Preston Primary Posts

Principal's Report

Welcome to Term 3. I hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing break. Hopefully with the break both our students and staff were able to rest up and recuperate from all of the illnesses we had at the end of last term. Please remember school is not the place for sick children. 

Writing Competition 

Last term some of our year 1, 2 and 3 students entered the Kids News, Short Stories competition. We were thrilled to learn that Finn CL from grade 2 won the K-2 competition. Adeline S from grade 2 won a highly commended award and Gillian GR from grade 1 and Rosie M from grade 2 were shortlisted. Congratulations to each of them. 

 

If you would like to read Finn and Adeline’s stories I have included the link to them: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e-mBu1jUFEy-_O_Eu5Rs3Q4DgsmWeR5a/view

Comedy Night 

Last Friday we held our annual comedy night. It was good to have so many members of our school community come along to enjoy a fantastic evening. 

 

Huge thanks to our wonderful Jason Sofra for once again organising such a great event for our parent and friends. Due to Jason’s connections in the comedian fraternity, we were able to get four very well-known comedians Nath Valvo, Geraldine Hickey, Tom Siegert and Adam Rozenbachs. They were all very entertaining and definitely very funny! 

 

We were also fortunate to have staff members who assisted with preparation or helped on the night, setting up and packing up and working behind the bar. Thanks to Jason Sofra, Ben Crellin, Dale Adams and Joanna Bright. Thanks also to Fabian Harcus who organised the ticket sales. 

Staffing 

This term we have a few members of staff taking various types of leave throughout the term. 

  • Renee Molinaro, Grade 3, 15.07.24 - 11.09.24       
  • Ada D'Angelo, Aide, 15.07.24 - 21.08.24       
  • Katia Aloia. Grade 5, 5.07.24 - 02.08.24       
  • Marnie Bardon, Grade 6, 17.07.24 - 21.07.24       
  • Mary Kalogianis, Grade 3, 26.08.24 - 20.09.24      
  • Camilla Bell, Grade 6, 26.08.24 - 20.09.24      
  • Gayle Dart, Grade 5, 4.09.24 - 20.09.24        
  • Julia Mutis, Tutor, 13.09.24 - 20.09.24      
  • Deana  Parzinkas, Aide,  19.08.24 - 09.10.24

Semester 1 Reports 

The Semester 1 Reports and Assessment Portfolios were sent home last week with the students. Hopefully everyone returned the portfolio when they attended the 3 Way conference on Monday. If you have not returned your child’s portfolio, please do so by the end of the week.

3 Way Conferences 

Thank you to all of the families who attended the 3 Way Conferences on Monday. If you did not attend, please ensure that you contact your child’s teacher to make alternative arrangements.

 

Thanks also to the families who were able to keep their children at home on Monday. This allows us to run the day in the way we do. Your support is greatly appreciated.  

NAPLAN 

We have received the Year 3 and 5 individual student NAPLAN results. The reports which include an explanation page were sent home with each child who did the tests. This is now the second year that the results have been reported in a different format. Students have been marked in a band that reflects their results. There are four bands, exceeding, strong, developing and needs additional assistance.  

 

At this stage there is no comparison between our data and the state or national data. 

If any parent has any concerns about their child’s results, please contact your child’s teacher. It is important to remember that the NAPLAN test is only one of the assessments the students complete throughout the year. 

Cyber Safety 

Cyber safety creates ongoing concern for all of us as new things are constantly emerging. We believe it is important for parents to be aware of the dangers many of the innocent games and programs children use can present. 

 

We have organised a Digital Safety and Wellbeing presentation for all parents to attend. 

 

The session which will be held on Tuesday August 20th 7-8.30pm will be facilitated by Evolve Education. 

 

We have also organised for Senior Constable Andrew Moreton, who is a community liaison police officer, to run some sessions with our year 3 to 6 students. 

 

These sessions will be held during school time on Wednesday September 18. 

 

Both Evolve Education and Senior Constable Andrew Moreton come highly recommended by other schools in our area. 

Cost of Living 

As we are all aware the increasing cost of living is having an effect on more and more families. As a school we are very aware and are trying our best to keep the costs of events to a minimum, however the cost of admission into many venues and the cost of buses is making it very difficult. 

 

It is our intention that every student will attend all incursions and excursions. If at any time the cost of the event would impact your family finances, please let us know. You can call or email myself, Dale Adams or Fabian Harcus. We are very aware that parents do not want to disappoint their children so they will go to any lengths to find the money to pay for events. 

 

If you can’t afford to pay you will still need to give permission for your child to attend on Compass. We cannot let any child attend an event without parent permission. 

 

Regards 

Janet Paterson

Principal