Teaching and Learning 

School Hats required

It's that time of year again where it's time to pull out our Karoo hats as we begin to enjoy this warmer weather! As of Friday 8th September, students will be required to wear their Karoo hat when outside. Students who are not wearing a hat will be required to remain undercover in a suitable area protected from the sun. For more information, please refer to our Sunsmart Policy. and Student Dress Code Policy.

Celebrating Our Learning

Maths Talent Quest

This year students across Years 3-6 showing strong mathematical skills were invited to participate in the Maths Talent Quest, run by the Mathematical Association of Victoria. These students were invited to submit either an individual or team mathematical investigation of their choosing.

The topics for investigation were open for the students to select, and we had a wide variety of topics, some of which included: 

Individual

• Hudson 5F   - How much does it cost to play one season of rep basketball?
• Olympia 6D - Top 100 movies from 2019-2024
• Liliana 4M - Traveling around the world in a boat
• Inayat 34C - Olympics the hidden statistics
• Claire 2W - How much does it cost for a birthday party

Group

• Kimiya, Cleo & Samreen 6D - How much would it cost for graduation?
• Alira & Mikayla 5E - How sweet is my lunchbox?
• Ava 4BH & Josie 4M - How many grains of rice will fill a classroom?
• Braxton 3/4C & Sam 3M - Top 5 AFL players to ever play

Each entry was judged at least twice, and in some instances three times. Awards are carefully allocated based across an average judging score and individual discretion. All students should be proud of the work completed!

All students awarded High Distinctions will be invited to attend the awards ceremony at RMIT in Term 4 to receive their certificates. 

We are so proud of all our students and the mathematical investigations they presented. We look forward the Expo next term and getting the results. Well done everyone!

A special thank you to Mrs. Simone Vitas our Mathematics Learning Specialist, and staff for all the work that went into organising and assessing the different investigations, both from our own school and from other schools across the state.

Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS)

About the survey

The AtoSS is a voluntary student survey offered by the Department of Education every year to help schools and the department understand students' experiences of school. We ask children in Grades 4 -6 about their thoughts and feelings about their school, their learning, relationships with other students, resilience, bullying, health and wellbeing, physical activity, and life in general.

What are the benefits?

Young people enjoy having a say! This survey has been running for nearly 20 years and helps schools plan programs and activities to improve your child's engagement with school, their wellbeing and their learning. The survey data also helps the Department of Education understand how to improve student learning.

Analysing the data

Just as our students have continued their learning journey across the term, the staff at Karoo Primary School have continued to set examples of life-long learning throughout Term 3. We are continuously striving to use student data to ask questions and improve not only our teaching practice, but ultimately student outcomes. We do this at Karoo through the work of analysing and reflecting on our student's Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS). 

This week our school leaders joined our School Improvement Team (SIT) and our SEIL (Senior Education Improvement Leader) Mr Justin Butler to reflect and discuss the responses to some of the survey questions.

Overall, our SIT was amazed at how mature, articulate and honest our students here at Karoo are. We all walked away feeling extremely proud. As always, we will share the discussion details with all staff early in Term 4 to then act on the key discussion points brought to us by the students.

A big thankyou to Mrs. Robyn Harris for arranging the opportunity for such a robust conversation between our school leaders at Karoo Primary School. 

I am very much looking forward to more of these sessions, as they are always filled with inspiration and innovation, setting the stage for continued excellence in education at Karoo Primary School.         

See you all around!

Assistant Principal

Peta Phillips