A message from the Principal

As we reach the end of another very full term, it is worth pausing to reflect on just how much has taken place across our school.

Term 3 has been busy, colourful and creative. We have celebrated Book Week with visiting authors, performances and our wonderful dress-up parade. Students have participated in excursions, incursions, sporting events, the GATEWAYS program, Indigenous Literacy Day, Footy Colours Day, our Sustainability Festival and, this week, two very special whole-school performing arts experiences. Our students have also been busily preparing for our upcoming Celebration of the Arts, which promises to be another wonderful showcase of their creativity and learning.

These events do not simply happen. They require an enormous amount of planning, communication and additional work from our staff. Throughout the term, teachers and Education Support staff have organised excursions, coordinated special events, prepared performances, created costumes and displays, supervised activities and provided students with experiences well beyond their regular classroom programs. They have done all of this while continuing the daily work of planning, teaching, assessing and supporting the individual learning and wellbeing needs of our students.

I would like to thank our staff for the energy, care and commitment they continue to bring to their work. They regularly go above and beyond to create the kind of rich and memorable primary school experience we want for every SKiPPS student.

Our parent and carer community has also made an extraordinary contribution this term. SKiPPA has continued to bring families together through events including the school disco and Fathers and Special Persons Day breakfast, while preparations are well underway for our upcoming Trivia Night. Our Walkathon was another tremendous success, with students showing great perseverance and families helping us reach our fundraising target through an incredible level of support and generosity.

Parents, carers and extended family members have volunteered at events, marked laps, handed out fruit and icy poles, helped with excursions, supported classroom activities, cared for our chickens and contributed in countless other ways. We are also deeply grateful for the remarkably generous donation from a SKiPPS family that made this week’s whole-school cultural experiences possible.

What makes this term particularly pleasing is that all this activity has taken place alongside very strong academic learning.

This term, we published the best NAPLAN results in our school’s history. SKiPPS students outperformed both Similar Schools and the Beachside Network across every assessed domain in Years 3 and 5. More than 90 per cent of our students were assessed as being on track in their learning, a result that reflects the sustained work of our students, staff and families over several years.

Our Student Attitudes to School Survey results were also very encouraging. Students reported positive experiences of their learning, teachers and school environment, continuing the strong improvement we have seen across a number of important measures over the past four years.

Together, these results show that we are finding a balance that is working. SKiPPS can be a school filled with music, stories, sport, art, celebrations, excursions and community events, while also maintaining calm classrooms, high expectations and a strong focus on learning. In fact, these parts of school life strengthen one another. Students learn best when they feel connected, supported and excited to be at school.

Thank you to our students, staff, families and volunteers for everything you have contributed throughout the term. 

We have much to be proud of, and I hope everyone enjoys a safe, restful and well-earned holiday break.

Neil Scott

Principal