Principal's May Report
We at Aitken Hill Primary School recognise the rich Aboriginal heritage within our community and acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung, which includes the existing family members of the Gunung-Willam-Balluk clan, as the Traditional Custodians of this land. We embrace Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander living cultures as a vital part of Australia’s identity and recognise, celebrate and pay respect to Elders past, present and future.
One Community, Smiling and Succeeding Together!
National Reconciliation Week
National Reconciliation Week is held every year from May 27th to June 3rd— it is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia
May 27th is the anniversary of the 1967 referendum when Australians voted to remove clauses in the Australian Constitution that discriminated against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
June 3rd marks the historic 1992 Mabo decision in which the High Court of Australia recognised native title—the recognition that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights over their lands did survive British colonisation.
The day before National Reconciliation Week, May 26th, is National Sorry Day, which was first held in Sydney in 1998 and is now commemorated nationally to remember and honour the Stolen Generations.
People wear the purple native hibiscus as a symbol of freedom on National Sorry Day.
In 2008 former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised to the laws and policies of the governments that caused extreme grief, particularly to the Stolen Generations whose love have been seriously affected by past government policies of forced removal of children from their family and assimilation.
Thank you to our students for sharing this important message about Reconciliation Week at our Year 3 - 6 Assembly last week.
School Review
Last week, we finished our School Review. Every four years, schools undergo a review to assess how things are going and identify areas where we can continue to improve. We were all so impressed with our P-6s when we visited their classrooms;
- we saw calm classrooms and focussed learning
- Students were listening to their teachers
- Welcoming our visitors
- And sharing how their learning is going
A big well done to our students and teachers for the outstanding work they are doing!
Below are our goals and key improvement strategies as a result of our school review.
We will share more with you once our 4 Year School Strategic Plan is completed at the beginning of Term 3.
Goal 1: Maximise the learning growth of every student in literacy and numeracy.
Key improvement strategies:
1.a Develop the school’s instructional leadership capacity to implement strategic improvement for literacy and numeracy.
1.b Build teachers’ knowledge of the Victorian Curriculum 2.0, including the English as an Additional Language Curriculum, to support improved differentiated teaching practices.
1.c Improve pedagogical practice through consistent implementation of the school’s instructional models, in alignment with the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0.
Goal 2: Optimise the wellbeing of every student.
Key improvement strategies:
2.a Develop the school’s instructional leadership capacity to implement strategic improvements for student wellbeing.
2.b Review and refine the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support to improve students’ academic, wellbeing and behaviour outcomes.
2.c Strengthen the school’s processes and practices to improve and promote student attendance and punctuality.
Student Reports and Parent Teacher Interviews
Throughout the term, our teachers have been working hard at school and home to prepare reports to share with you about your child's progress at parent teacher interviews in a few weeks - Wednesday 2nd July, which is a student free day.
We thank our teachers for all their work on reports and appreciate the time they put into sharing with you how your child is going in their learning.
Further information regarding parent teacher interview booking times and other details will be posted on Compass shortly.
Student Letters
At each assembly, we invite students to share a letter they have written to me so that all students can hear the great ideas our students have.
Thank you to all our students that have placed a letter in my letterbox this year, please encourage your children to continue to share ideas about our school. Recently we have received some great letters about ideas for lunch time clubs as well as other improvements we can make as a school.
Last year we shared some riddles at assembly - if any students have riddles or jokes that are appropriate for assembly, please place them in my letterbox!
Australian Mathematics 'Bebras Challlenge'
Earlier in the term 41 students in years 3 to 6 were selected by teachers to participate in the Australian Mathematics ‘Bebras Challenge'. The challenge involves 12 questions which are focused on challenging problem solving.
Congratulations to our students, they will receive an award for participation through to High Distinction.
We look forward to providing more opportunities for challenges like this for our students and will take on this opportunity again next year.
Our Focus in 2025 - whilst we are finalising our new 4 Year Strategic Plan
Our main focus in 2025 will continue to be on Reading, Mathematics and student wellbeing.
Our Annual Implementation Plan goals for 2025 are:
Goal 1: To improve learning outcomes for every student in literacy and numeracy.
Goal 2: To strengthen students resilience and wellbeing.
This year we have partnered with the Resilience Projectin order to build our students Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness (GEM), along with their Emotional Literacy, Connection and Physical Health.
We will also continue to build our staff's capacity to implement the Mental Health in Primary Schools program and the implementation of the Department of Education's approach to Disability and Inclusion.
We will also continue to focus on improving our student attendance. It's vital that children attend school every day for a full day. It's important that our students arrive at school on time every day, they should be in their classrooms when the music is on and getting ready for the day so that when the bell goes learning can start.
Online Safety
social interactions both in person and in an online space.
In our ever changing world, it is important to be aware of our young people's online interactions.
Commonsense media is a website that helps parents and educators navigate the content of online apps, movies, books, tv shows, games, podcasts and youtube. The site recommends age appropriate media for children and also gives ratings and information about what you will and won't find in the app etc. This is especially helpful given the vast array of content children can access and will helps parents and carers feel more comfortable about what we allow children to use.
Below is a link with advice regarding the game Fortnite which recommends children to be at least 13 years old, which would be Year 7, therefore children in primary school should not be playing Fortnite.
Below is a link with advice regarding Snapchat. Students must be at least 16 years old to use Snapchat.
