Assistant Principal's report

Parent survey

Recently, your child's teacher sent out a survey for you to complete about your child. Thank you so much to the hundreds of parents who have so far responded. By sharing more information about your child and how they like to play and learn, as well as your hopes for their year, you have ensured that your teacher has the best complete picture of this very important learner. As your child's best advocate, you are best placed to paint that picture of the 'whole child' for their teacher and we really appreciate the 5-10 minutes that you took to do so. 

If you have not received this survey, or would like to submit another copy, please contact your child's teacher. We encourage both parents to complete a separate survey if you wish, at Kalinda - all voices matter!

Parent Teacher Interviews

Next week we will have dates and information for booking a Parent Teacher Interview. This is a great opportunity to hear an update on your child's social and academic progress, and to discuss with your teacher how you can best support your learner at home. Our Interviews happen online, via the Webex platform, making them very accessible for busy parents. For those families new to the school, Webex is an online meeting platform that can be accessed through your web browser, there is no need to download any app. Please stay tuned for details. 

Reporting to Parents

This article has been reprinted for your information.

In the last 18 months, we have successfully launched the use of the Continuum in Compass as a way of tracking student progress against the Victorian Curriculum. This means that at any time during the year, parents can log on and see what growth their child has made against specific curriculum areas. This continuum is updated for your child throughout the year, most commonly you will see the greatest changes made in Terms 2 and 4 when a lot of our summative assessment takes place. 

This continuum is complemented by:

• Twice yearly Parent Teacher Interviews (end of Terms 1 and 3)
• Twice yearly written reports (end of Terms 2 and 4)
• A commitment to 'no surprises' - where teaching staff ensure they are in regular contact with families if there are any areas in which their child is making no or little progress.

With these systems now in place, together with our commitment to differentiated and targeted teaching, we will no longer be publishing Individual Education Plans (IEP) for students who are 12 months below or 18 months ahead of the expected curriculum level. The very specific and targeted information provided in the Continuum, together with the processes above - replaces the need for these documents. 

Students with significant learning concerns (especially those who are funded by DET under the Program for Students with Disability, or the Disability Inclusion program), will continue to receive a lengthier more targeted IEP that is co-created with parents and specialists.

Take care Kalinda, you matter to me. 

Lauren Hopkins

We are kind. We are resilient. We are respectful.