Parent Opinion Survey And School Review

Every year, the Department of Education asks families for feedback about their children’s school. This survey provides schools with important information as we work to continually review and improve our practices. The more families who complete this survey, the more reliable and comprehensive the feedback is to schools.

The survey opened this week (individualised links sent out to families via COMPASS) and will be available to families for a month.

The Parent Opinion Survey is always confidential. It can be accessed online, on computers, smartphones or tablets, and takes about fifteen minutes to complete. Survey translations will be available in many community languages. We hope many of our families can take time to complete this year’s Parent Opinion Survey. Further details and a link to the survey can be found in the 2024 Parent Opinion Survey section of this newsletter.

School Production 2024

Our whole-school production is well under way. We are rehearsing weekly as a whole school, lunchtime practices are happening, and the performance date is fast approaching.

Olympics

Let the games begin! It’s Olympics time! The kids have been very excited about the event and talking all about their favourite olympians and the beautiful city of Paris. It’s a great time to be talking to our students about striving hard, going above and beyond expectations, and working towards a goal. Many olympians work for many months and years to get a spot on the Olympic team for their country, and then to get to the podium and receive a medal is such a huge honour and the epitome of success.

The Olympic Games every 4 years is a strong reminder to all of us to recognise the efforts of other countries and note that we are part of a huge global population (8.1 billion people as of 30th July 2024) and the many differences there are between us all. Race, wealth and ability are all on display at the Olympic Games. Some athletes train in massive well-equipped stadiums and training facilities, and others prepare in the best ways that they can.

We Belong is a value of the Olympic spirit, and we have a similar value in our school in Acceptance. We will be holding our own Mini Olympics tomorrow to commemorate the event, and in classrooms there are lots of activities and discussions about the fantastic Olympic Games (there’s so much Maths to be explored!).

Chaplaincy And Psychologists

This term we have 2 Chaplains, Sheridan Tate and Vicky Gibbs. Sheridan will be in on Fridays, as normal, and we have a new Chaplain working with us on Tuesdays, Vicky. Vicky is an experienced Chaplain and will be seeing small groups of children throughout her day here. If you would like your child to see either Vicki or Sheridan, please come and talk with your child's classroom teacher, or speak with Nic or Sue to get a referral form.

We also have 2 new psychologists working at SPS starting this term; Josie and Catherine will be on board. Josie, our provisional psych, is able to see students on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the process to see her is a referral form from Nic or Sue. If you wish your child to see Catherine, a registered psychologist, please chat with Nic or Sue, and a Mental Health Plan from your doctor is needed for this service, as it goes through Medicare. There are spaces available at the moment for both services.

Naplan 2024

Our NAPLAN results are in for 2024. We are very pleased to see many of our students receiving high NAPLAN scores, and reflecting the good learning that we see in the classrooms. It’s great to have their hard work pay off.

NAPLAN is one of the indicators that schools use to look for areas of improvement. We have had significant improvement in Year 3 Reading with more students in the 'Exceeding' band, and sound results in Numeracy outcomes for our Year 3 students as well. Our Year 5 students received good results in Literacy. This year we have met or exceeded the scores of similar schools – those schools with a similar size and socio-economic profile.

SPS staff are currently examining our 2024 NAPLAN results in School Improvement Team meetings, Level meetings and Leadership meetings, as we do each year. We look at individual student growth, and map out each student’s NAPLAN results and how we can address areas for improvement.

Families of students in Years 3 and 5 have had their results sent home with their child.

Rubbish In The Yard - A Huge Improvement, Thank You

A quick reminder that if your child brings a packet of food to school, it will need to be named if it is going outside in the yard for lunch or recess time (teachers are happy to name). This process is helping us keep our yard tidier, as the children feel more responsible for their rubbish, and they are taking more care about where they put it. A big thank you to our students; you are already making a difference to our environment.

Camp for Year 5/6

We wish our 5/6s all the best for a fun camp experience at Sovereign Hill, Ballarat next week. Camp is such a memorable event in a primary school journey. We are looking forward to seeing and hearing all about your adventures. A big thank you to Jordyn Whittington, who has led the organisation and preparation for this year’s camp. Also a BIG thank you to the 5/6 teachers and ES staff for making yourselves available to attend the camp as well. We appreciate it is time away from your families too.

Teeth On Wheels School Dental Program

SUE HARTLEY AND NICOLE RHEUMER

Scoresby Primary School Leaders

Playgroup News