Principal's News
Without upsetting the weather patterns, there is a distinct hint of spring in the air, the warm weather and happenings throughout the school have made for a busy and enjoyable fortnight.
By the time we publish our next newsletter, we will have hosted our CPS athletics carnival and our school production. My newsletter editions over recent weeks have ridden the bumps of the Women’s World Cup and the highs of Carlton’s resurgence. Whilst it was disappointing to see the Matilda’s lose their semi-final and 3rd place playoff, the impression that the tournament left on the country and indeed our school was a great highlight. There is plenty of soccer getting played at recess and lunchtime and our students look to replicate our Matilda’s. As for my football team, for the first time in 10 years, I am looking forward to having something to watch in September.
Please work your way around some of the highlights from the school over the last few weeks and some details and plans for the remainder of the term.
Naplan State Outcomes
Over the course of this week, the State benchmark achievements were released for Literacy and Numeracy for students in Year 3,5,7,9. The state of Victoria positioned itself with a very strong set of results. Of the 20 tests across year 3,5,7,9, Victoria ranked first or second in 16 of these tests when compared to other states and territories. This achievement base allowed the school to cross reference our outcomes against state averages with a pleasing piece of analysis to share.
| Exceeding or Strong %’s | Year 3 | Year 5 |
| Reading | 89% (19% above state) | 91% (14% above state) |
| Writing | 94% (16% above state) | 94% (19% above state) |
| Spelling | 78% (17% above state) | 94% (24% above state) |
| Numeracy | 89% (22% above state) | 94% (26% above state) |
| Grammar and Punctuation | 86% (30% above state) | 86% (22% above state) |
These results reflect a strong platform of achievement for our Year 3 and 5 students and a reflection of the consistent teaching and learning approach that is happening in each classroom. A great credit to the work of our wonderful staff.
Book Week
A great celebration of books and reading took over the school throughout the last few weeks, with author visits, our book parade and our book fair all providing students with a reminder of the importance literature and reading each and every day. Thank you to our families and parents that supported our students to celebrate book week with our book parade. It was great to have some sunshine, smiles and plenty of opportunities to share about our reading habits and our favourite books.
Father’s Day Stall
A special shout out to the Father’s, Grandfathers and carers in our school as we look ahead to next weekend. Happy Father’s Day. To mark this occasion, a special Father’s Day stall organised by our Parents and Friends Club will be held next Tuesday. Students are encouraged to purchase a small gift for Dad.
House Athletics
With the world athletics championships currently playing out in Budapest, more locally, we will look to celebrate our own achievements next Wednesday at our CPS Athletics Carnival. Miss Molloy has prepared a fun and engaging day on the track at Sandringham Athletics Club. The weather is looking promising and we are looking forward to a fun and active day on the track. Parent support and volunteers are welcomed, much like our school production, it is a big event that cannot occur without some kind voluntary support from our parents and families.
School Production
There is plenty of excitement as we draw closer to our school production of Peter Pan, thank you to families for confirming your ticket orders and streaming recording orders for the day. Okano sensei is putting such considerable effort into rehearsals and is getting wonderfully supported by all teaching staff, volunteers and families. We cannot wait to welcome families to our matinee and evening performances on the 6th September.
I am aware that the ticket restrictions do pose some challenges for families which may require an explanation. Based on the Department of Education’s Time in Lieu guidelines for all school staff, every teacher will be allocated a minimum of four hours of duty to support our production. This requires the school to cover absence, provide payment or make considerable adjustments to programs throughout the week to cater for the time in lieu allowances. If we were to offer the event over two nights, all staff would then require eight hours of time in lieu to offset attendance. This time becomes a real obstacle to having any continuity of teaching programs or alternatively, comes at a massive cost to the school, outside of budget. It is that reason, why we can only offer the event over one night and it is that reason why we have had to cap tickets per families to ensure that every family is able to attend on the night. We thank you for your understanding and we cannot wait to welcome you on Wednesday 6th September.
School Fete
Upon putting a full stop to our school production, we then launch into our school fete, advertising boards are to be installed in early September and our silent auction continues to receive significant support from sponsors and our local community.
ActivePaths
We are getting active on Monday morning to launch our ActivePaths program and calling on your support. Come meet our teachers and other families at one of the three identified locations and support our walking bus to celebrate the opening of our ActivePaths program. These three meeting points are all considered a 10-15min walk/ride/scoot to school and a great opportunity to begin the day with some physical activity.
- 8:15am – Teachers and families meet at start point of each path.
- 8:30am – Walk/ride into school along the paths together.
- 9:00am – ActivePaths Opening at Assembly.
Working Bee
With spring in the air, it seems like the perfect opportunity to complete a spring working bee. If we can call on any assistance next Saturday morning (2nd September) from 9 – 11am to undertake some maintenance and work around the school, it would be greatly appreciated. Basic tools and equipment will be provided and we cross fingers for some further sunshine and fine weather.
Dates for the Diary
We have secured an autumn booking for our 2024 swimming program to be delivered over 10 days at GESAC. This program will be delivered from the 19th April – 10th May for all students from Prep – Year 6.
I look forward to seeing you around the school or joining us on our Walk to School on Monday. I will be walking from Hawthorn Road, hopefully with my Blues scarf worn proudly.
Have a great weekend.
Edward Strain
Principal