Principal Update

Welcome to week 7. There are just over three weeks to go in Term 2 and with the upcoming Student Free Day and King’s Birthday long weekend, hopefully families and students can take some time for a mini break and be ready for the final part of our second term.

Student Free Day - Friday - REMINDER

This Friday 5 June will be a Student Free Day. Staff will be undertaking a range of professional development activities on the day. Our first session is reviewing and updating our English literacy assessment. Meg, our Speech Pathologist, who will be leading all staff on the implementation of DIEBELS across all year levels. DIEBELS is a literacy assessment tool which supports teachers to diagnose specific reading behaviours and concepts aligned to the Big 6 of reading. 

Our second session will be led by our Maths team, and we are deepening our knowledge of using retrieval practices in mathematics using daily reviews. These practices align to the VYLM 2.0 and the science of learning.

Our final session is exploring the VTLM 2.0 placemat Cultural Responsiveness. This sits within Enabling Learning and supports establishing safe and inclusive learning spaces in schools. As part of this session, staff will be completing the Human Rights Commission anti-racism online learning modules. 

Report Cards

Semester One Reports will be published via Compass on Friday 19 June. An electronic copy of your child’s report will be available for you to view online now and download as required from Compass. If you wish to receive a hard copy of the report, please contact your child’s class teacher. The reporting on students’ achievements for the semester is an important part of the assessment process and each child’s individual journey. We recommend families sharing the report with their child.  If you have any questions regarding your child’s report, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.

This semester, due to the recent AEU work bans, and following advice from the Department of Education, reports will only contain numerical values showing students’ achievement against the standard using a progression point. While reports will not contain any written comments linked to content descriptions or achievement standards, teachers have taught, assessed and moderated all students learning against the Victorian Curriculum. Below is an outline of the structure of the curriculum.

How we report against the Victorian Curriculum

The Victorian Curriculum F–10 comprises a sequentially-developed continuum of learning. This continuum of learning is expressed through a coherent set of achievement standards, with comprehensive and clear content descriptions that enable teachers to plan, monitor, assess and report on the learning achievement of every student.

Achievement standards and content descriptors are key components of the curriculum that work together to define learning expectations and guide teaching. Content descriptors guide teachers on what to teach, while achievement standards guide teachers on how to assess and evaluate student learning. In essence, content descriptors define the "what," while achievement standards define the "how well" or "quality" of learning.

What is the achievement standard?

Students are assessed against the achievement standard for each subject. Achievement standards are more general, describing the quality of learning at a broader level. They focus on what students should be able to do and understand at the end of a specific year or band of years. 

What are content descriptions? 

Content descriptors focus on what students should know and learn. Content descriptors provide the foundation for achievement standards by specifying the knowledge, understanding, and skills that students are expected to develop. They are more detailed, providing specific content points that guide teaching and learning.

STEAM Club – Print-A-Car Challenge

Students in STEAM Club are currently working extremely hard with Brody and Jack each week on their entries for the Quantum Victoria Print-A-Car Challenge. The project offers a comprehensive and engaging STEAM experience for students. It combines design thinking, teamwork, 3D printing technologies, and friendly competition to foster creativity, critical thinking, and a passion for STEAM education.

Students have a chance to test their creations against those of other teams. This aspect encourages students to refine their designs, optimize performance, and apply principles of physics and engineering to achieve the best results.

By participating in this challenge, students develop valuable skills that are essential for their future careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Class Splits

In previous newsletters I have discussed our process for splitting classes when we are unable to secure a Casual Relief Teacher (CRT) due to staff absence. Recently there have been occasions when we were unable to get a CRT. This meant we did a class split.  I would like to acknowledge teachers who are flexible and adaptable to ensure that for those classes who were split, we were able to do it across their year level and all students continued their curriculum program as planned.

Term 2 and 3 are traditionally terms when we see an increase in staff absence due to the cooler months. Coupled with staff leave entitlements and the ongoing staffing challenges in education we envisage that we will need to split classes at times as we head towards the end of term. 

We endeavour not to split year levels where there are only two classes. Fortunately, we have a few year levels with small class sizes which can be effectively merged and continue with their curriculum programs.

Off-site Evacuation Drill 

Each term we are required to undertake drills as part of our Emergency Management Plan. This term we have an off-site evacuation drill planned for Thursday 11 June prior to recess (weather depending). We will evacuate the site and meet at the offsite emergency evacuation point at Alphington Park. Students in the younger years will be notified of the evacuation drill prior as it is the first one for 2026.

Division Cross Country 

Today we have a team of 6 students progressing to the Banyule Division Cross Country at Banyule Flats. We have students representing us in a range of age categories. We want to acknowledge their efforts in finishing in the top 10 at District level and making it through to the Division level. We wish them all the very best. 

Have a great week!!

Shane Wilkie