Primary School News

From the Head of Primary Wayne Revitt

Term 1 Two/Three-Way Conferences

Parent/guardian and student conferences have been held over the past two weeks. I hope your meetings have been useful and helped you to engage in your child’s learning here at John Wollaston. We aim to provide comprehensive and effective information regarding your child’s learning and achievement, in alignment with the standards set by both the International Baccalaureate and the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA).

Throughout the year you will receive continuous feedback, including Academic Reports at the end of Terms 2 and 4, that will include achievement grades in each of the subject areas taught within the units of inquiry and stand-alone units. There will also be comprehensive statement written by the class teacher outlining the profile of each student as a learner. These reports will be accessed online through SEQTA Engage.

In Term 3 you will also be invited to an Inquiry Journey; an opportunity for students to share their learning journey across all areas and to celebrate their success and development as a learner. I hope you are now familiar with your child’s progress as a learner and, as always, please arrange to meet with me should you require further information. 

I thank and acknowledge our teaching staff for their expertise and dedication with the conferences this term. As you can imagine, if you multiply the number of children in your child’s class by the 15 to 30 minutes for each conference, a great deal of time and effort goes into this important process. 

John Wollaston/Amana Living Intergenerational Arts Project

Last Friday residents from the Thomas Scott Hostel visited our Upper Primary centre for the culminating event of the Intergenerational Arts Project. Our students and their partners from the aged care home shared their experiences, their fine art works, life stories and talked about the positive impact of getting to know each other. All students in Years 5 to 6 participated in the experience, and joined in with the song created through the project. The project was facilitated by artists, Miles Openshaw from Globe Town Project, actor, director and musician Mark Storen and multi-disciplinary community artist Jodie Davidson. This project is, as far as we know, a first of its kind. A story filmed by Channel 7’s Today Tonight should air on Good Friday. The love, warmth and goodwill this project has generated is hard to put into words. There were many tears at the performance, as our students spoke beautifully from the heart, played the piano and served morning tea to families and friends. Thank you to Fiona Shand and Katherine Stevens for driving this initiative. As Miles Openshaw, the Director of the Globe Town Project, wrote in appreciation:

'the John Wollaston pupils showed such sensitivity towards their surroundings at the hostel and an openness towards the residents that was so impressive to see.  It is such a positive reflection on the caring, thoughtful approach at your school’.  

Edu-Dance Concerts

The Edu-Dance Concerts were a big hit this week with students from Kindergarten to Year 6 enjoying this Hip Hop Dance Program as part of our Arts program across the School. The concerts on Monday and Friday afternoon drew a huge parent audience as the BDISC reverberated to some funky sounds and brilliant dancing. It was great to see so many proud parents and grandparents joining us for the afternoon and delighting in their children. I look forward to Edu-Dance in 2020 for our third year of this vibrant dance program.

NAPLAN

The annual NAPLAN (National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy) for Years 3 and 5 will be conducted from 14 - 16 May 2019. It is important to remember that NAPLAN is just one assessment at one point in time (a ‘snapshot' of learning) and we regard this as just one of the many assessments we undertake throughout the year. Sometimes the media attention around NAPLAN does filter through to families and students, and some students become a little anxious. I encourage you to speak to your child about the fact that their character and intelligence is not determined by a single test. At John Wollaston, we value the many qualities of the whole child; their ability in many different areas and expressed in different ways. We believe in a growth mindset, the understanding that our intelligence is not fixed, but can grow and develop with care, in a stimulating learning environment. We encourage our students to do their best and take the tests seriously, like any other academic assessment. 

Wollaston Exchange in the ELC

We are expanding our Wollaston Exchange in the ELC to now include the exchange of picture books. If you have any picture books you no longer require, please place them in the Exchange Trolley which will be located outside the ELC Reception from the start of Term 2. You are welcome to make the most of this opportunity and exchange books on a regular basis. 

Happy Easter! I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable school holidays and we look forward to seeing our wonderful students in Term 2.

Wayne Revitt

Head of Primary