From the Principal's desk...

I hope this edition of the newsletter finds you well and that you’re enjoying the heart of our school year. As we approach the middle of the term, I wanted to share some of the exciting events that are sure to keep our school community engaged and energized this term. It is a busy term (they all are I know) but this one has some really fun and engaging events which our students are sure to love.

100 Days of Prep Celebration

What a milestone we’ve achieved! Our Prep students recently celebrated their 100th day of school with enthusiasm and joy. It was a day filled with fun activities, reflections on their learning journey, and a sense of accomplishment. We’re incredibly proud of their progress and the excitement they bring to school each day. Officially our Preps are 100 days smarter!

Olympic Fever

Our Green and Gold Olympic Day is set for this week as I write this and we are looking forward to giving our students the opportunity to embrace the spirit of friendly competition and teamwork as well as connect with the Olympics that are occurring in Paris as we speak. It will be a wonderful opportunity for all students to participate in a variety of sports and activities, showcasing their athletic abilities and sportsmanship. A big thank you to our PE teacher Mr Randall and volunteers who I'm sure will make the day run smoothly and help foster a sense of community through sport.

NAPLAN Results

We are pleased to announce that our NAPLAN results for students in Year 3 and Year 5 have shown excellent progress and growth across the board, but in particular a standout for us at our school is the growth students have achieved in Writing. 

Our students have demonstrated impressive achievements and proficiency in their writing skills. This achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our students and teachers. We will be discussing these results in detail during Professional Learning Meetings with all staff during this semester, providing valuable insights into individual student progress and areas for further development as we strive to continue to deliver excellence in our curriculum and learning programs at our

 school.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

We hope that our recent Parent-Teacher Conferences that were held in the second week of this term were valuable for all families and enabled you all to attend during a time that suited as best as possible. These meetings are a fantastic opportunity for you to discuss your child’s progress, strengths, and areas for improvement with their teachers. From all accounts, it would seem that the process ran smoothly and as we have had a fair number of new staff and teachers join us this year, a great chance to get to know your child's teacher a little more. We encourage all parents to attend and engage in these important conversations to support your child’s educational journey at other points in the year, please email your child's teacher if you need another or more time.

Parent and Guardian Opinion Survey

Recently you would have received an email from the school or seen a post on compass inviting you to participate in our annual survey that is a really important part of feedback and continued school improvement for us. Each year, schools are required to ask for feedback from their parent community on the many functions and curriculum delivery offered at school. So far, we have only had 7 families response which is a response rate of only 5%. 

I understand that time is so very precious, but if there is anyone that can spare some time to complete this, it would be greatly appreciated so that feedback on how our school can further improve is done via an authentic avenue.  The survey will remain open throughout August, so plenty of time to participate.

Parents and Friends Group

We are excited to let you know that we have formed a separate Parents and Friends Group which will not only support School Council in terms of raising locally acquired funds to support projects in our school, but to really further build a strong connection between the school and community. 

Parents and Friends groups form a vital link for schools with members that can foster a strong sense of community support within our school. There will be many opportunities moving forward where you might like to join in and support this group including small and large events and fundraisers I know they have begun to plan for. We hope to host some Parent Social events, Working Bees, Student Fun Activities outside of school and much more.

We will keep community informed via Compass once the group begins to formalise their plans.

Upcoming Events

We have several exciting events coming up as you will note on the Key Dates page but here is a little more explanation for those families new to our school this year:

Spelling Bee: 

Get ready to witness our students showcase their spelling prowess. The Spelling Bee is always a highlight, and we look forward to celebrating the hard work and dedication of our young spellers. This begins at a classroom level with finalists in year levels making it to the whole school event. Parents welcome and invited to attend this event.

Book Week: 

This year’s Book Week promises to be a magical time filled with literary adventures. The theme is Reading is Magic and the theme around magic may like to be explored in terms of costumes! We’ll have a range of activities during the week, reading shortlists books together in class as well as a dress-up on the Friday of that week with a parade for each class celebrating our favourite book characters. Parents welcome and invited to the parade.

Jump Off Day: 

Our annual Jump Off Day will bring lots of fun and physical activity. Students will engage in various skipping challenges and games, promoting fitness and enjoyment. This is inline with Jump Rope For Heart which is an important part of learning about physical health and heart health. Parents will be invited to attend this event.

Father’s Day Stall: 

To honour all the amazing fathers and father figures in our community, we’ll have a special stall where students can purchase gifts and crafts. It’s a wonderful way to show appreciation and celebrate the role of dads. More details to come and a massive thank you to the parents who have offered to support this, buying the gifts and coordinating the stall on the day.

Footy Colours Day: 

Let’s show our school spirit by donning our favourite footy team’s colours. This day will be a fun way to embrace our sporting culture and support our local teams and will occur on the final day of term!

As always in addition to our newsletter, our Compass calendar holds information for all parents on events relevant to children and year levels.

Have a great week,

Mel