Principals' Update

On Monday 7 March, our Divisional swimming team competed at Watermarc in Greensborough. All the students who represented our school did so with great determination and enthusiasm. We had two students who placed but just missed out on the next stage: Louis Amad and Victor Webb, who both placed third in the backstroke and breaststroke events. Thank you to the parents who helped out on the day. Well done.

School Review

Later this month we formally begin our school strategic review. School reviews typically happen every four years, however our review, like many others, has been delayed a year due to COVID lockdowns. Although work on this began late last year, the three main review days are occurring in late March and early April. Parents and community members will be most interested in the second day of the review, the ‘fieldwork day’ as this is the opportunity for community members to meet with reviewers and panel members to discuss their ideas about the future direction of the school. An overview of the three days is included below with the dates attached.

Validation Day 23rd of March 2022

All school reviews begin with a Validation Day. On Validation Day the School Review Panel examines and tests the evidence and analysis presented in the school’s PRSE (Pre Review Self Evaluation Report). The Panel’s objective on Validation Day is to ensure the accuracy of the information in the PRSE Report. Panel members come to an agreed position on the school’s performance against the goals and targets in the School Strategic Plan. This includes the school’s placement on the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO) Continua with reference to the FISO dimensions, focusing on the six High-impact Improvement Initiatives.

The outcome of Validation Day is the Panel’s agreement about the school review’s duration, terms of reference (ToR) and methodology.

Field Work Day 29th March 2022

The field work day provides an opportunity for the reviewer and panel members to meet with students, staff members, and parents in focus group settings. This enables the reviewer to examine the data presented on the Validation Day within the context of the experiences of those community members, as the raw data will only ever tell part of the story.

Fieldwork days are led by the reviewer, or a team of reviewers, as independent members of the School Review Panel. Other members of the Panel will typically only be involved in the fieldwork that happens on the first and last days of the review. Where this fieldwork involves activities seeking and discussing opinions, such as focus groups, the principal or other leaders would generally not be involved.

This avoids any perceptions that their presence may have limited or restrained the full expression of participants’ views. For instance, if the methodology involves a focus group with teachers or school support staff, this would usually be led by the reviewers, or another external Panel member such as a challenge partner.

The reviewer will update other Panel members on their fieldwork findings and, as part of their work to substantiate evidence using multiple sources, will discuss relevant opinions with the principal and other Panel members.

Parents are encouraged to attend this day if they wish to contribute to the review process. More information about being involved in the fieldwork day will be sent shortly.

Final School Review Panel Meeting

On the final day of the review, the Panel comes together for the School Review Panel Meeting. The principal chairs the meeting and the reviewer assists as the facilitator of the process. Other core Panel members and challenge partners join this group. These Panel members are well-informed to test findings and arrive at recommendations, accelerating the decision-making process.

The core School Review Panel members are responsible for coming to valid, evidence-based decisions about the directions for the school’s improvement journey. The expected outcomes of the School Review Panel meeting are to reach an agreement about:

evidence-based findings against the terms of reference, focus questions
the extent to which the school has in place effective practices for the three domains of the instructional core: student voice, leadership and agency, curriculum content and teaching practice
the school’s proficiency levels against all 16 dimensions in the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO) Continua
the school’s performance against the School Strategic Plan, including highlights and challenges
priorities for the next School Strategic Plan: including goals, targets and key improvement strategies (KIS)

Based on the outcome of this day, a new strategic plan is created that will guide improvement in the school and the key actions for the next four years.

School Improvement Team Planning Day

On Monday the 7th of March, the School Improvement Team met to plan the inquiry focus for term 2 and to begin planning for the whole school review of the inquiry process. This review will be the focus of our pupil free curriculum day on the 4th May this year. Key in our discussion were the development of Indigenous learning perspectives within the various inquiry topics throughout the year. These discussions build on actions driven by the Reconciliation Action Team and they link to whole school initiatives that are already underway in our school, such as the Indigenous garden and the upcoming renaming of our school buildings.

Annual Report 2021

We are currently in the process of completing our annual report for 2021.The annual report is a yearly process that outlines the school’s performance in student learning, wellbeing, attendance and engagement as well as the school’s financial position. Once the report is completed, it will be presented to the school council for approval. Once approved the report will be attested by the school council president and sent to the department. Finally the report will be presented to the community and placed onto the school’s website for public viewing. We will keep you updated as to when the community presentation is due to take place.

Keith McNeill & Jane Bilby

SILs