Message from the Principal Team

Principals' Update

We made it! Congratulations to our students, staff and families for making it through an entire term of face to face learning (we will choose to ignore the 3 day blip). After a year of mostly remote learning in 2020, our students have had to rebuild their stamina for learning and learn how to play and communicate with their peers. We have placed a strong emphasis on wellbeing throughout Term 1 and we would like to take this opportunity to celebrate the hard work and effort that the school community has put into supporting our students regain a sense of safety, security and stability. 

Wishing all of our students, staff and families a fantastic holiday break!

School Visit Ms Sheena Watts MP

On Monday, Member for Northern Metropolitan Region at Parliament of Victoria, Ms Sheena Watt visited our Year 5/6 students to discuss the challenges that she has faced as an aboriginal woman in politics. Sheena was extremely impressed with how articulate and thoughtful our students were with their questioning. We also invited her to attend the official opening ceremony of our new outdoor learning space in Term 2. After the presentation with the students, Marlo 56JC and April 56B took Sheena on a tour of our edible indigenous garden and indigenous garden in the bluestones. She was excited about our master plans for the ‘Young Dark Emu Indigenous Garden and Learning Walk and is happy to endorse any future grants applications for the project.

Hands on Science

On Monday, our Year 1/2 students participated in ‘Hands On Science’ experiments exploring chemical science, focusing on observing and classifying different materials. They made bouncy balls, explosions with vinegar and bicarbonate soda and combined cabbage water with other substances to change colours.

Curriculum Day Thursday 22 April

We will be conducting a curriculum day (student free day on Thursday 22 April in Week 1 of Term 2. On this day, our staff will work with Literacy Consultant, Lisa Keskinen to continue the work on improving student learning growth in Writing.

Professional Learning - Writing

Last night, classroom teachers revisited the 6+1 Writing Traits which staff were first introduced to in 2019. Teachers worked together in three multi-level teams to delve into one trait per team. They each produced an overview poster defining the trait, looking at how to assess the trait, along with how to teach this trait from Foundation right through to Year 6. Teams will then share their ‘expertise’/poster on this trait at next Wednesday’s meeting before repeating the process with a second trait per team. Posters will be displayed in the staffroom to allow everyone a chance to review them at their leisure.

During this time, the Specialist team created Word Wall displays specific to their curriculum area. These will be displayed in each classroom throughout the school. 

The Principal Team

Rachel Corben, Erin Brown & Jane Bilby