showed strong improvement, 3 stayed exactly the same, and we had some stagnation or a slight percentage drop in 5 areas. Just like our NAPLAN data this is cause for celebration however its soon straight back to work for staff identifying areas to improve and grow in the ways we can support our students.

Next year our school review takes place which analyses our success against key strategic targets from the past 4 years. I’m pleased to say that despite looking significantly different for the past two years our school has continued to grow and improve which is a credit to the entire community.

I want to thank our parents and families for their work over this term. For many of you this term will have been unbelievably challenging balancing work and remote learning and even having concerns and reservations about what continued periods of remote learning mean for your child’s learning. What’s impressed me is the trust and support you’ve put in teachers and the positive way so many of you have engaged with the school during this time. I know not all schools have been as lucky as us to have such a committed and respectful parent group during these times. I want to thank you for this because the goodwill and support teachers have received during this time has been noticed and does make them go the extra mile for our students.

Our staff have again been incredible in this time and we are so lucky to have such a dedicated and professional team supporting our students. Even this week they continued to strive to make improvements to remote and flexible learning based on feedback from families to make the experience as supportive as possible for students. I’ve received many emails and messages from you commending the staff for their work again this year and I’m sure everyone will join me in thanking them and wishing them a well deserved break over the school holidays.

And finally to our students. Once again you’ve managed all the challenges you’ve been faced with this term with excellence. You’ve worked hard during remote learning, and adapted when faced with countless changes to transition between learning at school and home. You’ll surely be some of the most resilient students ever!

For the next few weeks however, learning and school can wait. Have a rest, get outdoors and refresh. We’ll be in touch towards the end of the holidays with updated advice on what term 4 learning looks like for students. We hope to have all students back and be able to look forward to camps, graduations and celebration of a difficult but productive year.

In Term 4, I will be on family leave from November for the birth of my third child. After a few weeks I'll still be around for different events and to visit but Mr. Lindsay will be the Acting Principal. We’ll have more to say on these arrangements as the date gets closer. For now, have a fantastic break and we’ll see you in Term 4.

Bye for now.

Concert Update with Mrs Clarke

Hi Families, I wanted to give you a quick update on this year's Performing Arts concert. While we had hoped to perform the concert in Term 4 at school, due to the ongoing Covid situation and restrictions, the concert will not be able to go ahead as a ‘live event’. While this is disappointing, I think it is important for the students to have the opportunity to perform in costume and see how the show comes together as a whole. They have done such a fantastic job to keep up their rehearsal during remote learning! With this in mind, the students’ class dance will be recorded in class time and the concert will be edited into a video for the school community to experience and enjoy.

In this week's newsletter you will see a document that outlines the costume required for each class. Over the holidays it would be appreciated if you could begin to source the items your child will need for their costume. The costumes required are simple and should be things they already have in their wardrobe or might be able to borrow. There is no expectation that you buy anything new for the occasion. If you have any questions or concerns about finding the things you need, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email. (lisa.clarke@education.vic.gov.au)

The students will need these costume pieces by Week Four of Term Four (week beginning 25th October) They should bring the clothes in a plastic bag with their name labelled clearly on it. I will put some reminders up on Sentral and Facebook for this closer to the date. Thank you so much for your support. Keep encouraging your children to practice their class dance at home over the holidays, it really is the best way to build their technique and confidence!

Take care,

Lisa Clarke

Performing Arts Teacher

costume_breakdown.pdf

Healthy Lunch Box Choices

For more information go to: https://heas.health.vic.gov.au/schools/healthy-lunchboxes