Principal's Report 

Dear Parents, 

Welcome back to all for term 2. A shorter term than last with only nine weeks, but nonetheless a very busy nine weeks all the same.  On the Monday prior to school starting, Ms Wood and some of our school leaders represented our school at the Caroline Springs Dawn Service for ANZAC Day. They laid a wreath on behalf of the school and from all accounts did an outstanding job. It has been wonderful to see our student leaders really lift their profile this year thanks to being back at school.  A very big thank you to Ms Wood for taking time on this day for such a special event. 

Our students' next event is not too far away in our 2023 Enrolment Information Night on May 18 from 5:15pm. This night will commence with our student leaders taking prospective parents on tours around the school. Everyone can tuck into a lovely sausage sizzle whilst they hear from our students and look over our facilities. Once done, our school captains will welcome everyone and the information evening will proceed.  

It should be a wonderful evening for parents and kindergarten children as they get to know their new school. If you know of any parents of prep children for next year, please encourage them to contact the office and come along on the night.  TheirCare will be providing child-minding for toddlers so mums and dads can participate in the night whilst their children receive a show-bag full of school goodies to entertain them. 

Tomorrow is our whole school athletics day. In the past this day was for students in grades 3-6, yet this year all of our students will be taking part. We would absolutely love parents and grandparents to come along and enjoy the day with us.  Your vaccination status is no longer required, nor is any signing in. Ms Wishart is also after as many parent helpers as she can muster, so if you can help please let the office or Ms. Wishart know. This will be an event to remember and one not to miss!

In the week following our Enrolment Information Night, we will be holding our Education Week Expo for our current students and parents. On this night, we will be showcasing to parents the great work the students have been involved in to date. It will be a very interactive and hands-on evening led by the students in each grade. Please be sure to mark May 26th in your diary for this. 

In early May, our students in grades 3 and 5 will be sitting the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). The bulk of these assessments will be conducted on-line, and our school technician and assistant principal have ensured the devices of these students meet compatibility requirements. The teachers in grades 3 and 5 have been working with our students over several weeks ensuring they are familiar with the digital format, the types of questions and what to expect. 

NAPLAN is an important assessment, and one we take quite seriously as one source of student assessment data. That being said, we are also working to ensure students do not feel overly pressured by the assessments.  You may like to reinforce with your children this same message. Give NAPLAN your best efforts, but then put the assessments aside and continue to focus on the important work going on in your classroom. If any parents have concerns about their child sitting the assessments, I would encourage them to discuss this with their child's teacher, or Anthony Michielin who is our NAPLAN coordinator. 

I look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow at the athletics day.

Regards, 

Simon McGlade

Principal