Principal's Report

Dear DPS Parents and Friends,

I’m pleased to report that the teachers are working hard collecting data for assessment in preparation for student reports which will be available to parents in December. With only seven weeks left until the Christmas holidays, it seems like there's a lot happening at DPS with much to do between now and the years end.

While I am working on staffing and budgets for 2024 it has been exciting to see the Prep Transition Program going so well, and it's wonderful that there are parent sessions each week where we can discuss all things DPS and answer questions or queries to put minds at ease and to reassure parents that they have made a good choice in DPS. When new Prep students start school it is a big event not only for them but, often for their families.

While looking towards 2024 I am working on class structures and staffing for 2024. This is a complex process with a lot to consider including class sizes, friendships and gender balance. As our grade 4, 5 and 6 classes are getting bigger with all the new enrolments this year, we are looking at having extra classes. We may have an extra Grade 4, 5 and 6 class to start the year ahead. This will bring class sizes down to allow more individualised attention and differentiation.

At the end of Term three we advertised two vacancies for Numeracy Learning Specialists. The successful applicants were Brent Granger who will lead Numeracy (Maths) in the Junior school and Kelly Soccio who will lead Numeracy (Maths) in the Senior school. We already have Julia Bay as our Literacy Learning Specialist P-6. These people along with Carly Epskamp, Niky Corfios and myself make up our Leadership team.

It's fantastic to see that our Grade 6 students are training hard for the Great Victorian Bike Ride under the guidance of our PE teacher Mr. Spinks and one of our Grade 4 teachers Miss. Kotsiopoulos. Students will participate in the five day challenge riding up to 75 kilometres per day. 

The Art Exhibition in week one of this term was an amazing celebration of art at DPS. We know we have many very strong academic students at DPS, but it is also important to develop programs that offer an outlet for students who excel in the creative arts. Furthermore, our new Performing Arts course taught by Gareth Dutlow is providing another opportunity for students to perform. 

There are still many more activities planned for the rest of the term to keep the students engaged in their learning. Some dates to remember include the Curriculum Day on November 6, the Grade 6 Graduation Night on December 5, School Captain elections for 2024, P-2 Athletics day on November 16th, Billy Bonkers ice cream day on Friday December 1st, Grade 6 graduation on December 5th, Fun Day on December 6th, Christmas Carols and performance on December 7th and much more. There are many exciting events to look forward to, but we must remember not to waste a single day of teaching and learning. For that reason we won't focus on or do Christmas activities until the last week of term. We also encourage parents to make sure your children attend school everyday and that they are on time ready to start class at 9am sharp.

We have a new attendance data wall that tracks the attendance of every student and those who are regularly late or absent have consequences from a phone to parents requesting an explanation to more serious consequences such as calling a meeting with parents or developing an individual attendance plan. 

To promote student wellbeing we recently introduced Tribes as our well being program that is extremely well received and students are actively engaged in the program which links to our SWPBS (School Wide Positive Behaviour Suport) program. We used to do the UBUNTU program but it didn’t quite do what we had hoped and feedback from students proves Tribes is better from their point of view. The SWPBS program is working very well and students are being recognised for positive behaviours which is a focusing on what we want to see rather than waiting until students do something that is not ok and react to it.

Here at DPS we have a number of teams beyond the classroom who lead different aspects of teaching and learning, they develop programs and policies. One of these teams is our Wellbeing team who do an amazing job ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students is at the forefront of all we do because our belief is that without feeling safe, valued and welcome at school, students will struggle to be their best.

I am constantly impressed and pleased with the professionalism of our staff and I must acknowledge their efforts. The programs they develop and deliver are what makes DPS so good and the detail they include in the curriculum planning ensure students have the opportunity to succeed on a daily basis. Through data analysis our teachers know our students very well and this is how they can cater to specific needs of individual students.  

I must also thank our school community including school councillors for the ongoing support we enjoy at DPS.

Last Friday was WORLD TEACHERS DAY - so I thank them for all they do! Teaching is a very complex job and no two days are the same. Our DPS teachers are among the best.

Regards

Jim Hill

Principal