Principal Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

I want to start this week by saying thank you. Thank you to all the grade 3 and grade 5 students who put maximum effort into completing their NAPLAN assessments. The assessments can be tricky, especially for grade 3 students who are still learning how to use a laptop. They all conducted themselves impeccably and managed to work through any technical issues with a smile. Well done. Thank you to their teachers for the preparation before this week and to Sam for his work in the background to make the week go smoothly for all. 

House Athletics Day 

Thank you to Charlotte Twentyman for running a fun and exciting house athletics for our students. A big task in your first term of teaching. Well-done. Thank you to Mel Layton for supporting Charlotte. This year due to Mental Health in Schools training (more to come on that) I was not able to attend. The feedback when I have asked students, staff, and volunteers was overwhelmingly positive. The child-safe changes made the tracking and monitoring of students at the track easier. I would like to thank the parents and carers who volunteered on the day (both trackside and in the canteen), and the staff who attended, who all embraced the changes with no fuss.

I would also like to thank Elyce Munnecke and Sam Younes for their skilled work in keeping the day running to schedule, even with the threat of rain and no power. 

I value the parents who have taken the time to share their feedback and offer their thoughts on improvements for the future. We will take this on-board and see if anything needs updating for 2026. 

Sharing information on how we have chosen to run our House Athletics, and the holistic purpose of the day might help clarify some of the questions we have had regarding placement ribbons. 

The aim of the day is for maximum participation, inclusion, and engagement, with all students contributing to points being awarded to their house through keeping active. House Athletics values the collective over the individual and is not designed to be competitive. 

Our events are not scored, timed or tracked. Only the 800m event leads to the district, therefore we time this event. Although the 800m is timed and places are allocated, we do not hand out ribbons. At the district sports, they do not hand out ribbons either. 

By not timing each child, placing student's 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st is difficult, due to the children not being graded across multiple heats. 

Through a prior teacher, we recorded events in 2020 and 2022 but found we did not have enough time to complete all events in one day. Each event took more time to organise and as a result we had less participation and engagement, although we did hand out ribbons. I acknowledge that some students like to receive ribbons, but for some students if they know they are not going to win they choose to opt out.  I would encourage families to investigate competitive participation in local athletics clubs.

Before 2020 and since 2022 we have had a focus on house points only and not ribbons.

Looking ahead we will continue to plan our House Athletics to ensure students are active throughout the day and each activity has some form of contribution to their house. 

For those students who would like a ribbon, we are able to share ribbons for our upcoming School Cross-Country event. The event is timed and students that place are able to receive a ribbon as the event is able to be graded.

Quantum 

The grade 56 students visited Quantum this term and participated in the activities that focused on first peoples and their challenges prior to colonisation through the lens of Minecraft, as well as learning about robotics. This is the second year we have been able to organise for all students to visit Quantum free of charge. Thank you to the grade 56 teachers for attending and to Kim Taylor for organising the event.

Mental Health in Primary Schools Initiative  

Every primary school has been supported to introduce a Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader. This year it is the turn of the Outer Eastern network to 'roll out' the training and structures related to this. Our MHWL will be Emily Murcott in 2025, supported by Alarna Creed who is the school Disability Inclusion facilitator. As school Principal, I was able to attend the training. It was warming to find that many of the things we do here to support students, staff, and families are being promoted as programs that other schools could explore. We feel well-placed to add even more in this area over the coming weeks, months, and years. 

Top Ten Numeracy 

Our big-ticket item this year for improving student outcomes is our whole school focus on mathematics. Teachers, ES, and students have embraced the partnership we have introduced with Top Ten Numeracy. Top Ten is a team of numeracy coaches who have banded together to help change math perceptions for children through 'hands-on' math lessons, activities, and professional learning for teachers/ES. We had our first professional learning sessions last year and have started this term teaching with a different approach. So far, the feedback is positive. Anything new or that changes practice can be tricky, and I appreciate the efforts of all students and staff who have been giving their all. I am confident we will see all students moving through school with a strong foundation in concrete, abstract, and conceptual knowledge of math's principals, as well as enjoying their learning in this area more than ever.

Thanks for a great two weeks.

Craig