The Year That Was...
2021 The Year That Was!
Our students and staff singing 'Thank You For Being A Friend'.
We have made it to the end of term after spending 68 days in remote learning throughout the 2021 school year.
I would like to sincerely thank every family for their ongoing support and encouragement throughout the many obstacles everyone was forced to face as a result of the pandemic.
The everchanging rules and COVID safe requirements has meant that there has been an ongoing barrage of Compass posts being communicated throughout the day, night and often during the weekend also. The positive is that due to this technology we are able to receive information instantly.
Our students need to be applauded for their ability to successfully participate in our Remote Learning Program. Their understanding of the requirements of remote learning really had to be seen, to fully appreciate their skill, adaptability, and their knowledge. Many families only witnessed what was required of their own child and year Level and were not privy to the complexity demonstrated by students beyond these classes.
The advancement of our students’ skills is beyond the realm of what educators thought possible 18 months ago. If you reflect on your own days in primary school in comparison to what your children are achieving today there is no comparison.
Some of the ICT applications our students have used during 2021 include:
- Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Office, OneNote, Microsoft Sway, Microsoft Forms and Microsoft Stream
- Flipgrid, Garage Band, iMovie, Movie Maker, Avatar Maker, Menti and Pobble
Student Achievement
We have been extremely thrilled with our student achievements this year. Despite the many weeks of Remote Learning our student achievement results have met our set targets and in many areas exceeded the targets.
Naplan is only one data set but it reflects our Teacher Judgements and that of the standardised tests results our children complete. It is incorrect to say that our children, as a whole, have been disadvantaged by remote online learning as the results indicate otherwise.
Our Naplan results were extremely pleasing in Years 3, 5 and 7. An added bonus, is that we are now able to monitor our students’ growth even when they are in their first year of secondary school. The Year 7 data provides us with an overview of the final two years of primary school.
Our school achievement level is well above state-wide benchmarks and equal to, or above similar schools and our network schools.
Victorian schools delivered the curriculum remotely more than any other Australian state and the Naplan results of 2021 reflected the outstanding teaching and learning that occurred.
One of the most accurate reflections of the impact of teaching programs is to ask our students for their direct feedback. The challenge is then to modify our programs in line with Student Voice. The two additional student focused teams supporting this area of Student Voice has been the direct input and feedback from the Student Agency Team and the Wellbeing Team.
Student Agency Team (SAT)
The Student Agency team is comprised of student representatives for Years 3-6. These students meet regularly to demonstrate Student Voice and actions. I would like to thank Mr Angus Ross and Ms Naomi Holt for leading our SAT Team this year.
Wellbeing
Our Wellbeing Captains have met regularly with Jess and have done an incredible job supporting wellbeing initiatives this year.
These school leaders have demonstrated greater confidence in their communication skills and public speaking. They have been responsible for promoting and advertising many whole school event and produced a video for 'National Families Week' to share with the parent community.
Most recently the Wellbeing Captains decided they would like to raise money to donate to the organisation ‘FareShare’ (FareShare – Rescue. Cook. Feed.)
They chose FareShare as a charity suitable for donation and support as they provide cooked meals this Christmas to those that are struggling. Given the COVID year and the added financial pressures, they thought it may be a great organisation to help.
I would like to thank Mrs Jess Patane for managing our Wellbeing team and also for supporting the staff in every aspect of wellbeing for both the staff and the students.
2022 Class Structure
We will be maintaining our current class structure with 4 straight classes at each year level. We will also be maintaining the current Specialist Program of Visual arts, Performing Arts, Physical Education and Languages –Japanese.
Parent Body
I would like to thank every member of our parent body who have supported us all both during the lengthy period of Remote Learning as well as our time at school.
The education of our students is very definitely a home /school partnership and 2021 has highlighted this more than ever.
Thank you to all members of the parent community for their ongoing support and encouragement throughout the school year. The countless emails of support and appreciation for everything we were managing throughout 2021 was the impetus for us all to keep moving forward with a smile, especially during the many weeks that we were teaching remotely and online.
We are all extremely optimistic that the days and weeks of remote learning are now behind us all. The headline news on Sunday, 5 December when it was announced that vaccinations for children from 5 year-11 year olds gives us hope that the days of lockdowns and school closures may be behind us as we move to the new school year. The ongoing disruptions of the recent two years cannot be described- it had to be lived and we have all done that.
Please enjoy this video of our Year 1 students on their first excursion after many cancellations in both prep and year 1.
I live by a very simple mantra-
You can’t change what happened yesterday,
You don’t know what will happen tomorrow but today is a gift and a time to maximise every minute.
The ongoing restrictions, rules and regulations that have mandated our life throughout the year have been for one reason only and that has been to keep us all safe so that we can enjoy life moving forward.
I wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas and I hope that your family is able to meet up with family members to enjoy special times together.
