Leadership Report 

Dear Parents and Carers,

It is hard to believe that we are at the end of Term One. It has certainly been a busy but a smooth and productive start to the year as we transitioned from online learning to onsite. We have managed to accomplish so much in 11 weeks. 

Here are a list of our achievements just to name a few:

• Strong focus on differentiation and goal setting in classrooms in literacy and numeracy
• Enrichment and intervention programs 
• Student Leadership in Years 6 and 7 
• Running of Year 3-7 Athletics Carnival 
• Beach and Swimming Programs
• Cross Country events 
• Summer Sports 
• Rehearsing for our upcoming school production. We are all very excited to see our  Aladdin Cast rehearsing and getting ready for our Term 3 Production. 
• Rehearsing for State School Spectacular (Choir and Mass Dance)
• Social and emotional learning programs 
• Submitted our application for our full accreditation in IB.

Congratulations and well done to all involved. 

Focus for 2022

At the end of last year, the school completed our Strategic Plan and direction for the next 4 years.  This year, we all worked on developing our Annual Implementation Plan which outlines our objectives and focus for the rest of this year.

In summary, for the remainder of this year, Saltwater College will focus on: 

IB Accreditation

Obtaining full International Baccalaureate Accreditation which means that Saltwater P-9 College will become a fully accredited and an Internationally recognised IB School. More information regarding our accreditation timeline and procesess will be available during Term 2.

Literacy

In the area of Literacy, our main focus is on using mentor texts to further develop students’ comprehension and inferential skills.  We will also continue to further develop our students understanding around goal setting and personalised learning. 

Numeracy

In the area of Numeracy, we are working on developing our instructional model to further enhance problem solving skills in number and algebra. 

Student Wellbeing and Engagement

Our focus in wellbeing is around attendance and school wide positive behaviours. 

Attendance

As we are slowly integrating back into onsite learning it is very important that we as a school community attend to and ensure that our students attendance is regular and consistent and on a daily basis. 

Students are most likely to succeed in school when they attend school consistently. Lack of attendance can result in students falling behind in their learning. For some students lack attendance will also have an impact on building strong lasting relationship with their peers. Schools are not only a place for academic learning but also a place where students learn to socialise interact and collaborate with others. As this is such an important aspect of developing acting, happy and resilient students, attending to students attendance will be our focus and priority for the remaining of the school year. 

Non-attendance has a variety of effects on students, both academically and socially. Absenteeism can increase social isolation, including alienation and lack of engagement with the school community and peers, leading to emotional and behavioural difficulties (Carroll, 2013; Gottfried, 2014). The table provides insightful information relating to the long term affects of student absenteeism. 

Late Arrivals 

Our school day begins at 8.30am with gates open at 8.20am. The first part of the school day is the most important part. Every class has a morning routine where students prepare themselves for the day ahead (unpacking their bags, talking to their friends and handing in notes and messages, whist the teacher is marking the roll). This part of the day sets the children up for a successful day of learning. Instruction in literacy and numeracy commences at 8.40am, which means for a child to feel confident in what is expected of them, they will need to be present and available during the mini lesson and teacher instruction time. 

School Parking

Traffic congestion and parking remains an area of concerns for our entire community. As mentioned in previous correspondence with parents, I have been working closely with Wyndham Council and the Saltwater Community Centre to establish ways, programs/ideas, that can assist in alleviating some of our traffic issues. 

We are exploring the BREAKS – Bicycle Recycling and Engagement of Active Kids at School program to promote riding bicycles to school. We are also looking at developing a walking school bus where designated community members, will meet students at different pick-up points and walk students to school instead of driving. I will inform the community about the progress of these two valuable programs at some stage next term.

Lunch Time Activities

Lunch time clubs and activities will also be launched next term. This is where some of our staff, educational support staff and some of our senior students will run various indoor/outdoor activities to engage students in structured play. Any parents who are available to volunteer their time to run some of these clubs, please contact me via email.

As of next term parents can make payments and complete permission notes via xuno. More information relating to the process will be released in early term two. 

Have a wonderful Easter break and we look forward to seeing everyone on April 26.

Regards, 

Jackie Daniali