Principal's Report 

Dear Parents & Carers,

Welcome to Week 7. I would like to congratulate our Year 3 and Year 5 students and teachers on a wonderfully relaxed start to NAPLAN this week and wish them all the best for the final round of assessments that they will complete early next week. 

EASTER HAT PARADE 

Thursday 28th March is our last day of term with our Autumn Holidays beginning on Good Friday. We will be holding an Easter Hat parade to celebrate our last day of term and get into the holiday spirit. To ensure that we are including all cultures and traditions, we would like to propose that it is a “Fancy Hat” parade so that all children can participate in the fun. Parents and carers are most welcome to attend. The parade will be held in the gym at 9am.

DREAM & LEAD   

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of accompanying our Year 6 Captains to the Dream and Lead Conference at the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre. We were fortunate enough to hear from keynote speakers such as the ex-AFL player Trent Dennis Lane and Wil Massara, a 21-year-old social entrepreneur and founder of the Youth Leadership Academy Australia. I was extremely proud of the way our SEPS ambassadors represented our school, the enthusiasm they displayed for new learning and the mature approach they took to the concepts that were delivered. The conference provided purposeful opportunities for primary aged students to develop the skills and confidence to be change makers. They learnt that the first step of leadership is self-leadership and. Aarya reflected that her favourite part of the day was learning about neuroplasticity and how we can grow our resilience muscle over time. Mona liked the quote by Wil that ‘your age does not determine your ability to achieve extraordinary things’. Our Yr 6 team demonstrated friendliness and positivity as they networked with students from many other schools. We have put together a ‘60 seconds’ report for assembly on Monday with some of the highlights from the day.     

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING 

Many of our staff have been participating in professional learning over the past few weeks. One team participated in the Love Maths conference and shared some new learning at our staff meeting this week. Another team spent a day learning about new Reading Assessment that we will be trialling early next term. Our leadership team have spent several days at Principal Conferences in the city and at Caulfield. One theme centred on the impact that artificial intelligence will have on our role as educators and how crucial the learner dispositions of discernment and critical thinking will be to our next generation of learners. I am proud to lead an innovative staff who share my passion for lifelong learning as we continually strive to be the best educators possible for our students.       

SOCIAL MEDIA 

We know that technology is advancing at a rapid rate. It is more important than ever that as parents, we understand the need to keep our children safe in the digital world and protect them from the potential risks of social media. Open conversations that encourage them to think critically about what they share online, who they interact with and the impact of their words on others is key to developing responsible digital use. 

Every year we seem to hear of some very concerning behaviours involving our students on social media. While this occurs outside of school hours on platforms such as Tik-tok, Snapchat and Messenger, it inevitably impacts on students here at school. Research indicates that social media can be a major cause for school refusal and absenteeism in teenagers. Not only are children exhausted from being on devices late at night, but any negative interactions they engage with online can prevent them from wanting to face their  peers the next day. Unfortunately, we have also received a number of concerns about some of the content and comments that have been made by parents on WhatsApp and Facebook platforms. As adults, we too need to reflect on our interactions on digital platforms so that we can lead by example and demonstrate respectful and responsible behaviour for our children to emulate. We know that the majority of our community make great choices and use these platforms to stay informed and connected. Good online etiquette will contribute to the supportive, respectful and inclusive community that we aspire to be. Please reach out if you would like any support or further information about this topic.

Wishing you all a wonderful fortnight ahead!  

Jane Briffa