Principal's Report

 State-wide Principal's Conference

On Thursday and Friday last week, Steve Roche and I travelled to the city to participate in the State-wide Principal's Conference. Some of the key speakers and messages:

• Lisa Alexander: The former coach of the Australian "Diamonds" Netball team and also a former teacher, Lisa spoke of championing women in leadership, as well as her philosophies of leadership in general

• Dr Nathaniel Swain: Dr Nathaniel spoke of teaching techniques aligned to the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0. He focused on many elements of "Responsive Teaching", which we have also had as a professional learning focus over the past 18 months. In particular, he explored how teachers should employ "Checks for Understanding" to ensure students have understood what has been taught before moving on. Later, Dr Nathaniel explored some of the "progress blockers" that inhibit school improvement.

• Dr Carl Hendrick: Dr Carl focused on the idea of "Retrieval Practice", which sounds like something you do with your dog in the local park, but is instead looking at the idea of spacing out when we teach each concept to account for the 'forgetting curve'.

Winter Warmers Donations

Thank you to those people who have already donated jackets and warm clothing to the annual Winter Warmers collection, organised by RMPS parent Kim Jones. The box has already been filled and emptied a couple of times, but there is still time to donate, so please have a rummage around in the cupboard and bring any good-condition unwanted items to the office by the 5th of June.

Projects Update

Our playground expansion project is (still!) nearing completion, with the Victorian School Building Authority now planning for a handover in the next fortnight. The recent wet weather has interrupted installation of a rubber surface - this needs a few consecutive days without rain.

A few other plans ongoing at present include:

• The VSBA budget for the playground expansion didn't quite stretch to include planting - we're collecting quotes from landscaping companies to deliver this!

• Replacement of existing gas heaters in the gym with a heating and cooling system - approved by School Council, details of the accepted quote being finalised.

• A company has been appointed with the approval of School Council to replace the floor coverings in all student toilets.

• The new veggie garden area is progressing, with the beds flattening out, stones being spread as a base for some new structures, and various sheds and houses being prepared for our chickens and plants. Any more green thumbs who would like to volunteer to help with the garden are most welcome!

• With our new shade structures now in place (thanks to the PFA!), we are looking at re-purposing some of the stone blocks left over from the playground project to use as seating around the Gaga Pit, and/or other areas of the school.

• Our annual tree audit has been completed. An arborist appointed by the VSBA has inspected the tree in the corner of the school behind the temporary fencing, with some recommended work pending VSBA approval to ensure this tree is safe for students and pedestrians.

• The builders of the playground expansion project assure us they haven't forgotten about repairing the damaged asphalt caused by their machinery - they want to make sure this is done last to ensure they can't damage it further once fixed.

Peter Watson

Principal