Ryan’s Rambling 

Dear Families,

I hope this finds you well. We are on the very cusp of the conclusion of Term 1. As I type this, I cannot help but feel a strong sense of pride for our school and what we have been able to set up for the year. 

This week, we had fifty students (yes, fifty!) represent our school at the Eureka Division Athletics Carnival. Miss Kylie and I managed to sneak away from the business of school to support our students and we were greeted with a sea of smiles…and ribbons! I couldn’t believe just how many students had placed in their respective events. Regardless of results, I am just incredibly proud of our amazing students. One thing that struck me was the camaraderie shown to each other when competing. I am confident we were the loudest school there!  We will be sure to communicate to families who are proceeding to the next level, once this information comes to us.

In this edition of the newsletter, I am proud to be introducing our newly developed Instructional Models for Literacy and Numeracy. Over the last three years, our staff have been busy researching, refining and developing expertise to produce these models. There is quite a bit to cover, and I don’t think I am able to cover the instructional models in depth in this newsletter article; however, please read on as there is a parent forum at school next week for those who are interested in learning more about our journey. 

The teaching of Reading is specifically informed by “The Big 6 of Reading”. These are: Phonics, Phonological Awareness, Vocabulary, Fluency, Oral Language and Comprehension.  Each of these main areas is explicitly taught to our students across their journey from Foundation to Grade 6. 

We have two separate models: one for Foundation to 2 and one for 3-6 classes.  This is due to the increased focus on comprehension skills once the students have the foundational decoding, word recognition and fluency skills in place. 

In Numeracy, our staff have continued to develop lessons where students are able to actively practise mathematical fluency, before developing skills and strategies to solve mathematical problems. Theses can be multi step, complex problems or investigations that take a lot of cognitive work from our students. 

You will see our Instructional Models in classrooms from next week. I would like to take this opportunity to personally and publicly thank Sofie Neilsen, who generously gave up her time to help us with her incredible graphic design skills. Our staff are incredibly grateful to Sofie for her time and care with this project. 

After assembly on Friday of next week, we invite parents who would like to discuss our Instructional Models in more detail. Alternatively, we are always available by e-mail if you are pressed for time. 

Our School Council AGM was held this week. At the meeting our office bearers were elected. The following people have accepted their respective positions for the next 12 months. 

School Council President: Steven Rothberg

School Council Vice President: Chloe Ye 

School Council Treasurer: Lee Taylor 

I thank each of the above individuals for dedicating their time to our school over the next 12 months. I would also like to acknowledge Leith Thomas, who was our School Council Treasurer for the past 12 months. 

Finally, we have our School Values Assembly next Friday from 9am in the SLC. This will be the final assembly for the term, and we will be drawing our Easter Raffle. I welcome all our parents to attend and celebrate what has been a great term. 

Have a fantastic weekend. 

Ryan 😊