Dear Clayton North Primary School Community,

Welcome back to Term 3! I trust that you had a great break and it's wonderful to see our children so happy to be back in familiar surroundings and engaging in their classroom routines! I would also like to welcome the many students and their families, who are joining the Clayton North community and wish you well during your time with us.

Parent Teacher Interviews

Thank you to all families who made time to meet with their child's teacher last week. These opportunities are an important aspect of parent partnership with the teacher and the school. This three-way partnership is critical for student success. Research shows that children whose parents are involved in their education, achieve better outcomes than those whose parents are not. If you were unable to make time last week, please follow up with the teacher. Staff will be very happy to provide feedback and offer suggestions and strategies for improvement.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN results for our Year 3 and 5 students were released last Monday 17 July. There are some changes to this year’s reporting. These are changes being introduced nationally by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

NAPLAN will continue to measure student achievement in numeracy, reading, writing, spelling, and grammar and punctuation, but the results will now be presented in 4 proficiency levels:

exceeding
strong
developing
needs additional support.

This change will give schools, parents and carers clearer information that details student achievement against new proficiency levels. Students’ NAPLAN reports will continue to show how they are tracking against their peers and provide an indication of their skill levels against national averages and where we would expect them to be in order to get the most out of schooling. This provides valuable information to teachers about how we can continue to support your child.

Each set of NAPLAN results is an important milestone but it’s also important that students know that one result does not define them – these results are about making sure every student gets the support they need so they can continue to get the best from their learning. Results were sent home with students last week, along with information about what the new proficiency levels mean.

Australian Catholic University’s, Jessica Holloway, an expert in educational data and accountability recently noted, “Conversations that parents have with their children about the results can really change the way that child thinks about themselves, not only in the immediate time but also for the future. Teachers are the ones who are on the ground. They’re the ones who know the students better than anybody. And they’re able to speak, really expertly, on the student’s progress and achievement level”. With that in mind, please speak to your child’s teacher with any questions about these changes or your child's results.

The NED Show

We were fortunate to have Bobby Avila present NED to our school community at Tuesday's assembly this week. It was clear from the children's responses, that they were completely enthralled by Bobby's flair for spinning the yo-yo! They were also captured by NED's journey and the messages that were highlighted at each of the stages:

Never give up, Encourage others, Do your best, the power of Yet.

We will continue to reinforce these messages at school and engage students in classroom activities that promote a positive mindset. A growth mindset can encourage a passion for learning and the ability to face new challenges with greater ease.

A yo-yo is both a mindset tool and a tangible reminder of NED's message. While learning to yo, children will make mistakes, try again, and improve. A variety of yo-yos and spinners are available for purchase at the school office until next Tuesday. Instructions on the yo-yos, adjusting the string, and the tricks that one can perform, are attached in the Community News section of this newsletter.

School Attendance - Every day counts

Missing school can have a major impact on a child’s future – a student missing one day a fortnight will miss four full weeks by the end of the year. By Year 10, they will have missed more than a year 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. From an early age, if children are taught that they need to ‘show up’ for school and make a commitment, this positive mentality aids academic and career success and benefits in adulthood. Please be mindful of your children having ‘casual days’ off from school.

2024 Enrolments

If you are enrolling a sibling or your child or know of a family seeking to enrol their child into Prep, in 2024, please step through the following information. Enrolments are currently open and we look forward to welcoming your child to our school community.

Contact our school to book a school tour or to learn more about our school and the enrolment application process.
Submit an enrolment application for Foundation (Prep) by Friday 28 July 2023.
You will be notified of the outcome of your application by Friday 11 August 2023. If you receive an offer of placement, you should contact our school to accept the offer by Friday 25 August 2023.
Take part in enrolment information and transition sessions during Term 4, 2023.
Your child will start Foundation (Prep) from Tuesday 30 January 2024.

Enrolment applications submitted after 28 July 2023 will be processed by our school as they are received, in accordance with the department’s Placement Policy.

Playground use after school

I want to highlight the importance of active adult supervision of young children using the equipment in playgrounds at the end of the school day. Please be vigilant, especially as toddlers can be drawn to the colourful equipment, which can result in falls and bruises if not closely supervised.

Sue Simadri

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