Principal's Page

Momentum Matters: Building on our Strong Start

As we move further into the term, I want to share with you one of the positive developments in our school day so far: the impact of our dedicated Morning Circle time.

This year, we intentionally redesigned our timetable to protect 10 minutes each morning for every class to come together. This small but purposeful shift has already made a meaningful difference. By setting aside time for connection before academic learning begins, we are ensuring that every student starts the day feeling welcomed, settled, and ready to learn.

Recently, along with our two Assistant Principals, Grant and Verity, I visited classrooms during Morning Circle time. What we observed across the school was genuinely uplifting. Classrooms were calm, welcoming, and focused. Students were connecting with one another, participating thoughtfully, and transitioning smoothly into their day. There was a clear sense of belonging and shared purpose.

Morning Circle is about much more than a routine. It provides:

• A predictable and reassuring start to the day;

• Opportunities for students to build confidence through sharing and discussion;

• Time to strengthen relationships with peers and teachers;

• A chance to set goals and intentions for learning.

By prioritising these daily moments, we are nurturing not only academic readiness but also emotional wellbeing and community spirit. When students feel connected and grounded, they are better prepared to engage deeply in their learning.

I would like to thank our staff for the care and consistency they bring to this time each day. The positive tone we are seeing across classrooms is a direct result of their thoughtful planning and commitment to our students.

Momentum matters — and the strong, purposeful starts we are seeing each morning are helping us build exactly that. 

I also look forward to sharing in future newsletters another positive implementation across our school: our consistent approach to strengthening key foundations of literacy through UFLI in Prep–Year 2 and Word Origins in Years 3–6.

In the early years, UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute) provides a structured, explicit approach to teaching foundational reading skills. It systematically builds phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and word recognition — ensuring our youngest learners develop strong, confident reading habits from the very beginning.

Word Origins helps students in the upper primary years deepen their vocabulary and spelling knowledge by exploring the history and structure of words, including prefixes, suffixes, and Greek and Latin roots. This strengthens reading comprehension and empowers students to confidently tackle unfamiliar words across all subject areas.

Together, these approaches create a cohesive, research-informed pathway in literacy from Prep through to Year 6, giving every student the tools they need to succeed as capable, independent readers and writers.

We are excited about the positive impact this consistent, evidence-based approach will continue to have for our students.