Assistant Principals' Report

School Attendance

We continue to have a focus on increasing school attendance percentages. Regular school attendance is key to learning success and personal wellbeing growth. Coming to school every day has a range of benefits, including: 

• Improve Learning Outcomes: Attending school daily helps students keep up with lessons and maintain learning continuity. This leads to higher engagement, understanding and, therefore, better results. 
• Wellbeing & Social Skill Development: Consistent attendance helps students make and maintain friendships, work and play collaboratively, and build self-esteem and confidence. 
• Responsibility: Coming to school daily supports routines, time management, and personal accountability. This can assist in embedding essential routines for all stages of life.

Below is a summary of Whittlesea Primary School's 5-year attendance trends. 

For 2025, our attendance rate is 90.9%, which is very good. 

Let's work together to keep it as high as we can. 

If your children are away for any reason, please ensure that you enter this into Compass, which will then 'explain' the absence. If you are unsure how to do this, please call the office, and they will be able to do it for you or support you with the process. 

Learning Walk 

On Tuesday, some Department of Education Regional team members attended the school to complete a learning walk.  This observational practice is often used in schools to gather insights about teaching methods, work environments, or general performance. During a learning walk, the team and the school leadership team members moved through classrooms to observe how things were functioning, identify best practices, and offer constructive feedback. The focus is on understanding and improving the environment rather than making judgments. This collaborative approach helps promote continuous improvement and shared learning. I was so pleased that the feedback was overall very positive, which is a credit to all staff; Administration, Education Support and our Teachers. One piece of feedback that I would like to share is 'you could see how skilled the staff and leadership team are in dealing with students and their (complex) needs'.  The learning walk will lead to our school review, starting in week 1 of Term 2. We look forward to this opportunity as it will assist the school systems in continuing to improve and evolve.  

International Women's Day 

On March 8th, the world celebrates International Women’s Day, a global occasion to recognise women's achievements.  Women have made remarkable strides in leadership, education, science, and countless other fields. It is nice to celebrate the incredible contributions of women and, indeed, everyone as we commit to fostering an environment where all individuals have equal opportunities. Whether through supporting businesses, advocating for policies that promote equality, or simply acknowledging the extraordinary women who inspire us, each action helps pave the way for a brighter and more inclusive future.