From the Principal
What a positive and fun-packed couple of weeks we have had at Camelot Rise Primary School. We have had a whole school STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) Day, Book Week dress up, Foundation transition sessions, Year 6 camp, WESA Athletics Day and guest speakers Mike and Ben from Real Life Resilience
(Real Life Resilience) presenting to our Year 4, 5 and 6 students.
Coming up in the last weeks of term 3 we have our Father’s Day Pizza night, our second Foundation transition session, a pyjama day combined with our Bakers Delight Special Lunch Day and Footy Fever Day. More information about these events will be posted on Compass soon.
NAPLAN
At Camelot Rise Primary School we are always very proud of our NAPLAN results, and this year is no different. Our Year 3 and 5 students perform very well in these assessments compared with students in network and similar schools.
With assessments now taking place in March, Year 3 results are a reflection of the teaching that took place in Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2. Our Year 5 NAPLAN results reflect the learning that took place in Years 3 and 4. Unfortunately, it is difficult for us to reflect on the teaching and learning that takes place in Years 5 and 6 because secondary schools administer the assessments in Year 7 and receive the results.
So it was great to receive the email below from Chris Knight, Principal at Glen Waverley Secondary College, congratulating us on how well we prepare our students for secondary school and to see how our students have helped GWSC acheive such strong results.
Dear Matt,
I hope you are well. It’s been a while.
On behalf of Glen Waverley Secondary College, I would like to congratulate you and your staff.
As you know the NAPLAN assessments were conducted earlier this year and earlier than in previous years. The Glen Waverley Secondary College community celebrates the high achievement results of our year 7 and year 9 students.
We acknowledge in particular the year 7 results are more connected with the teaching and learning that occurred within each child’s primary school and therefore we want to congratulate your team for the wonderful teaching that has occurred at your school that has resulted in such strong results for these students.
I’m unable to provide you with the breakdown of the specifics of the students that have come from Camelot Rise Primary School, but as a cohort we had the following percentage of students within the Exceeding or Strong proficiency levels:
· Reading 88%
· Writing 87%
· Spelling 90%
· Grammar and Punctuation 85%
· Numeracy 92%
Note: there was approx. 2% of students exempt from each test.
Once again, well done on setting these students up for a successful future. We aim to build upon the great foundations that your school has set as we strive for improved student learning and wellbeing outcomes for all students.
Book Week
On Friday, 25th August we held out annual Book Week dress up day. The students and staff had a great day, with the assembly parade a highlight of the day. Students spent the day immersed and engaged in reading and reading activities. The discussion around books, favourite authors and characters was very exciting. As we mention regularly in our newsletters, instilling a love of reading and regular reading habits is one of the greatest gifts we can pass onto our young students, so celebrating this day was very important to us.
Students and teachers enjoyed dressing up as their favourite character and showcasing their costumes at assembly. Thank you to Miss Neary for organising the event and to the students, staff and parents for getting into the spirit of the day to make this such a great day.
Year 6 Camp
Our Year 6 students are currently on camp in Lorne. This is a 4-night surf camp with students and staff having surf lessons every day, as well as enjoying other outdoor activities in this beautiful part of Victoria. Students will learn about water safety and leadership while they are on camp.
We have already received lots of positive feedback about the camp and we are booking this camp again for 2024.
We would like to thank Wendy Yoong and Sharyn Newstead for all the hard work that went into organising this camp. We would also like to thank Wendy Yoong, Jo Hewett, Aggie Kurzak-Reeves, Maddy Richardson and Matt Coney for attending the camp. These camps do not go ahead without the staff who take time away from their families to ensure that our students have these wonderful opportunities.
Foundation Transition
We held our first transition session for our 2024 Foundation students on Friday, 11th August. This was a very exciting day for the students and their parents. Our next Foundation transition session is on Friday, 1st September. If you have a child who turns 5 before 1st May 2024, they are eligible to start school next year. Please contact the school office if you would like to enrol your child into school next year.
Father's Day Pizza Night
Next Thursday, 7th September we will hold our Father’s Day Pizza Night at school between 5:00 – 6:30pm in the school gym. This was a great community event last year, and we are excited about running it again. The evening runs between 5:00 – 6:30pm because we also have School Council on that night.
We are aware that this is the first day of the football finals and that the Pizza night and School Council could clash with the game. With the year 6 students and staff on school camp this week, and the end of term quickly approaching, we are unable to change the dates for these events.
We anticipate a great event. If you would like to order a pizza for the night and you haven’t already done so, please order through Compass Conteen ( information on how to order can be found on the related Newsfeed).
Orders close on Monday 4th September at 10:00am
Victorian Principals Conference
Matt and I were fortunate to attend the Victorian Principals Association conference on Wednesday, 23rd August – Friday, 25th August at the Pullman Hotel, Albert Park. There were many great speakers at the event, with a clear focus the future of education and how we can start to plan for it. All presenters were great and sparked great conversation and debate in the room; a particular highlight was a keynote delivered by Catriona Wallace titled AI & the Metaverse – the pivotal role of Principals. In this session our minds were opened to the exciting (and slightly scary) world of Artificial Intelligence and its potential impact on the education sector.
We are all the same and a little different
Last Monday, our year 4, 5 and 6 students attended a session run by Monash Council titled We are all the same and a little bit different. Mike and Ben were the 2 presenters on the day. The session was aimed at primary school children to help build an understanding of resilience and why it is important for mental health, wellbeing and dealing with challenging situations.
Mike and Ben are skilled presenters who had our students engaged from the very beginning. They have both overcome extreme personal adversity and now spend their time educating young people about the power of having the right mindset. The students and teachers had a great time during this session.
More information about Real Life Resilience and the two presenters can be found here: Real Life Resilience