From the Principal

The Advent Season is all about reflecting on how we can prepare our hearts and homes for Christ's birth in the world as it is today. a new liturgical year begins with this hope-filled time of Advent. I hope you can find some time amidst all the hustle and bustle leading up to Christmas to find quiet times and places for yourselves.

ALERT- Portable is Moving

The last day to use our portable will be Thursday 1st December 2022. After this date services will be disconnected in preparation for the removal of the portable. The portable will be moved on Thursday 8 December. It will be going to another Catholic School.

There will be no parking available in the staff car park on Thursday 8 December 2022. There will also be no drop off and pick up operating on Thursday 8 December 2022. Further details regarding the removal of the portable will be communicated next week.

We have basically emptied the portable now but still have a few larger items that need to be moved. If you can help next week, please call the school office.

Multipurpose Hall Development

Despite the wintry weather of the past week, there is progress both inside and out on our multipurpose hall!! Window frames are in and cladding on the north and east face is completed. All is in readiness for  the insulation and plaster walls being installed on the inside. 

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)

This year we have commenced the implementation of Positive Behaviour for Learning ( PBL). We have been working on embedding Tier 1 strategies that are PRIMARY Prevention strategies of universal practices and interventions for ALL students.

We have established a core PBL team and have had regular professional development with our PBL coach/mentor Jane Bennett as a whole staff and as a core team. This year we have 

refined our expected behaviours to focus on Respect, Responsibility and Kindness. We have decided on a PBL logo.

We have also developed a Behaviour Matrix.

In the Learning Spaces our teachers have been explicitly teaching expectations that we as a whole school need to focus on. Explicit teaching of expectations have focussed on Responsibility - Transition quietly, Respect - Listen and follow instructions, Kindness - Encourage and support others and Responsibility - Care for the environment/ resources. This has resulted in great improvement in school expectations and greater consistency of these expectations across learning spaces and as an entire school.

This rigor of implementation will have the majority 80%-90% of our students able to meet the universal practices and interventions. This will be further supported by having a system of feedback in place. We have already modified our school awards but will also have PBL tokens during the week that can be traded for individual incentives to reinforce the expected behaviours.

We are well on our way to embedding Tier 1 strategies. We know that like academic or sporting needs, some children will require further assistance to embrace expected behaviours. About 5% - 10% of children may require Tier 2 SECONDARY prevention strategies. These often involve small group targeted practices and interventions. A further 1%-5% of students may require Tier 3 TERTIARY prevention strategies.  These require individual intensive practice and interventions on a one to one basis. We already have strategies in place but will be reviewing and refining our Tier 2 and Tier 3 strategies in 2023, as we further support our children with the need for small group targeted or individual intensive practices and  interventions.

Last week we worked with Jane Bennett to develop a behavioural flow chart. This chart clarifies what we consider as minor and major behaviour. The flow chart is another way to ensure consistency of practise and understanding with regards to our action. This is currently in draft and will be shared with students and parents as we seek whole community understanding and transparency regarding our expectations and consequences for inappropriate behaviour. However, it is important to remember that consequences does not equal public humiliation. Consequences are followed up discreetly with the individual child and followed up with their parents as required. The aim is to support the child with difficulties to learn how to self regulate and be able to manage their relationships with others. Every child is capable of learning and growing with the right processes and interventions.

Last week we were also introduced to a School Wide Information System (SWIS). SWIS is a systematic way for us to collect, input data for analysis. (SWIS) is a web-based decision system used to improve behavior support in education by providing staff with accurate, timely, and practical information for making decisions about the school environment/climate. We are in the process of setting up this system and will be commencing the implementation of SWIS in 2023. Weekly analysis of our SWIS data will  provide us with the information to better target resources, explicitly teach and determine required interventions.

Parent partnership is vital and we plan to share our strategies with parents at information sessions in 2023 as we continue  work together to embed our expectations for Positive Behaviour for Learning across the school. 

Emergency Drill

On Thursday we had Dynamiq the company that helps us with our Emergency Management documentation and professional development attend our school. As a whole school we practised our emergency drill for an evacuation. We were extremely pleased with the way that our children stopped to listen intently to the instructions from staff. They followed what was asked to quickly and safely assemble on the basketball courts as required for an evacuation.

We are in the process of updating our school maps in readiness for 2023, when we will commence the use of our new building.

This is also a timely opportunity to remind parents of the importance of signing in correctly when they enter the school for a meeting or a task and then correctly signing out. In addition, it is also important to inform the school if your children is absent providing the reason or giving advanced notification if your child is to leave the school during the day for any reason. It is important that parents minimise interruptions by NOT making appointments during learning time. 

We plan to do some additional drills in the coming weeks.

Staff News

It is with sadness that I announce that Chris Williams and Maria Bent have resigned their positions at our school. Chris a Home Group teacher in LS2 Juniors will be moving to a school closer to home in 2023 and will take up a position as a specialist teacher. Chris has been a teacher with us for the past four years. 

 Maria who currently works on a Monday releasing our Pedagogical Leaders in LS2, will be doing CRT work in 2023 to spend more time with her daughter before she commences school in 2024.  Maria was a full time teacher with us till the birth of her daughter in 2018. Maria has been a part of our staff since 2012, almost since its very beginning in 2010.  Maria fully embraced our school framework and we appreciate her commitment to our school over these years.

We thank Chris and Maria for their contribution to our school community and especially to the learning and wellbeing of our children. We wish them both the very best and will be farwelling them at the end of this year.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Nuri Gil who will commence with us in 2023 as a full time Home Group Teacher. Nuri has been working with us as a CRT and knows our school very well. Nuri is currently working at  Skye Primary School as a classroom teacher. 

We have also appointed two new Learning Support Officers. We will have Anju who currently works at St Thomas the Apostle Blackburn join our staff as a full time LSO. We have also appointed Samantha who currently works at a kindergarten in Cranbourne as a part time LSO and she will provide additional assistance in our school in 2023. 

We look forward to Nuri, Anju and Samantha joining our staff team in 2023.

Football World Cup 

We have our fingers crossed for Australia in their game against Tunisia on Saturday 26 November. If your country of origin is among the 32 teams in the 2022 World Cup well done. We wish you the very BEST. Let's hope Australia can be in the top 2 in Group D and progress to the round of 16.

Have a great weekend.  

Regards

Christine White

Principal