Greetings from Shaun

FETE DAY 2024

I am absolutely thrilled to share the amazing success story of our beloved Northcote Primary School Fete! Our fete has blossomed into an extraordinary celebration of joy, creativity, and community spirit, making it a highlight for the whole community. This year it was made even more special by helping us kick off our 150th Anniversary celebrations. 

With colourful stalls, historical exhibits, exciting rides and games, and delicious treats, our fete is a true showcase of the talents and creativity within our school community. But our fete isn't just about having fun; it's also about making a positive impact. Through our fundraising efforts, we've been able to support some really important school projects and provide much needed resources for classrooms. It's incredible to see how our small individual efforts and working together can make such a big difference!

The success of our fete wouldn't have been possible without the support and dedication of our amazing volunteers, teachers, parents, and students. Each one of you has played a crucial role in making our fete a resounding success, and we are incredibly grateful for your hard work and enthusiasm.

I know we have acknowledged these two amazing people before, but I would like to take this opportunity to again thank Sam Richardson and Lucy Sinclair for the blood, sweat and tears that they both put in to coordinating this year’s fete. Thank-you both so very much.

Athletics Day

What a fantastic day filled with laughter, team spirit, and incredible athleticism at our recent Athletics Carnival! The Coburg Athletics track was buzzing with excitement as students showcased their athletic prowess and cheered on their houses and their peers.

From sprinting to long jump, every event was met with enthusiasm and determination, highlighting the true spirit of sportsmanship. We witnessed amazing displays of skill, perseverance, and teamwork throughout the day. A big round of applause to all participants for their hard work and effort!

But once again, let's not forget the invaluable support from our teachers, staff, and parent volunteers whose efforts made this event possible. A particular shout out to Dale for his work in coordinating another successful carnival. 

VICTORIAN CURRICULUM 2.0 MATHS

As mentioned in our last edition, the Victorian Curriculum is undergoing revisions, beginning with Maths. Two key changes are:

1. The content is now organised into 6 strands -Number, Algebra, Measurement, Space, Statistics and Probability, where previously content was structured into 3 dual strands and 13 sub-strands

This change improves the sequencing of key concepts and makes it easier to track the progression of learning in these strands. It also opens up more opportunities for teachers to make links across different areas of mathematics. 

2. There is a stronger emphasis on the proficiencies of Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving and Reasoning.

• fluency - number fact knowledge and the ability to carry out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently, and appropriately.
• reasoning – explaining thinking and justifying strategies used, transferring learning from one context to another.
• understanding – the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of mathematics and using concrete materials, pictures, tables, diagrams, and equations to show this.
• problem solving – the ability to identify what a question is asking, choose the most efficient strategy, try it, check and rethink if needed, and verify whether the answer is reasonable.

The proficiencies are fundamental to learning mathematics and working mathematically. They highlight the importance of students having a deep understanding of mathematical concepts, skills and knowledge.  

This week our teachers spent a professional learning session unpacking the new curriculum in the areas of Additive (addition & subtraction) and Multiplicative (multiplication & division) thinking, as these will be major number unit’s next term. During this week all teams had a planning day for Term 2, where they worked collaboratively to plan out the teaching and learning program across all areas of the curriculum.

Next term we will have further updates on the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 and how that will relate to student reporting.

NAPLAN 

This week we completed our final NAPLAN test – Numeracy, as well as some catch up tests. Overall, the testing period ran very smoothly, and our students are to be congratulated for their effort, focus and resilience during this time. A big thank you to all our teachers and parents for helping to prepare and support students through the testing window. Individual student reports will be available later in the year; we will let you know when we have further information regarding dates. 

Take Care,

Shaun.