Out and about with Mr Walsh

 Welcome Back to Term 3

A warm welcome back to term 3 for our students, staff and wider school community (It has definitely been a wet and wild start weather wise but a very settled start in and out of the classroom). It has been great to see our students settle back into the routines of school and hit the ground running with a settled week 1 and we are all looking forward to an exciting term ahead. We look forward to our daily focus of effective teaching and learning being supported through a different range of engaging experiences and community connections. We want to wish our school community all the best for the term ahead and we look forward to celebrating our student achievements and experiences each fortnight via our newsletter or at our fortnightly assemblies. 

Here is a little snapshot of some Year 2 investigations and our Year 3's starting their Kitchen & Garden journey.

URGENT HELP REQUIRED

Feed Me Bellarine Food Drive

Winter brings about many challenges for our homeless community and those families in need. Feed Me Bellarine is experiencing a shortage of provisions to support those in need so we welcome the opportunity to relaunch our winter food drive to support Feed Me Bellarine. We will have a tub at the administration area and welcome any donations as listed below. We thank our school community for supporting this amazing organisation.

Life Skills Group Fundraising Effort  

Our life skills group have developed a plan to make and sell some treats out of our canteen on a Wednesday of each week. We will communicate via compass each week what will be on the menu, all ingredients included and we will try to always have a gluten and dairy free option. Items will be on sale at recess via the canteen window. 

All food items are in accordance with our Anaphylaxis Policy, being 

nut free and sesame free. Dairy free options will also be available when possible.

Check out next weeks delights:

Chocolate  Truffle Balls

• Marie Biscuits
• Condensed Milk
• Coconut
• Cocoa

GF & Dairy Free Option

• GF Marie Biscuits
• Coconut Condensed Milk
• Coconut
• Cocoa
•  

These items have been hand made by our brilliant Super Snack Club and will be for sale to you for only $1.00 each via the canteen window at Recess on Wednesday 24th July until sold out

Food Scrap Friday Volunteers Needed

Could you take 15-45 minutes of your Friday to help save the world. 

Each week, more and more amazing families bring their fruit and veg scraps to the garden for composting. 

We would love more and more volunteers to join the food scrap warriors team to make things run smoothly on Friday mornings. 

The best part is, it's flexible:

• Help for just 15 minutes, the full hour, or any length of time in between. 
• Come weekly, fortnightly, monthly, or whenever your schedule allows.
• We're there every Friday morning from 8:15 to 9:15 (9-9:30 school holidays)

Come next Friday and talk to one of our friendly food scrap volunteers. They can tell you more about what's needed and how the group works. 

If you can't help but still want to bring your scraps that's ok too!

Thanks to all the families currently involved, as volunteers or who drop off scraps. The garden (and the planet) loves you for your efforts. 

2024 NAPLAN Results Year 3 & Year 5

We were excited to receive our 2024 NAPLAN results this week and students and families will receive their individual reports. Our classes, cohorts and school will utilise this data to continue to evaluate our performance, support student learning  and set our annual implementation goals going into 2025. We are very lucky to be a very data rich school and our professional learnng communities use this data on a weekly basis to best support our students in and out of the classroom.

2023 saw changes to the collection of and reporting of NAPLAN data. Education ministers agreed that NAPLAN test results would be reported using proficiency standards from 2023. Together with the move to an earlier NAPLAN in March, these changes meet an initiative of the 2019 National School Reform Agreement. 

The proficiency standards that are now used as measurement scales therefore reset NAPLAN measurement scales that make better use of the online adaptive tests.

Results from 2023 onwards cannot be directly compared to results from 2008 to 2022 and therefore eliminates current growth standards for year 5 students. 2025 will see the first introduction of growth reports.

NAPLAN results are now reported against proficiency standards, with student achievement shown against 4 levels of proficiency. There is a standard for each assessment area at each year level. This replaces the previous numerical NAPLAN bands and national minimum standards. 

To help understand the new reports please refer to the video or the parent information attachment:

Proficiency Standards Explained

Student achievement in NAPLAN is reported using proficiency standards for each assessment area at each year level. The standards are set at a challenging but reasonable expectation of what students know and can do at the time of testing. There are 4 proficiency levels: 

• Exceeding: the student’s result exceeds expectations at the time of testing. 
• Strong: the student’s result meets challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing. 
• Developing: the student’s result indicates that they are working towards expectations at the time of testing.
• Needs additional support: the student’s result indicates that they are not achieving the learning outcomes that are expected at the time of testing. They are likely to need additional support to progress satisfactorily.

A brief summary of our results are indicated below with a comparison to 2023 results and all of our students and staff should be congratulated on these consistent or improved performance results. NAPLAN is of course a single measure of student achievement at a particular time period and staff utilise many data sets to guide the weekly teaching and learning program at Surfside.

NAPLAN Individual Student Report - Information for Parents and Carers 2024

2024 NAPLAN Results - Surfside Primary School

Student Led Conferences

Our students and staff are looking forward to meeting with families next week. This is an opportunity for our students to showcase their learning experiences and growth throughout semester 1. It is a also a great opportunity for our school and parent community to showcase how we all work together to scaffold our kids in and out of the learning pit academically, socially and emotionally. 

2024 Art Show - Surfside in Medieval Times

A big thank you to our Art Captains, Art teaching team and Surfside Specialist Team for their preparations in putting together the following information for our upcoming Art Show. More details will follow over the coming weeks and the students are looking forward to entering a Medieval World and display the amazing art work that they have been working on.

SAVE THE DATE

Art Show:  “ONCE UPON A TIME”- Medieval Days

Date: Wednesday September 11th 

Time: 4-8 pm

 All of our students are getting very creative producing dozens of art works to exhibit at the School's Art Show on September 11th. 

The theme for the exhibition is Medieval Days, going back in time to the era of knights and dragons, kings and queens. 

Please save the date for this event. More news will follow in our Newsletter each fortnight!

2024 Book Week Celebrations

Book week will be another open book before we know it so here are some details to help everyone prepare for another exciting book week ahead in week 6.

The CBCA Book Week theme for 2024 is "Reading is Magic" and Surfside will celebrate book week in a variety of different ways so keep an eye on year level news and our upcoming newsletters.

• Monday 19th - Friday 23rd August - Book Week 2024 - CBCA theme for 2024 is "Reading is Magic"
• Friday 23rd August - Book Week Parade 9.00am-9.40am - Basketball Court (weather permitting) Range of classroom activities throughout the day - watch this space!!

NAIDOC Week 2024 - Keep The Fire Burning!

This year's theme celebrates the unyielding spirit of our communities and invites all to stand in solidarity, amplifying the voices that have long been silenced.

The fire represents the enduring strength and vitality of Indigenous cultures, passed down through generations despite the challenges faced. It is a symbol of connection to the land, to each other, and to the rich tapestry of traditions that define Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As we honour this flame, we kindle the sparks of pride and unity, igniting a renewed commitment to acknowledging, preserving, and sharing the cultural heritage that enriches our nation.

"Blak, Loud and Proud" encapsulates the unapologetic celebration of Indigenous identity, empowering us to stand tall in our heritage and assert our place in the modern world. This theme calls for a reclamation of narratives, an amplification of voices, and an unwavering commitment to justice and equality. It invites all Australians to listen, learn, and engage in meaningful dialogue, fostering a society where the wisdom and contributions of Indigenous peoples are fully valued and respected.

Through our collective efforts, we can forge a future where the stories, traditions, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are cherished and celebrated, enriching the fabric of the nation with the oldest living culture in the world.

At Surfside Primary School we have celebrated in a variety of ways throughout week 1 and always recognise the impact of our elders that have shaped our community.

Breakfast Club

A big thank you to Lydia and our year Breakfast Club crew who continue to support Breakfast Club on a Thursday morning. The last Breakfast Club of term 2 was a highlight with a pancake morning. Breakfast Club starts from 7:45am and students are provided with a few options for breakfast on a Thursday morning. This is also a great social opportunity to meet new people and have a chat with others to start the school day. Check the dates of when Breakfast Club will be running throughout term 3. We will be looking for an eager group of year 5 students during this term to help out the program and lead the program into 2025. Below are the term 3 dates for Breakfast Club.

TERM 3 BREAKFAST CLUB DATES AND TIMES 

July

Thu 25th - Breakfast Club 7.45am in the kitchen

August

Thu 1st- Breakfast Club 7.45am in the kitchen

Thu 8th- Breakfast Club 7.45am in the kitchen

Thu 15th- Breakfast Club 7.45am in the kitchen

Thu 22nd- Breakfast Club 7.45am in the kitchen

Thu 29th - No Breakfast Club

September

Thu 5th - Breakfast Club 7.45am in the kitchen

Thu 12th - Breakfast Club 7.45am in the kitchen (Pancake Morning)             

Thu 19th - No Breakfast Club

School Council - August Meeting 

Our next school council meeting will take place on Tuesday 20th August at 5:30pm with Finance meeting taking place at 5.00pm.

Enrolment Time at Surfside

Enrolments have now opened for new students and families who will be joining the Surfside family in 2025. If you have a sibling of a current student at Surfside they will also need to complete this enrolment process. We have conducted our tours for prospective families and are starting to collect a number of enrolments ready for 2025. Please check out the enrolling your child in Primary School tab for more information in this newsletter.

School Council - June Meeting 

Our next school council meeting will take place on Tuesday 18th June at 5:30pm with Finance meeting taking place at 5.00pm.