Leadership Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

How time has flown, as the calendar now flicks over to March, it seems as though February has just come and gone in a blink of an eye. Students are settling into classroom routines and are in the process of creating their 'Essential Agreement' in collaboration with their teachers. A vital and important part of the first term is the development of routines to assist in the creation of a safe and orderly learning environment. Students and teachers will have discussions in relation to our learner profiles and how they play a role in making this world a better place. This is also a topic worthy of a family discussion.

Parent Information Sessions

Thank you to all those families who attended our parent information sessions over the last couple of weeks. We have had an excellent response to these sessions and hopefully they have provided teachers and families with an opportunity to share information at an individual year level. Families have also been able to tour classrooms and ask questions related to student learning and school processes. We look forward to working closely with families throughout the year.

Nightly Reading

One of the best ways for students to improve their reading ability is to practise reading after school. Reading with your child at home and promoting independent reading will help your child in all areas of their learning. Research shows the importance of reading on a daily basis in developing students' use and understanding of vocabulary and increasing general knowledge. Reading will be part of students' weekly homework tasks. We encourage all students to read independently and to share reading material with family members. 

Sun Smart

Our school has a 'No Hat, No Play' policy from mid-August to April. This month, there have been a number of days where the temperature has exceeded 30 degrees and more hot weather has been forecast.  We would like to remind families of the importance of students bringing an appropriate school hat to school which can be worn during outside play sessions. We understand that this is often an item of school clothing that can be easily lost. Please ensure that hats are clearly labelled with the student's name. There is usually a collection of hats in our lost property collection near the front office. It is also a great idea for students to bring a water bottle in order to stay cool and hydrated. Please remind your child to apply sunscreen before leaving home and during the school day.

NAPLAN

Our school has been busy preparing for the upcoming NAPLAN assessments which will take place in Week 7, 8 or 9 this term. The Year Three, Five, Seven and Nine students have been working on some practise tests to familiarise them with the test structure and the types of questions they might encounter during the official testing days. We will very shortly have some demonstration videos available to families which will explain each type of test and how to navigate the online platform. We would also like to remind parents of the need to bring student devices to school to be configured if you have not already done so, as the NAPLAN will be conducted mostly in an online format. Please see the XUNO notification sent out, regarding assessment dates. 

Data Driven Planning

One of the primary objectives in our annual implementation plan for this year is to enhance teachers' ability to consistently and rigorously utilise data for informing teaching and learning. Teams have started utilising formative data and are crafting specific plans to enhance instructional practices and student achievement. The past four Wednesdays have been crucial for our prep team as they collected valuable data to gauge the readiness of their students entering their first year of schooling. Through deep discussions, we are now beginning to analyse and synthesise the results to identify overall trends and areas to target throughout 2024. 

Update on the Saltwater P-9 College New Build

As you may know, our college is embarking on building works this year. We are excited to share with you that Fieldwork Projects Pty Ltd and Brand Architects Pty Ltd, have been appointed to work on the upcoming upgrade and modernisation project at Saltwater P-9 College. 

The architects will work closely with our school and the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) to develop designs for our $37.321 million project. This project will give students broader learning opportunities and create places for an extra 400 local children.

Once these designs are endorsed by the school and approved by the VSBA and the Department of Education, our project will progress to the final stages of design development and then builder appointment, when we will share renders of the project with you.  Stay tuned for further updates to come.

Dogs in School - Not Allowed

We would like to remind all families that dogs are not permitted within the school grounds, unless given approval by the Principal. The exception to this policy is for dogs that assist people with disabilities, such as Therapy Dogs and/or Wellbeing Dogs. 

It is not permitted to tether a dog at the school boundary fence. Owners must remain with their dogs, outside the school boundaries, at all times. Owners are entirely responsible for the dog’s behaviour and for cleaning up any mess left by the dog. We appreciate your support with ensuring the school is a safe space for all students and families.

Saltwater College's Goals and Priorities for 2024

The leadership team have worked with our staff to define our goals in our Annual Implementation Plan (AIP). Our annual goals as outlined within the AIP, align with the School’s Strategic Plan (SSP), which guides the school's progress over a four-year period. 

Saltwater’s Annual Implementation Plan goals for 2024 are:

Priority Goal 1: In 2024 we will continue to focus on student learning - with an increased focus on numeracy - and student wellbeing through the 2024 Priorities Goal, a learning Key Improvement Strategy and a wellbeing Key Improvement Strategy.​​

Priority Goal 2: To improve student learning outcomes for every student in literacy and numeracy.​

Priority Goal 3: To improve student engagement and agency in learning.​

Our Key Improvement Strategies can be summarised within the visual below.

Kind Regards,

Saltwater Leadership Team