From the Principal

A message from the Principal

Thank you to our families for your incredible support and involvement in the first weeks of the 2019 school year.  We had a fantastic attendance at last week’s Prep Welcome BBQ and were thrilled to hear how well students have settled.  We had almost 80 parents attend an information session for the 'Life Education'  van last Monday.  Sarah from Life Ed had never seen such large numbers at one of these sessions.

This year we have decided to incorporate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) activities sessions to run alongside our Welcome Picnic. The evening will begin at 5pm on Thursday 28 February and conclude at 7pm.  Teachers will conduct STEM activities that families can participate in. Over 65 families have already indicated that they will be in attendance.   Thank you for your strong involvement in the life of our learning community.

Thank you to the parents who attended the 3-Way Learning Conferences on Monday and Tuesday evening. Research tells us that learning is enhanced when students take ownership of their own learning. The 3-Way Conferences allow students to discuss their learning with parents and teaching staff. The teachers acknowledge that the parents are the ‘first teachers' and as such have valuable information that will inform teaching.

Our focus at Queen of Peace is to provide a happy and safe space that provides high quality teaching with high expectations while encouraging students to strive for their personal best.  We believe that focused learning groups and explicit teaching are vehicles for meeting children’s individual learning needs.

The Queen of Peace students benefit from rigorous staff ‘team’ approaches to planning; teaching that focuses on individual student’s learning and social needs; staff access to ongoing, relevant training, and the use of research, resources and data to inform decisions about learning and teaching. Teachers continue to explore the nature of how children learn best and to actively engage them in taking responsibility for their own learning.

Closure Day Monday  25  February

Staff will be involved in a Professional Learning day, working to develop a whole school approach to effectively manage students’ personal and social capabilities, and teach self-regulation in the classroom.  We will be working with Brad Williams from Parentshop, a large, action-based, professional development and training organisation.

The next Closure Day will be in term two on Monday 27 May.  Staff will be involved in refreshing their current First Aid qualifications  on that day.

The Parent and Friends Association held their first meeting of the year last Tuesday in the school staffroom.  A small but very passionate group of parents were in attendance.  I would particularly like to thank President Rebecca Whelan for her work in preparing for the 2019 year as well as the other members of the executive committee:

Vice President - Donna Abu-Elias

Treasurer - Maureen Puopolo

Secretary - Ronnie Tucker

Gardens - Justin Magro

Social Officer - Cindy Taylor

Fundraising Officer - Brandy Magro

There will be many occasions when you will be asked to support the P&F, I hope all can offer their services at least once.  Please ensure you read the P&F report in this newsletter.

Darren Gibbons

Principal