Leadership Report

A NOTE FROM LEADERSHIP

We are now officially over the halfway mark of Term Two! It has been lovely being at the gates each morning, welcoming and greeting our Saltwater families and students. Seeing all the positive smiles from our students as they come to school eager to start an exciting day of learning, has been a delight to see. 

As we transition into the second half of Term Two many year levels are about to begin their third Unit of Inquiry. Students have begun their provocation days, engaging in different activities designed to promote students to think critically about what their new unit might be. We encourage families to discuss their child's/children’s inquiry units with them to further support their developing understanding within the classroom. All year level inquiry units are found on year level Schoolbox pages. 

NAPLAN

Over the past two weeks, students have been completing catchup NAPLAN sessions. We have officially completed NAPLAN for our Year Three, Five and Seven students, as of Friday 27th May. We are so proud of the exceptional work all our students have put in towards completing their four NAPLAN tests over this time. Our focus is not on how students are achieving individually, but on how we are achieving as a school. By looking at the data through a whole-school lens, we are able to analyse common areas of strength and areas we can improve, and then plan accordingly. 

Attendance

This year, the Department of Education has placed a major focus on school attendance. Student attendance has a direct correlation with their academic achievement and personal/social development. Below we have placed a summary of the current attendance data for this year. The middle column indicates how many days of school students have missed so far this year on average, in each year level. The right column indicates what the number will be at the end of the year if it continues at the same rate.

A benchmark for student attendance is less than 20 days of absence per year because, beyond this point, it is shown to have a significant impact on their academic achievement, personal/social development and overall wellbeing. 

Classroom doors open each morning at 8:20 am to allow students that time to come in and set up for their day of learning. This is crucial in supporting your child’s/children’s education and social interactions. If a student comes even 10 minutes late each day, that adds up very quickly. 10 minutes a day, turning into 2,000 minutes a year, which is 33 hours and 20 minutes. That equates to just under an entire week of school your child misses just because they are 10 minutes late. 

Assembly 

We are pleased to announce that from now on each week students from Prep to Year Six will be having a whole primary school assembly together, every Monday in the gymnasium from 1:50 pm to 2:30 pm. 

In addition, each year level also will be having their own individual assembly, where students can discuss positive behaviours and upcoming events related to them. At these assemblies, the Assistant Principal and Leading Teacher for each year level will also present an award to the class with the highest attendance rate for that fortnight. 

Parent Communication 

It is very important that parents and carers read and action all communication from school. We have multiple platforms for communication with parents (Schoolbox, Xuno, emails and newsletters). Correspondence sent from school often contain important information about your child’s upcoming events such as excursions and incursions, camps, photo days, etc. All notes regarding camps, excursions and incursions contain a cut-off date and unfortunately, we will not accept late notes and payments. It is very important that all communication is actioned to ensure that students can attend all the amazing opportunities that Saltwater has to offer. If you need any support with the communication platforms, please reach out to our IT department.  

Parent Information Evenings

We are pleased to announce that over the next few weeks each year level will be hosting a Parent Information Evening at school. Each session will be held in the secondary building foyer, excluding the Year Six session which will be held in the Year Six building. Light refreshments and nibbles will be provided. These sessions will allow your child’s/children’s classroom teacher/s to present important information about the Saltwater curriculum, Schoolbox, Xuno, incursions/excursions, what’s going on in the classrooms and more important information. We are excited to have our Saltwater families come to the school to hear all about what their child/children is learning this year. To allow as many families to attend as possible, we have set the time as 6:00 pm. We would love to see any many families attend as possible, as the information presented will help you support your child/children at home with their learning. 

• Prep Parent Information Evening- June 2nd session 1- 4:30 pm - 5:30pm and session 2- 6:00 pm - 7:00pm
• Year One Parent Information Evening - June 7th 6:00 pm - 7:00pm
• Year Two Parent Information Evening - June 14th 6:00 pm - 7:00pm
• Year Three Parent Information Evening - June 15th 6:00 pm - 7:00pm
• Year Four Parent Information Evening - June 22nd 6:00 pm - 7:00pm
• Year Five Parent Information Evening - June 21st 6:00 pm - 7:00pm
• Year Six Parent Information Evening - June 16th 6:00 pm - 7:00pm
• Year Seven Parent Information Evening - June 20th 6:00 pm - 7:00pm

Message from our Junior School Council

Last Week, the Junior School Council students worked very hard to collect cans and sell beanies to raise much needed support for FoodBank. An organisation that supports those who cannot afford food for themselves. We are thrilled to announce that the school raised over $250 in money, from selling beautiful hand knitted beanies, and have collected over 2,000 food items to donate to Food Bank. We want to thank all students, teachers and families who either bought a beanie, donated food or helped in any way possible. 

Also, a big thank you to all the Junior School Council students who went around the school last week to either sell or collect items. In the next few weeks, the JSC will deliver the food donated to FoodBank in Yarraville. Moving forward the junior school council will be organising and running year level discos to be held in the last week of Term Two. More information to come.