Principal's Ponderings
Reflections
This year is my fifth year at Loch Primary School and last week on Principal's Day I spent considerable time reflecting on the achievements of our school and the community which supports our precious children.
Our small school has undergone change in many spaces and our teaching team have worked tirelessly to build their skills and knowledge.
We undertook a school review and focused our school on developing a new vision and building a school with exceptional opportunities for students along with building teacher capacity to ensure outstanding learning experiences for our students.
Our learning spaces have expanded to include a Lorikeet Learning Room for intervention and support programs, a new classroom in the BER building, a brand new MOD 5 portable, a well resourced library and music space and a renovated art room. We have been lucky to be successful with grants for new library books, musical instruments, sports equipment & maths trolleys full of equipment. Formalised specialist classes have been included in student timetables with dedicated staff including: PE, Visual Art, Music & Performing Arts, Digital Technology, LOTE and Environmental Science. For a small school these offerings are wonderful opportunities for our students.
Our students enjoy a variety of camping experiences from Prep through to Year 6 and a range of incursion and excursions each year. Working with the Lions' Club and other schools in our local network students in Years 5 & 6 are trained in Peer Mediation and compete in sports.
Students have access to 90 notebook computers and a class set of ipads. Every classroom is equipped with an interactive TV and a telephone system has been installed across the school with access in every learning space.
The old stumps on the Pine Tree Hill were removed and cleared - we now have two calves happily grazing in the paddock (many thanks to the generosity of the Sherar family). The secret garden which was full of blackberries and overgrown undergrowth has been cleared (this has been helpful for seeing any slithery creatures in summer) and replanting is underway. We have enjoyed a number of successful working bees where our families have contributed to maintaining our gardens and grounds. New signage has been installed and our art teachers have created some beautiful features in our gardens: our community tree of hands, Indigenous totem poles, welcome sign & happiness rocks.
Our families have enjoyed successful annual events such as Family Fun Nights, Arts Showcases, Poets on Parade & Celebration Nights. Together we have celebrated the achievements of all of our students at our Swimming Carnivals, Athletics Carnivals, Lightning Premierships, Cross Country, Colour Fun Runs, Jump Rope for Heart & Footy Days. Many of our students have enjoyed success at Division, Regional and State competitions.
Our Admin offices have been refurbished and admin staffing has increased to cater for the growing enrolment of our school. COMPASS has been introduced and we now have a central system for all of our administration tasks and communication with parents. New processes and systems have been introduced to streamline administration. We introduced a new school logo and uniform. Our OHS practices have been reviewed and improved, our school has implemented Child Safety Standards, our Emergency Management plan has been reviewed and updated, a five year Maintenance Plan has been developed, our website is being re developed and our enrolment and transition processes have been improved. Performance and Development processes have been implemented and coaching and feedback systems across the school are being implemented.
Our Parents & Friends' Association have built a active team who provide a range of opportunities for students and families including: Mothers and Fathers day stalls and raffles, book fairs, hot lunches, meal tree, Loch foodies luncheons, fundraising activities, pie drive, Easter raffle, Christmas raffle, family fun night activities, lots of BBQ's, support to school events and lucky ducks. This group of parents have helped to build our positive culture and relationships at our school.
Our teachers have participated in a variety of outstanding professional learning experiences. They have been provided with exceptional opportunities for their own professional growth and been provided with time and resources to improve their knowledge and skills and classroom practice. Staff have been exposed to highly sought after presenters and educational leaders. The work and effort which has happened behind the scenes for this professional learning and shift in practice to occur is outstanding. I am particularly proud of the commitment of our teachers and their loyalty to our students, school and community. Change at this level takes determination, persistence and strong resilience to keep going even when change is hard.
We have introduced a formal learning support program which identifies and supports students at risk. We have a dedicated and experienced Learning Support teacher and fantastic Education Support staff who work with students. A large number of students have been referred for assessements and teachers have developed Individual Learning Plans and One Page Profiles. Funding applications have been submitted successfully and we have been able to employ extra integration aides to support students. We have introduced a Speech Therapy Assistance program for students and Education Support Staff have also participated in a range of professional learning activities. We participated in a trial with Melbourne University of assessment materials for identifying literacy and numeracy learning difficulties.
We have developed a positive reputation in our community for our child focused and inclusive approach to education. We have introduced 'Play is the Way' and teachers have successfully implemented Life Rafts, Games, 3R's and class meetings. We are a Respectful Relationships school and together with PITW, students and teachers have a focus on building social and emotional skills for our students to develop them into resilient and compassionate young people.
Our evidence based, explicit instruction pedagogy is informed by rigorous research and teachers have been implementing this approach with great success. The structure of the school day has been adjusted to include daily review and explicit instruction sessions in both literacy and maths.
Our school has attracted many new families and we have grown from 76 students to 130 students which is reflective of the efforts of our team.
and the quality of the education we provide our students.
Last week I was approached in the Loch Village by a member of the Loch community and congratulated on the work of our school and the change and improvement we have achieved. Later in the week, one of our parents stopped me and shared the positive reputation which has been created for our school and acknowledged the hard work which has gone into building our school. It certainly put a smile on my face to receive such lovely spontaneous feedback.
I was also visited by students and families last week and was thanked for my work and acknowledged on Principal's day which made me feel very special. Flowers, chocolates and kind messages in cards were on my desk in the morning and I did take a moment to enjoy special drinks with staff in the afternoon.
I am proud of our students, our teachers and staff and our community. It takes contributions from everyone to build an environment for our students which is focused on learning and accepting of everyone.
Evening Chat Time
with Ms King
Teachers have recently been engaged in reviewing assessment and reporting practices. Parents are invited to come along to an evening forum session and share their opinions and experiences about using COMPASS, accessing learning tasks and reading student reports. Parent feedback is valuable as our school works towards improving practices and processes.
Please RSVP via the school office to assist with catering.
Parent Opinion Survey
We are conducting the annual Parent Opinion Survey this week. Approximately 30% of parents will be invited to participate in this year's survey.
Individually addressed envelopes were sent home today. Please check your child's bag and access the survey link to complete the survey.
Loch Rally Race
What a fabulous idea from our Parents & Friends' Association; our major fundraiser for the year is the Loch Car Rally. This event promises to be family fun! Great activities and prizes have been organised by our awesome P&F!
Parent Teacher Student Conferences
Mid year conferences were well attended by parents and it was terrific to participate in many conversations which were focused on celebrating the achievements of students. There were discussions about academic and social skills and parents asked great questions.
I would like to remind families that teachers are available for discussions throughout each term and parents can call or make appointments at any time. I encourage parents to approach teachers if there are any concerns or issues which arise and not to wait until parent teacher conferences. All of our teachers take a proactive approach and work with parents to build positive home school relationships. Open and honest communication is important to identify and meet the needs of students. Many thanks to our parents who engage in the life of our school and are supportive of our programs, events and staff.
Parking and the
BUS ZONE
Our school bus is now using the staff car park for drop off and pick up. There is a zone marked and signage. At no times are cars to park in this zone. There is a disabled car park adjacent to the bus zone and all other parking bays are used by staff. Please do not use the staff car park to drop off your children even if you are running late for school.
It is hoped that the shire will remark and create a kiss and go zone at the front of the school very soon. I was recently advised of a parent claiming they would give the school office a piece of their mind due to the parking situation at the front of the school. Unfortunately the road and kerb side on Victoria Road cannot be changed by the school. The school, school council and parents have petitioned the shire to improve this space and safety for our children. I wish to emphasize that parents have a responsibility for their child's safety when crossing the road and accessing cars. I recommend that students are accompanied by their parents when crossing Victoria Road and that parents hold the hands of their children. Parking opposite the school and calling to children to run across the road is not safe. Children are to wait inside the school grounds until parents arrive to collect children.
Please remember that teachers are on duty from 8.45am in the morning and students should not be dropped off in the school grounds prior to this time. Teachers are also on duty until 3.45pm in the afternoons. Students still in the yard after this time will be brought inside to wait for parents where they can be supervised and kept safe. We currently have many students playing in the school grounds after school and I ask that students and parents head home by 3.45pm when teachers are no longer on duty. Play dates can continue at Sunny Side Park which is short stroll from school.
Prep Enrolment 2020
Planning for 2020 is currently underway and I encourage families who intend on enrolling their prep child at Loch Primary School to pop into the office and complete an enrolment form to secure a place. It is very important that we know about enrolment so we can make sure we have enough classrooms and teachers in place for the start of the year.
Family Bush Dance
This term all families are invited to join us for a family bush dance on Wednesday 11th September. Students will be participating in workshops during the day and the Billy Tea Bush Band will then host our family bush dance evening. We are looking forward to enjoying a fun filled night and hope to see everyone there.
Positive Affirmations
Ms Tracey King
Principal