Principal's Report

Thanks and Well Done

Shantelle Stimson stepped into the Acting Assistant Principal role 4 weeks ago and today is her final day. During this time, Shantelle managed many aspects of the role, including student and staff management, attending and running a range of meetings, strategic planning and work, being a good role model for all and generally adding a calm presence to the school. I’d like to thank Shantelle for her efforts over this time and hope she has enjoyed her time in the role.

Mitch Harris will be returning on Monday, after his placement at Melrose Primary School, as part of the Academy’s Leadership program. I am sure he will have many insights to share with us from his time away.

Stop Work Action - Tuesday 24th March

Currently, due to the lack of staff on site this day, Year 11 and 12 students are asked to not attend school on Tuesday, but study from home. Year 7 – 10 students are still expected at school.

Striking teachers won’t leave specific work for their students, so revision, catch up work, reading ahead and creating topic summaries are always worthwhile.

Further information will be shared as plans are determined, with the final plans being decided and shared by 2pm on Monday, at the latest.

Please keep your eye on your emails and Compass for the latest information.

Toilet Works Update

A handover meeting is scheduled for Tuesday and everyone is hoping this will be the end of this saga. 

Right from the start of this year, when the works weren’t completed to schedule, I have been aware of, and understood, the concerns that have been raised by many families, students and staff. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and if I had known that we would have been left this long without facilities, I would have insisted that one set of toilet blocks be made available at all times.

The container toilets, put in to replace the portaloos have been a better solution. I would have preferred these in the first place. However, this project has always been led by the Department, and so what I have been able to request, and do towards getting this project finished has always been minimal.

I’d like to thank the students and staff for making the best of this bad situation and doing so with good grace. I’d also like to thank Kelly for her assistance with the project, as there have been a number of tasks that have fallen to us to follow up on/work out, which the project managers hadn’t bothered to do.

NAPLAN

The testing period is drawing to a close and I would like to thank the Year 7 and 9 students for their efforts in these tests. All students put in a great effort and remained on task throughout the tests. I’d like to especially mention the Year 9s for their patience and kindness to each other in the testing space, and for being quiet while others continued to work on their tests.

Conferences

Make sure you have this date in your diary! 

Conferences (formerly Parent Teacher Interviews) are being held on Tuesday 31st March, from 4 – 7pm. This time provides families an opportunity to meet with their child’s teachers and discuss their child’s learning. 10 minute meetings are available and the booking for these meetings will be open in Compass from today. If you have any problems booking, please contact the office for assistance. Students are asked to participate in these discussions.

It can be hard to book a time with all teachers, so if you have questions, or want to discuss your child’s progress, please contact the teacher directly at school.

Progress Reports

The End of Term 1 Progress Reports will be available on Compass today. These reports are completed in Weeks 4 and 8 of each term and help to monitor student learning habits in class. All students should be able to achieve working at a level of 3, the expected level. In the End of Term Progress Reports, a fifth behaviour is assessed, being Home Study Habits. This assesses students’ habits relating to homework being completed and submitted on time. A copy of the Progress Reports matrix, which students are being assessed against will be attached to the Compass post when they are available.