Principal's Message

The ALPHA Show – Cinderella

Yesterday our whole school had the opportunity to enjoy the ‘Alpha Show presents Cinderella’. The show went for almost 90 minutes and included some pretty funny lines, songs and dance numbers. Our school has been enjoying the Alpha Show events for years; the thought being that it is lovely for our students to have the opportunity to see a production-like show. The characters are always in quite elaborate costumes, there is music, special lighting and a smoke machine. I don’t know if Cinderella was quite as impressive as The Hunchback of Notre Dame we saw last year, or Aladdin the year before but nevertheless it was a fun morning for our students. We hope they enjoyed it.

Student Support Group Meetings and Individual Education Plans

Next week sees the beginning of our Student Support Group Meetings for Term Two and hence the sharing of our students’ Individual Education Plans (IEPs). If your child currently has an IEP you can expect your child’s teacher to get in touch with you prior to the end of term to discuss their progress and share their new plan in preparation for Term Three. Typically students have IEPs if they are working 6 months below the expected standard with no growth, 12 months below the standard with growth, 18 months above the standard and require further extension, and/or students receiving support/adjustments in the classroom.

AEDC begins

Our school, along with thousands of others across the country, will participate in the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC).

The AEDC is a teacher-completed census (similar to a questionnaire) which provides a comprehensive picture of how children have developed by the time they start their first year of full-time school. The AEDC is an Australian Government Initiative and is completed nationally every three years.
Children don’t miss any class time while the AEDC is completed, and parents/carers don’t need to supply schools with any new information. The data collected through the AEDC is used by schools, communities and governments to better understand children and families’ needs, and identify the services, resources and support they need.
AEDC data is reported at a school, community, state/territory and national level. AEDC results for individual children are not reported and the AEDC is not used as an individual diagnostic tool. Some teachers have found that completing the AEDC made them more aware of the needs of individual children and their class, and that the data was useful for planning for transitions to Year 1 and developing programs.
Participation in the AEDC is voluntary, however the AEDC relies on all schools with children in their first year of full-time school participating in the collection. Parents/carers don’t need to take any action unless they choose not to include their children in the census.

To find out more about the AEDC and how it is being used to help children and families visit: www.aedc.gov.au.

If you have any questions, you can contact Laura Caddy on 5964 7783 or laura.caddy@education.vic.gov.au .

Camps

We are soon arriving at the fun time of the year where our camping program kicks off for 2024. Our Year 5/6 students will be departing for camp on the first day of Term Three to attend City CYC Camp. Consent and payment closes this Friday. Our Year 1/2 students will be sleeping over at Yarra Junction CYC on Tuesday August 6th and our Year ¾ students departing for Phillip Island Camp on Wednesday 21st August for a two night stay.

Just a reminder that if you are keen for your child to attend camp, but require some support with payment we do have some options available to support your child’s attendance. Please just send an email to laura.caddy@education.vic.gov.au or drop into the office for a chat. It is important to us that every child who wishes to attend has the opportunity.

Screen Time and Technology in the media

No doubt families have seen in the media some the craziness happening at secondary schools in regards to gender-based disrespect and the inappropriate use of technology/AI. Taking a school tour this week a family was explaining to me that they avoid the use of technology at home altogether, preferring for their children to spend more time playing. I know I saw on Sunrise last weekend a segment where they suggested that it is important for kids to experience being bored and that this being ‘bored’ then leads to some beneficial opportunities to engage in self guided play and hence learning. I know myself, certainly the TV and Bluey can provide a bit of welcome relief and time for my husband and I to cook dinner and tick off some household chores, whilst our four munchkins are kept busy. But perhaps the key is in having a balance. Whilst the screen time itself may not be damaging to the child if it is supervised and the content appropriate, what we do need to consider is what our children are not doing or experiencing if they are spending extended periods on screens. If antics at my house suggest anything this may look like negotiating play with siblings, sharing toys (mostly the pram with the unicorns on it) and learning how to communicate personal needs with other effectively. Whilst my littlies still have a while to go before there are mobile phones and social media to consider, I am certainly going to be putting off exposure to these things for as long as I can. Even once children are old enough to have access to social media and messaging it is so important to think about how best to provide parental supervision on these platforms. We do see the effects of a lack of parental supervision in some of the incidences we hear of or see the screen shots of at school. Consider:

How do you check that the way your children are conducting themselves online is appropriate and in line with your family values?
Does your child know who they can talk to if someone is treating them inappropriately online?
How much time is your child spending on devices and is this negatively impacting their physical/mental health, friendships or engagement with your family? How much time is too much time on devices for your child/ren?

We don’t pretend to have all the answers, however we are always happy to support families and chat through these issues and any of your particular concerns with your child’s use of technology. Just get in touch with myself or our Wellbeing Officers through the link below to discuss this or any other wellbeing issue: https://tinyurl.com/WELLBEINGLPPS

School Council

This coming Monday evening we have our second School Council meeting for this term. We currently have some vacant positions and would love to hear from any parents or community members who are keen to self-nominate and join. Meetings are twice per term and usually go for about 90 mins with a 7:00pm start. Contact the office if you are keen to know more.

Hut building

Well well well, you may have been lucky enough to see some of the extreme hut building that has been taking place around our school yard of late. With three groups of students working collaboratively to create some rather extravagant huts. How lucky we are to have a wide and open site with so many trees and natural bushland. This project has been student initiated with Miss Nyman assisting the groups to put some rules in place to ensure there is mutual respect and OHS standards are in place. Our students skills in negotiation, collaboration and creativity are impressive to be sure!

Parent Teacher Interviews

If you haven’t already please get into Compass and book in a time to meet with your child’s teacher regarding their Semester One Report and their learning progress. It is important to us that all families have a parent attend.

Virtual Tour

See you around our place,

Laura Caddy

Principal