From Christian's desk....

COVID-19 Update: Staying vigilant

A reminder to our community that the State Government’s and our school processes are the school’s best defences against COVID-19. Can I please encourage our community to be vigilant in your personal practices. Almost daily we are having ‘close calls’ but because of our tight operational procedures (and a bit of luck) we have had limited interruption to school operations. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and here’s to hoping we can have an uninterrupted final 31 days of the 2021 school year!

2022 School Structure

Over the course of the year school leaders have been working on the school’s structure for 2022. For the most part there will be very few changes to the operations of the school.

We will have 33 classes, one more than in 2021. This is due to the large cohort in Year 6. The school will continue to be organised into four sub schools. The notable change is that the Middle School will be divided into straight year level classes. This is consistent with the successful change put in place for the Junior School in 2021. The average class size across the school is forecast to be 23.

Prep – 6 x classes
Junior – 5 x Year One classes and 5 x Year 2 classes
Middle – 4 x Year Three classes and 4 x Year Four classes
Senior – 9 x multi-age Year 5/6 classes.

Students will continue to receive five specialist subjects each week:

Physical Education
Sensory Motor Gym (Prep students)
Performing Arts
Art
Science
Indonesian (from Year 1 onwards)

The school’s support programs will continue in a ‘turbo charged fashion’ (as a result of COVID). The Learning Enhancement program (also known in schools as Literacy Support or Tutoring) will have multiple staff in all levels of the school. The Wellbeing Officers and First Aid Officer will also continue to provide ongoing support to cater for the health and social-emotional needs of students.

Placement of staff and students into classes for 2022

Last week our school leaders developed our 2022 staffing structures. Following that exercise, our staff will begin the task of allocating students to classes for 2022. As per the norm, our staffing allocations and final class structures will then be announced in late December.

As with our teaching teams, class groups are developed after careful consideration, balancing a range of issues and needs. These include factors such as academic ability, behavioural challenges, friendships, and previous teachers.

A valuable part of the process is stakeholder feedback:

In the coming weeks students will be given the opportunity to list friends they would like to be with for the following year. They will be placed with at least one friend on that list.
Parent perspective can also add information to support this process. If you have any valuable information, regarding the class placement for your child for 2022, that is above and beyond what the classroom teacher and leadership team already know of your child you may wish to make an appointment with, or email your child’s classroom teacher to share your thoughts. Please do so prior to Friday November 12th. Please note: parent input on the placement of their child with a nominated class teacher is not an aspect where parents have a choice. If you have a confidential request, please email me directly at: christian.holdsworth@education.vic.gov.au

The entire process will then be completed by the current teachers and Leadership team.

I encourage families to trust our school’s judgment and, as I do, value our teachers as high calibre people that care first and foremost for our children. Ultimately, it is our current class teachers, as professionals with all available information, that are in the best position to place students in classes. Further, I am sure that you would understand that it is not always possible to accommodate all requests and that an important part of any student’s journey through their schooling is the development of vital life skills. This includes meeting, getting to know, and working with different personalities.

Christian Holdsworth - Principal

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