Principal Team Message

END-OF-TERM - HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Here we are once again writing the last newsletter and sharing more learning activities and special events that have occurred throughout the term. We hope you have all faired well in your health and well-being throughout the winter months and are looking forward to spending some precious holiday time with your children. 

Our students, your children, never cease to amaze us with their passion for learning, creativity and continual growth and development. We often have to remind ourselves as parents and carers, leaders and educators; just how hard things have been for many children across the state and that things can't simply snap back into place so quickly and easily.

We are truly blessed that our Rippers continue to shine in all areas, committing to learning and improvement, staying true to themselves, caring for their friends and families, displaying our values and character traits such as compassion, respect, kindness, and humility. 

At times everyone can make a mistake, as long as they can sense right from wrong. Morality is an individual’s, largely intuitive and emotional, sense of how they should treat others.  This sense eventually promotes rational thinking, unbiased judgement and helps boost self-confidence. Distinguishing right from wrong helps everyone to stay positive even in difficult situations and allows children to channel their energies in the right direction.

Hopefully, our Rippers moral compass helps them stay off the negative influence of peers, social media, or society in general, as they grow into teens or adults. From early childhood to adulthood, moral development undergoes continuous evolution through our work at school and your support and guidance.

CLASS PLACEMENTS 2023

Recently we sent a COMPASS notification detailing the process our school undertakes when creating harmonious classroom learning communities. Families are welcome to put forward considerations for class placements. These requests must pertain to a child's educational or well-being needs, not a preference for a particular teacher.

Please note that this year, we have wiped our system of all previous requests and will do our best to accommodate however, the complexity of trying to meet every request is simply not possible. Our students are very resilient and with your support will successfully transition into next year's level and further build successful and trusting relationships with their peers and new teachers. All requests must be emailed to the school or directly to Mrs Rose. 

NAPLAN RESULTS - CONGRATULATIONS TO YEAR 3 & YEAR 5 STUDENTS

Whilst NAPLAN is only one piece of data our school uses to track and monitor student progress over time, it is an essential tool used by our school to measure the effectiveness of our instructional practices and to address any areas requiring improvement. Therefore with the release of the latest results, we can celebrate the achievement of all students. 

We can proudly acknowledge:

YEAR 3 

Reading – 77% of students are in the top 2 bands of NAPLAN 

Writing – 48% of students are in the top 2 bands of NAPLAN. Whilst we have seen improvements, the last two years have impacted our younger writers, especially the difficulties of writing in a remote environment and not putting many pens to paper with increased stamina. 

Numeracy – 40% of students are in the top 2 bands of NAPLAN. We have seen inconsistent results over the years, hence our focus on numeracy in the current Strategic Plan. 

YEAR 5

Reading – 75% of students are in the top 2 bands in NAPLAN

Writing – 48% of students are in the top 2 bands in NAPLAN

Given the substantial work in writing over the years, it’s so pleasing to see our Year 5 students achieve such great results and increasing our school's mean over the years. 

Year 5 Numeracy – 28% of students are in the top 2 bands in NAPLAN with 66% in the middle bands, so we need to challenge these students further. 

INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING

Inquiry-based learning is an approach that emphasises the student’s role in the learning process. Rather than the teacher telling students what they need to know, students are encouraged to explore the concepts, ask questions, and share ideas. Inquiry-based learning uses different approaches to learning, including small-group discussion and guided learning. Instead of memorising facts and information, students learn by doing. This allows them to build knowledge through exploration, experience, and discussion.

The benefits of such learning include:

• Enhances learning experiences for students 

Sitting in a classroom listening and taking notes isn’t always the most effective (or fun) way to learn. Rather than memorising facts from the teacher, inquiry-based learning enhances the learning process by letting students explore concepts for themselves.

• Teaches skills needed for all areas of learning 

As they explore, students build critical thinking and communication skills. The cognitive skills that students develop can be used to improve knowledge and understanding in every curriculum area, as well as in day-to-day life.

• Fosters curiosity in students 

Allowing them to solve problems by exploring, investigating, analyzing, and asking more questions. The role of the teacher is mainly to guide the students’ activities and discussions, prompt them to dig deeper, and direct them to relevant resources.

As well as deepens students’ understanding, allows students to take ownership of their learning, increases engagement with the material and creates a love of learning. 

Inquiry-based learning is designed to teach students a love of learning. When students are able to engage with the material in their way, not only are they able to gain a deeper understanding—they can develop a passion for exploration and learning.

The Year 5/6 Sustainable Market Day, Shark Tank and the upcoming Year 1/2 Robot Showcase (Thursday@2pm) are prime examples of such learning, integrating all subject areas within a particular unit of inquiry. 

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE DAY - MARK YOUR CALENDARS MONDAY 14 NOVEMBER

The Department of Education and Training has provided schools with the opportunity to nominate a day for all teachers to undertake their allocatedProfessional Practice Day. These days provide teachers with release from their scheduled duties to focus on the improved delivery of high-quality teaching and learning. 

The staff have nominated Monday 14th November to ensure they have adequate time to undertake assessments, focus on reporting and begin planning for 2023. This day is NOT a Curriculum Day, but students will NOT be attending school. Our School Council approved this date at the last meeting.

This year Monday 31st October (the day before Cup Day) will NOT be a Curriculum Day. We've already had four Curriculum Days this year.  On this day we do have Art Therapy classes scheduled as well as the start of the Year 3/4 Intensive Swimming program. Please ensure your child attends school on this day. 

THANKS FROM THE BOOK FAIR 

As part of last month’s Book Week festivities, we hosted another Book Fair in our school library to celebrate the magic of reading. There were plenty of great titles to choose from and many of our students snapped up some bargains on offer in the way of books and stationery items.

In total, we made nearly $2,350 in sales which means a healthy commission is passed onto RPS. We will choose to use at least part of this commission as Scholastic Rewards credits which will be added to the rewards we get every time an order is placed with the Scholastic Book Club.

Yes – that’s right, these great purchases also support the school! Scholastic has long been a publisher and distributor of educational resources and our reward credits have helped us buy lots of great learning supplies for our classrooms such as engaging texts for our classroom libraries, decodable books to assist our beginning readers, and even some great Maths manipulatives for hands-on learning.

As well as thanking our fabulous customers, it is with great gratitude that we thank our brilliant volunteers who made the event happen: Mel and Otis; Lee and Reid; Rohgina, Ryan and Sofie; Vicki, Julie, Antonia, Lydia, Natalie and Jess. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO OUR FAMILIES CELEBRATING ROSH HASHANAH

Rosh Hashanah simply put means 'beginning of the year' and will be commemorated in late September as it marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year. At sunset, families and friends gather to pray and then eat the traditional honey and apples, which symbolize the hope for a sweet new year.

Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of the world and marks the beginning of the Days of Awe, a 10-day period of introspection and repentance that culminates in the Yom Kippur holiday, also known as the Day of Atonement. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the two “High Holy Days” in the Jewish religion.

YEAR 3/4 KINDER READING PROGRAM

One of the most enjoyable activities for the Year 3/4 team and students is when we start Kinder Reading Time. Four-year-old children from Ripponlea Kindergarten join our students straight after lunch, twice a week to share a book, model the reading and build connections. 

It is a highly anticipated event undertaken with great enthusiasm by all. In essence, this is two communities coming together as one.  

This activity supports transition into ‘Big School’ for the little ones and the friendships between the two age groups are enduring and fondly remembered. 

Enjoy the photos of this great activity! 

Year 3/4 Team

On a final note, we wanted to acknowledge our families for supporting our little school in a multitude of ways and for keeping unwell children at home, allowing other students and teachers to keep teaching, learning and remaining as healthy as possible. In speaking with other local schools our vigilance in all health and safety matters has been unwavering and has resulted so far in a very smooth year onsite. 

Our staff appreciate the respectful, affirming and encouraging relationship they have with each family. This continual support also allows our teachers to focus on each student and help support them to strive to achieve their best with their academic learning, social skills, school spirit and a sense of service to others. We want to acknowledge our staff for their positivity throughout some very challenging times as educators and hope that next term as we celebrate 'World Teachers Day', we can all show our gratitude. 

FOR NOW, WE ALL NEED A LITTLE OF THIS!  

See you all next term!

Natalie Rose             &                        Marta Campbell 

             Principal                                    Acting  Assistant Principal