From the Principal

Amanda and I had the pleasure of celebrating Principal's Day Friday 7th August. Amanda and I were both very spoilt indeed! It was a day filled with a whole lot of appreciation, highlighting everyone's commitment to making our school great! We would like to extend a special thank you to our teachers, whose kindness was appreciated and our parent community for contributing food and gifts to our celebration after school. 

We also celebrated our House Athletics Day at Duncan McKinnon, brilliantly organised by Joel Pollard and Marcus Panozzo. I’m always very impressed with our PE teachers for their organisational expertise, and I am so grateful to our staff and families for their attendance, participation, and support in making the day such a success.

Classroom Mastery coaching took centre stage for a week with our AP Amanda; Learning Specialists, Kate, Gen and Theresa and our middle level leaders Josh and Liana, visiting classrooms to see our routines and students in action and offering feedback to our teachers. Bridie, our school’s coach, was incredibly impressed, commenting that CPS has made exceptional progress in this area and our teachers are to be congratulated for their outstanding commitment to learning and practising the routines with the students. I also got involved and watched the joy on some of our teachers’ faces receiving their feedback. It was a really proud moment for everyone. 

Classroom Mastery coaching has been a key focus, with Assistant Principal Amanda, Learning Specialists Kate, Gen and Theresa, and our Middle Level Leaders Josh and Liana visiting classrooms to observe our agreed classroom routines in action. These coaching visits provided teachers with valuable feedback to strengthen consistent, high-quality practice across the school.

Our Classroom Mastery coach, Bridie, was incredibly impressed with the progress Carnegie Primary School has made, commenting: “A clear strength across the day was the calm, safe and 'happy' learning culture evident throughout the school. Students appeared settled, respectful and engaged, while teachers demonstrated confidence, strong relationships and a commitment to maintaining high expectations. Coaching conversations reflected a genuine culture of trust, curiosity and continuous improvement, with leaders focusing not only on teacher practice but also on observing student responses and behaviours as evidence of effective implementation.”

I also had the opportunity to join a few classroom visits and witness the pride of our teachers as they received positive feedback on their practice. It was a moment of professional celebration and a reminder of what can be achieved when a team is committed to continuous improvement. I congratulate all staff on the outstanding work they are doing to ensure every classroom provides the best possible conditions for learning.