Principal's Report
From the Principal...
Welcome everyone to Term Two!
Sunsmart!
The wearing of hats is not compulsory at our school after April 30th, but in line with departmental recommendations broad brimmed hats should still be worn in term 2 when the UV index is above 3. So for Term 2, students will still need a hat in their bag, particularly for Sport and PE sessions.
Absences
Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education. Students learn new things at school every day; missing school puts them behind.
SCHOOL IS BETTER WHEN YOUR CHILD IS THERE
Why it’s important
We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school each and every day. If students miss school regularly, they miss out on learning the fundamental skills that will set them up for success in the later years of school. There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes.
Getting in early
Attendance patterns are established early – a child regularly missing days in kindergarten or in the early years of school will often continue to miss classes in the later years, and receive lower test scores than their classmates. It’s vital that students go to school every day, even in the early years of primary school. Although parents are able to notify us of an absence on Compass, some reasons for a child’s absence are unapproved.
Accepted absences
In general, it's expected that these absences are excused:
- Medical and dental appointments, where out of hours appointments are not possible.
- Bereavement or going to the funeral of a relative or friend of the student.
- Cultural observance, if the parent notifies the school in advance.
ANZAC Day Service
On Wednesday April 24th, the school captains and vice-captains accompanied me to the Bentleigh RSL for an ANZAC Day service. There were many well-known faces from our community there, such as politicians, other school leaders with their students, the SES, soldiers and community band members. It was a wonderful ceremony and the leaders of Ormond PS were both respectful and well-behaved during the service. At the morning tea, our leaders chatted with an ex-Vietnam soldier and asked many questions about his medals and experiences.
Whole School Photo Day
This Friday is our whole school photo day and we encourage students to come in full school uniform. The timing of the class photos will be organised around students out of the school attending interschool sport and other commitments. Please remember to send your order form envelopes with your child on the day. These are handed directly to the photographer.
Mother's Day Stall & Celebrations
Behind the scenes our parent group are organising our Mother’s Day stall and cinema night.
The Year 6 students will be able to select gifts on Thursday May 2nd and the rest of the school will attend the gift stall on Thursday May 9th.
The Dendy Street Cinema Night is on Thursday 16th May at 8pm. Thank you to the organisers of all these Mother’s Day events. For booking details please see your Compass feed or the P&F section of the newsletter.
Year 6 Camp
There is much excitement building in Year 6 this week as they discuss their final preparations for camp. A great deal of organisation and planning has taken place to ensure the camp will be engaging, safe and well run. I would like to thank Simon Brown for all his hard work. The Year 6 staff are all looking forward to attending, as well as Jack Capicchiano from Year 3, Laura Cecil from Foundation, Emma Milliken (PE) and one of our male pre-service teachers. I will be heading to the camp on Wednesday afternoon and will participate in activities with the students on the Thursday. Having spent my first years of teaching in Sale – I look forward to passing through on the way to Coonawarra.
NAPLAN Testing Periods in 2019
Our school is completing NAPLAN testing in Years 3 and 5 from 14 May to 24 May. Teachers help to prepare students so they are comfortable with the test materials. It is important that parents and students understand that NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process and that NAPLAN does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance.
The results of the tests provide information for students, parents, teachers and principals which can be used to improve student achievement. Support can be arranged for students with disabilities, if the student regularly uses similar support for classroom assessment tasks. All students are expected to participate in the NAPLAN tests. Exemptions may be granted to students with significant intellectual disabilities and to students who have been learning English for less than one year.
If your child is eligible for support due to disability or an exemption, you should discuss this with his/her teacher prior to the tests. Parental consent is required before any support due to disability or exemption is granted. Later in the year, you will receive your child’s personal NAPLAN report. The report will describe your child’s particular skills in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The report will also show how your child performed in relation to national minimum standards. These describe the minimum acceptable standards for students across Australia.
Curriculum Day
On Monday May 13th, we will have a curriculum day for all staff to focus on Reading across the school. In particular, we will be fine tuning our use of Fountas and Pinnell as an exemplary assessment and reporting tool to track student progress. Fountas and Pinnell is one of the most common and well known assessment tools used across the state. It identifies area of further need for each and every child, so that teachers can accurately differentiate the learning tasks. It is not the only assessment tool we use in Reading, but it has already provided much information to teachers across the school during initial assessments with each child.
Kerri McLeod
Principal
- SAVE THE DATE -
Working Bee - Sunday 26th May
All families encouraged to come along and help clean up/maintain the school grounds.
Out of School Hours Care
Curriculum Day
There is a Pupil Free Day on Monday 13th May.
The program will be providing care from 7.30am to 6.00pm
Cost $60.00 per child. This cost will be covered by the Child Care Subsidy for Eligible Families.
Bookings will be accepted in the program diary or contact the program to all bookings must be received by Wednesday 8th May 2019.
Before & After School Cancellation
If your child is absent from school or not be attending Before & After School. You must inform the service, via the program diary or by leaving a message on the 24 hours message bank. Failure to cancel your children from a permanent or casual Before & After School booking cancelling late will result in a late fee.
The OSHC Program Office is attended from 7.30am to 6.00pm Mon to Fri, (office closed between 10.30am to 12.30pm.
Phone: 9578 5826
Lost Property
We have found a few clothing items lost during the Autumn Holiday Program. If your child did attend the holiday program please check the lost property container in the hall.
Donations
We appreciate if families could assist us with following items.
- Cardboard Cereal Boxes
- Dress up Clothes, Party & Evening dresses
- Gloves, Scarves & Hats.
- Long sleeve Men’s & Ladies long sleeve shirts used for art smocks.
After School Care Activities
Thursday 2nd Colour Window Paint
Friday 3rd Table Tennis Competition
Monday 6th Mother’s Day Activities
Tuesday 7th Mother’s Day Activities
Wednesday 8th Mother’s Day Activities
Thursday 9th Mother’s Day Activities
Friday 10th Mother’s Day Activities
Monday 13th Curriculum Day
Tuesday 14th Paper Art
Wednesday 15th Marionette Dragons
April Kopitz
Out of School Hours Coordinator