Assistant Principal's Report

Teacher Professional Development

Over the last fortnight our teachers continue to facilitate and participate in various professional learning opportunities. As mentioned in one of my past newsletters, our year level team leaders have completed the Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) training. Equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to effectively teach and mentor their colleagues, they have planned and are facilitating a series of learning sessions throughout the term. The sessions are focussed on gaining a deep understanding of the improvement cycle, learning how to help their colleagues analyse student data, set meaningful goals, and implement evidence-based strategies and work together to address challenges. This collaborative approach not only enhances individual teaching skills but also fosters a supportive community that can adapt and grow in response to the evolving needs of students. 

Session 1 included an overview of PLCs and the improvement cycle. 

Session 2 involved staff working through the improvement cycle to gather and analyse student data through the first stage of the cycle ‘evaluate and diagnose’.

Peacemakers

The Peacemakers have now completed their training and were presented with their badges at assembly on Wednesday 24th September. The Peacemakers’ aim is to help the students of CSPS to be happy and safe in the playground. To prepare them for this important role, all the Peacemakers have had many opportunities to participate and focus on the importance of teamwork. They have also had training in, mediation skills, dispute resolution and communication techniques, as well as exploring ideas for encouraging positive play at recess and lunchtimes. 

Below are photos of the second training session.

Year 5 Artapalooza Exhibition

Last week Rohan and I were thrilled to be invited into our Year 5 classrooms for the Artapalooza Viewing. As part of the Year 5 unit of inquiry into How We Express Ourselves, the students had the task to choose an issue and experiment with the elements and principles of art, to attempt to convey a message through the art. An information report containing the important reasons, as well as the data and statistics as to why they chose that issue, was also included as part of the exhibition. The students happily articulated their reasoning for choosing that issue and could recall many facts. They were also able to give us their opinion. Please see the photos below and I am sure that you will be as impressed with all the work that went into the task, as well as the end product, as I was.

2024 Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey (PCGOS)

WE WANT OUR PARENTS/CAREGIVERS/GUARDIANS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK! 

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents/caregivers/guardians think of our school. The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement. The survey is optional, but we encourage all families to participate. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. 

All families are invited to participate in the survey.

The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey will be open from Monday 29th July to Friday 30th August 2024.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the survey period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in English and 10 other languages including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese.The survey results will be communicated to parents/caregivers/guardians through the newsletter.

Please speak to your child’s teacher if you would like more information.

Student Safety

I would like to remind our families that the school grounds are supervised from 8.45am in the morning and up to 3.45pm afterschool every day. We have noticed that some children are being dropped off before school, before the 8.45am time. We ask that if you need to drop your chid/ren off to school prior to this time, that you enrol them into TeamKids. 

I thank everyone for their attention to the above matter.

The positive quote for the week is from Audrey Hepburn:

Georgia Despotellis

Assistant Principal