Principal's Report

The events and euphoria of the last few days has surely been engaging and inspiring. We have been delighted to commence the school year with a wonderful start and a full complement of Teaching and Education Support Staff.

School Culture and Values

From the moment our students return to school, we have an enduring focus upon our motto of Being Fair, Being Safe and Being Kind. This is fundamental to our culture and mores with a real focus upon this expectation by students, staff and parents from day one. Additionally, in each Class and Specialist area, teachers develop Classroom and Specialist Agreements that enshrine these expectations in a range of school contexts along with the values of honesty, responsibility, partnership, resilience, learning and respect. We are delighted about the progress these students have made in demonstrating and inculcating these values. At each year level, these are considered in view of child development and associated aptitudes.

Staffing and Organisational Matters for 2024

Whilst there has been great consistency from that reported late last year, there are some changes and further developments. This year we are delighted to welcome Mr Walter Boulton who joins us as our Physical Education and Sport teacher three days per week. Mr Boulton will work in the Physical Education and Sport area on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. On Mondays he will assume responsibility for Year 1/2M with Ms Sue Minshull assuming responsibility for the class Tuesdays to Fridays.

Late last year our School Nurse, Ms Karen Scanlin was successful in being appointed to a significant position at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Ravenshall. We will miss Ms Scanlin in this role and wish her very well as she embarks on a very different career path. As a result, Ms Shaina Webb will assume the First Aid role on Mondays to Fridays. Ms Webb is well equipped for this position and we look forward to her important contribution over the coming year.

Additionally, we are pleased to advise that Ms Leda Semercioglu will assist in the area of the Chatham Kitchen Garden. The focus at this early stage will be on students in Years 3 & 4. This will broadly occur on a Tuesday and we look forward to developing this area over the course of the school year.

Staffing Structure 2024:

Foundation Students for 2024

It was magnificent to enjoy the energy, vitality and enthusiasm of our Foundation students when they started on Wednesday 31st January. Thank you also to Daylan and Kate James who made their home available for the annual ‘Tears and Cheers’ session held with our new and existing parents that morning. It was wonderful to see the way in which these students immersed themselves so quickly in the life of the school. It was also lovely to meet up with many of our families at the Foundation Picnic on Thursday afternoon.  The area established for the Kitchen Garden makes a wonderful resource for such events. Thank you again to Ms Kirstie Briggs and Mr James Rampant for their assistance.

International Students from China

We are delighted to have these students visiting our school at this time.

These students are enrolled for a short period and done so, consistent with Department of Education policy requirements. Ms Judy Holland has gone to considerable lengths to provide support and effect these important arrangements for our school. Many of these students are relatively proficient with English. Their families value highly the experience of being at Chatham Primary School and being immersed into our culture.

There is enormous interest in our school from parents and families based in China. At this stage we are clearly considering the numbers of students we will enrol at this time. 

These are fee paying students who are at Chatham for two to four weeks. These students and their parents are highly respectful and have immersed themselves well into our classrooms and learning areas. The visiting parents and their children have received considerable induction about our school and its culture. We were all delighted when Ms Hannah Spivak, our Year 5 & 6 teacher, was able to extend a warm welcome to them in Mandarin and engage with them on Thursday morning. Despite being here for a short period, these students have delighted themselves by purchasing and wearing a Chatham Primary School uniform. Our Chatham students continue to enjoy engaging with these international students and we thank their parents for their ongoing acts of kindness and generosity.

We believe the immersion of these students into our school has wonderful benefits at a range of levels.

School Camps 2024

At the time of writing, we are preparing for the Year 5 & 6 Camp to Lakewood Park in East Gippsland. Due to changes in Industrial Agreements in schools, it is now becoming necessary for Principals and Assistant Principals to attend all school camps. Otherwise, it will be impossible to adequately resource School Camps or conduct them at all. Please be aware because we will be away from school for the week, there will be other staffing arrangements and personnel acting in these roles for the period. This is an exceptional camp and we are delighted that our Year 5 & 6 students have access to this great opportunity. Please be advised that Mr Peter Manning, Mr James Rampant, Mr Zac Barry, Mr Tim Clarke, Ms Catherine Townsend, Ms Hannah Spivak, Ms Georgie Kirwan, along with myself will be attending. 

Whilst the Principal and Assistant Principal are at the School Camp, the following arrangements will be in place:

Monday & Wednesday AM               Mr Zac Barry will assume management and stewardship of the school.      

Tuesday, Wednesday PM – Friday                 Ms Kirstie Briggs will assume management and stewardship of the school.

Please understand that in the main, we will not be responding to emails during the week at camp. The supervision and care of our Year 5 & 6 students and staff is of utter priority during this time. Nonetheless I will be in contact with Mr Barry and Ms Briggs along with other staff over the course of the week.

Please be advised that most schools are now not conducting School Camps or if so, with greatly reduced arrangements. Nevertheless, against the tide we are considering the possibility of a Camp for students in Years 3 & 4 later in the school year. Such events will be totally dependent on staff goodwill and preparedness to attend, and the capacity for the Principal and/or Assistant Principal to be available.

School Organisation

In the coming weeks there is so much that needs to be organised at this time. The events if confirmed will almost always be cited on the Chatham calendar on the Chatham website. Whilst this creates demands on families, it is important that information is obtained to assist and support your child. The following are key matters for the coming days:

• Start of year Student Permission Forms. On Tuesday 6th February you will receive a Compass communication requesting you complete a number of important permission forms for your child. These will include permissions for Electronic Platforms, Head Lice Inspections, ICT agreements and Class Representative details. 
• Year Level and Specialist’s Newsletters. Please note we hope to distribute these the week commencing Monday 11th February 2024.
• Parent-Teacher discussions. Please be advised that these are scheduled for Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th February. Information will be provided to parents in due course and again this information is on the Chatham calendar on the website.
• Swimming Carnivals – House and District. These tend to be organised with fairly late notice as their timing is very much beyond the control of the school. Once the timing of the District Swimming Carnival is established, we are then in a position to conduct our House Swimming Carnival. This event is scheduled for Tuesday 13th February 2024 at Bialik College, Hawthorn East.
• Parent Information sessions: These will be conducted at the following dates and times:

Foundation (Prep) - 4:00pm Monday 19th February 2024

Years 1 & 2 and Years 5 & 6 - 4:00pm Monday 26th February 2024

Years 3 & 4 - 4:00pm Tuesday 27th February 2024

Again, we very much encourage parents to attend if they are able to make these times.

There is so much to share and report about the developments at our school. We look forward to providing a School Newsletter each fortnight. These are generally placed on the Compass platform on Fridays and uploaded onto the school website.

Christopher Cotching

Principal