Principal Reflections

From the Principals - Alison & Pete

Semester Two Academic Reports

Our Semester 2 academic reports are now live on Compass. Please take the time to thoroughly read these reports with your children to highlight and celebrate with them their areas of strength and success, and also areas for growth, as identified by their teachers. If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact your class teacher. 

Presentation Night

Tuesday night was such an enjoyable celebration of the year we have had in 2023. We are so proud of the achievements of all our staff and students that we decided to share our presentation again here with you: 

We can hardly believe we have come to the end of the 2023 school year. As Co-Principals for this semester, it has been our privilege to continue the work following on from Dr Jake Madden’s time with us at St Edward’s. We thank him for the role he has played in leadership over the past 3 years, where the school has continued to excel and be recognised nationally for many achievements.

From the very beginning, our mantra has been to ensure we have created a supportive learning environment where all members of our school community feel a strong sense of belonging, and are encouraged to be the best versions of themselves. 

This year has provided us with some wonderful opportunities to do that as well as some challenging moments. However, together as one school community we have tackled these obstacles and in the process had some amazing successes and memorable moments. 

Some key things to celebrate include:

• The special moments we shared celebrating First Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation. St Edward’s is proud of our Catholic identity and we continue to endeavour to be a strong community of faith where the love of God is present in the work that we do.
• We have continued to embed a rich uninterrupted English block, focusing on ensuring our students were given the best opportunity to achieve success with their learning. This has led to over 73% of our students achieving at or beyond their grade appropriate benchmark level in reading and comprehension.
• The CSO Mathematics Improvement initiative engaged our staff in Professional Development based on high-impact strategies to improve the learning experiences for our students in Mathematics. As a school we have successfully differentiated the curriculum by introducing fluid groupings based on assessment.
• Increasing engagement and positive feedback from the implementation of our Three way Learning Conferences in terms 1 and 3.
• A marvellous Book fair, Book Week parade, Grandparents, Mother's and Father's Day celebrations. 
• Our talented students in the sporting arena have demonstrated great success at the many gala days, athletics and swimming events. Our community understands the importance and benefits of students being involved in team sports and we look forward to continuing these opportunities in the years to come. Big thanks to Natasha Gippel for coordinating the many events across our school. This is often a thankless job, particularly when organising and reorganising teams and resources. So again we thank you. 
• This year our NAIDOC Celebrations were phenomenal. As just demonstrated in our Welcome to Country, we have such a talented and dedicated group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educators at our school and their work continues to excite us and strengthen our community connections. 
• and finally Kinder 2023 parent workshops, transition and orientation program led by Mrs Sheridan were outstanding and have certainly set our new Kindergarten students and parents up for success.

We also made sure we spent time upgrading and improving our school facilities which comprised of:

• New picnic tables for both the infants and primary campus
• Updating our Year 5 and 6 learning spaces
• Expanding Esteem Kids, our before and after school care facility to the primary campus
• We have also started the process of updating our school uniform for students, so they will be more sun safe and comfortable when they are learning and being active whilst at school. 
• Finally, and some would say most importantly, the installation of footy posts and upgraded basketball rings at the primary campus.

Of course, the year that was, didn’t just happen because of us as Co Principals - it happened due to a strong culture of “teamwork” which involved some very key people who we wish to acknowledge in our final address as Co Principals.

Firstly our thanks goes to our Leadership Team for 2023 consisting of Mrs Amanda Sheridan, Mrs Sally Clarke, Mr Andrew Millman and Mrs Natasha Gippel. We take great pride in always working as a team, often with some robust conversations, as you would expect when you put a group of capable passionate educators together, and this leadership team has been exceptional in getting on with the right work. Thanks to each of you for your contribution to our school life this year and for the positive impact you have made in your individual roles. 

The school and parish connection is very important and this year we have had the pleasure of working with Fr Paul and more recently Fr Roel and members of the Parish Community. We would like to thank the parish for their support of our work at St. Edward’s School throughout 2023. We would also like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of Fr Paul  and Fr Roel and our REC Sal Clarke for their work to prepare the Sacramental Programs and school celebrations. We look forward to continuing to nourish the partnership between our parish and school.

We have also been very well supported as a school community by the Catholic School Office but in particular, our School Performance Leader Mr John O’Connor, whose guidance, advice and support have been invaluable and Mrs Heidi Hardaker who is not only a dedicated parent but also highly effective in her Diocesan Sports role. We look forward to continuing to work in close collaboration with the CSO in 2024.

To all our fantastic teaching staff and educational assistants. Your dedication to this very important yet demanding profession is exemplary. Our teachers and EA’s are so important and we thank you all so very much for the amazing work you do in the classrooms that lead to our children developing a love of learning. Thank you, Thank you Thank you!.

To our amazing Office Team - Ange, Mandy, Sue, Mel, Robyn and Hannah, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making us look good. Your friendly faces are the first faces visitors see in our school and you have been so welcoming and reassuring from day one. We truly appreciate the hard work and support you all provide for our staff, students  and families. Your sense of humour coupled with your professionalism, and timely email reminders, have been valued by both of us. 

And how could we forget our fantastic canteen ladies Nikki and Emma. Thank you for keeping us all fed and nourished and for going above and beyond to facilitate our canteen. Your work is appreciated.  

Our grounds continue to ooze perfection thanks to the relentless work of our groundsman Chris Cartan. When we walk prospective students and parents around our school it is very rare for them not to comment positively on our outdoor play areas.

Also we would like to take this opportunity to thank all members of our parent community, especially our hard working P and F team. 

A school community can only fully embrace the spirit of community when parents, carers, staff and students are all working together and equally invested in the education of our young people. Research has proven when parents and carers engage in their child’s learning and support the work being done in the school, children flourish and the overall outcome for a child is far greater. We encourage our Parents and Carers to always feel welcome to engage with the work being done here at St Eddie’s and to continue to work with our wonderful staff for the most positive outcomes for your children.

And finally, the most important thank you of all. Thank you to our beautiful students here at St Edward’s Primary School. What a blessing it has been to be your Principals in 2023. The way you have greeted us each day with a smile and a cheery good morning, even when it felt extra hard. Thank you for always turning up, ready to learn and ready to improve. Please always remember that good manners and kindness always get you noticed and neither of these cost a cent!

To our outgoing Year 6 class…. We look forward to formally addressing you and saying more at your Year 6 Graduation Dinner next week. However for now, thank you for leading our school through this  year with smiles and perseverance, and for setting a positive example for the rest of our students. We wish you all well as you embark on the next phase of your educational journey at your respective High Schools. May God Bless you all.

We are very proud of all that we have achieved as Co Principals this year and the experience we have gained from this tenure. We know that St. Edward’s is on a very promising and positive cusp and will continue to flourish in 2024.

Thank you again everyone for your support of our wonderful school during the 2023 academic school year and we hope that you enjoy reflecting back on what a fantastic year it has been for everyone involved in the St Edward’s community as presented in our end of year publication (issued tonight).

We wish you all a happy and holy Christmas and New Year. Thank you!

We always welcome feedback from our school community. If you would like to share any comments, please complete our short survey:

Peace & Best Wishes.

 Keep smiling,

Alison Hatton and Pete Flynn