From Our School Leaders

NAPLAN 2023  - We Are Very Proud!

Our students' achievements in NAPLAN this year are terrific! 

Our Year 3 students have excelled in Reading, Writing and Mathematics, and our Year 5 students have held their own in all areas. The results for Year 3s are outstanding and are a confirmation that we are making headway as we work to improve outcomes for our students, while improving our teaching practices. 

Progress and change is difficult to measure in teaching, and NAPLAN results are one measure. We know it's one test on one day, and not always an indicator for an individual child, but overall it gives schools information on their performance, particularly when you are changing programs or teaching practices. We have implemented new programs and approaches in Reading and Maths, and we are now embarking on Writing. 

Congratulations also extends to our amazing, passionate, wonderful staff at SPS! Results like these come from hard work and dedication. It’s what we get out of bed for, each and every day.  The results have pushed us up to the top of the scale in terms of our Knox network schools in Year 3 Reading and Year 3 Maths; we are very close with Year 3 Writing as well. 

NAPLAN 2023 booklets are being scanned and added to COMPASS, and parent copies will be coming home to families of students in Years 3 and 5 this week. We only get one official booklet per child. If another copy is required for separated families, please contact Raelene in the office and she will arrange for one to be sent. raelene.davis@education.vic.gov.au

Well done to our Year 3 and Year 5 NAPLAN students. We are very proud of you all! 

The Fathering Project

Have you registered for our first Fathering Project event tomorrow night?

 A virtual TRIVIA NIGHT!

Friday 28th August, 5.30-6.30pm

(QR code sign up later in newsletter)

We encourage all students to sign up with their fathering figure – dads, grandfathers, uncles, older brothers or family friends all are welcome. It will run from 5.30 – 6.30pm. 

To sign up for the event, see the flyer later in the newsletter,  and the link will be emailed to you prior to the event. 

We look forward to seeing many of our families online tomorrow night.

Attendance

We have been monitoring attendance for a while now and some families are working hard to improve their children’s attendance, which is fabulous. 

On Mondays we are noticing a few attendance patterns of either Monday absence, or Monday lateness, occurring with the same children. We appreciate that Monday mornings are hard to get up and going, so here are a few little tips that may be of assistance. 

Getting little things organised on Sunday night may help make the Monday morning routine a bit easier.

• Have the school uniform laid out ready to go in the morning
• Make lunches the night before so there’s no rush in the morning
• Go to bed a bit earlier on Sunday night 

Also remember to celebrate the small changes that you are able to make in getting to school more often or one time. Any improvement in attendance is a step in the right direction. School refusal can happen quite quickly. 

School attendance is a great indicator of success for future years. If you are having issues with attendance and would like assistance, please see your child’s teacher or our school leaders.  We can also reach out to regional staff for help. All kids deserve an education. Regular school attendance is the start of a good education.

Life Education

Life Education visited Scoresby PS last week, and all classes attended a session. Life Education offers children information about a healthy lifestyle, and the program is delivered at an age-appropriate level. 

Sharon, the Life Ed educator, told staff that the main idea behind each Life Education lesson is to open up conversations within families about healthy lifestyles. Eating, exercising and what’s safe to put into your bodies (re. smoking and alcohol), were the main topics for our students. Our children are not always in control of these areas in their lives, and the sessions provide the students with broad, general information. Most children wrote a simple healthy goal during their Life Ed session and four were shared at assembly on Friday. Harold the Health Giraffe from Life Education also came to visit us on Friday. 

Enrolment

Ten children have enrolled into Scoresby Primary school since the beginning of Term 3, and it’s lovely to welcome them to our school community. 

The process for enrolling into school for Foundation students has changed; as previously mentioned, the Department of Education has brought in timelines. Foundation enrolments for 2024 should be finalised by Friday 28th July (tomorrow). This doesn't mean that we can’t take any further enrolments, but it does mean, if you are intending to enrol here in Foundation 2024, you need to do so as soon as possible. 

The new enrolment process involves a round of offers for Foundation places in early August, and then an appeals process, just like the Year 6-7 transition process. The new enrolment policy is mostly for larger schools who need to ensure they are accommodating all children within their school zone, before they are taking children out of zone. 

SUE HARTLEY AND NICOLE RHEUMER

Scoresby Primary School Leaders