Principal's News

Thanks to our wellbeing team for organising a wonderful RUOK? day on Friday 1st November. The muffins and fruit were delicious - enormous thanks to the Sofra family for their generous donation of all the fruit. The netball game was fun and it was great to stop and take the time to check in with each other. 

Thanks also to Frank and the magnificent PA team who co-ordinated a wonderful Bunnings BBQ last weekend taking over $2,900 on the day. Thanks to all those who were able to come along and help and to those who came along and bought a sausage.

2025 Organisation:

We are soon to organise our class structure, and assign teachers to classes for 2025. Once this is finalised, teachers will begin the process of organising class groupings for 2025. Teachers take a broad and balanced view when considering the needs of all students. It is our intention, as always, to provide well-balanced class groupings. To achieve this, we must consider the academic, emotional, social, and behavioural needs of all students. Teachers draw upon their collective knowledge of the students and professional expertise to arrange the classes.

Whilst we are aware of children's preferences and hopes to be alongside their best friends in their classrooms, we also need to consider ways to set up positive classroom dynamics that lead to optimal learning environments. This means that friends cannot always be placed together, as we focus on class time as learning time, and support children to optimise opportunities during recess and lunch breaks to connect with friends.

Whilst we acknowledge that parents have important insight into their individual child's wants, wishes and needs, we ask that parents refrain from making requests or sending messages about the placement of students for 2025 to classroom teachers and school leaders. As we work hard to deliver balanced classes that meet the needs of all children in our community, we are often unable to accommodate individual parent requests. (At times we receive requests that are in direct conflict with one another.) We therefore ask families to please understand the care and thought that goes into creating our classes and allow us to do this task to the best of our ability. It is never a perfect science, but on balance judgements need to be made that create the best possible learning environments for all.

We ask students to nominate 8 people they "work well with" when creating classes and we ensure that they get at least one of them. This is to emphasise to the students that the focus of class time is on learning and we encourage them to be discerning about using their class time wisely to maximise their learning potential - right from the youngest levels. All the students have opportunities to work with children other than their classmates in Maths and Literacy daily and in various other situations, such as on excursions, buddy days, special activity days etc, throughout the year. 

Whilst on occasion children can be initially disappointed with their class placement on orientation day, once the school year begins and they get into the class routine, the disappointment gives way to new learning and new opportunities with new classmates, where we often see new friendships blossom. Please allow your child to experience these very normal feelings and support them to work through the feelings in order that they understand that they have the ability to be strong, capable, resilient humans who have strategies to deal with everyday situations that may not at first seem preferable to them, but in time lead to positive outcomes.

If you feel there is an extenuating circumstance and need to have an issue of placement discussed, please make a time to come and see me before Friday 22nd November 2024.

Music Concert at St Mark's:

We are thrilled to invite you to join us at our End-of-Year Concert on Tuesday 10th December 2024, at St Marks Primary School. This special event will highlight the musical growth of our talented students as they perform alongside their peers, family and friends.  

Concert Details:

Date: Tuesday, 10 December 2024

P - Year 2 -11.30 am School Hall

Year 3 - 6 -12.30 pm School Hall 

Transitioning to Secondary School: