From the Principal's Desk

Welcome to our first edition iNewsletter for Term 4. With so much that has happened already and yet more still to come it is no surprise to anyone I am sure when I say that time is really flying by. Term 4 for schools is notoriously an extremely busy term with many exciting events and celebrations to still come whilst preparing and planning for much of 2024. In addition our teachers are working really hard to complete assessments and begin to write semester 2 reports as well. 

I would like to bring your attention to the photo I have included above and mention that we had installed a third flag pole so that we could respectfully fly all three flags that represent the many people of our great country. Inclusion and belonging is a really important part of my work as a school leader and to have those flags proudly on display is really important to me. In addition, the many conversations I have had with students since they were hoisted as been amazing with some students curious about our Torres Strait Islander flag which opens up lovely conversations and learning.

Reflections on Term 4 so far...

Camp Howqua:

The theme of the camp that took place this term for our Year 5/6s was definitely team work and going beyond your comfort zone. Our students represented our school superbly and took on the many challenges that an outdoor education camp brings, which is really what camps are all about! 

I would like to really acknowledge the staff that attended the camp and left their own families for 3 nights/ 4 days. They all have families and young children to coordinate as well so this is often not easy to do and we appreciate that they went with our students so that they could experience a fun camp.

Prep-2 Athletics- Landy Field:

What a fabulous day our Prep-2 children had at our athletics event last week. Apart from the really warm weather that although lovely, we were all slightly acclimatised to which likely contributed to the many tired and worn out children arriving back at school, with some taking a sneaky nap on the bus! Acknowledgement for the coordination of this goes to our sport teacher Mikhala who really made sure it was a smooth and streamlined process for our students and staff. It was a great day had by all.

Our Year 1/2 students have also had a busy week, now participating in their intensive swimming program! The theme for our juniors this term most definitely has been fitness and movement!

Concert preparation:

Our students are in full swing preparing for our end of term concert at the Arena. A reminder to families to save the date- the evening of Tuesday 28th November with more details to continue to roll through from school. From what I've seen so far, the performances are going to be amazing with many old school hits I'm sure will take you back to your childhood. Thanks to Mr Smith who has been coordinating the dances with all staff supporting this work.

School review:

Our whole school review began this week with a large panel of people supporting us with taking a look at how our school has operated over the last strategic period of 4 years. Part of this work as I have previously mentioned will be asking for family feedback with our school reviewer Kim and Senior Education Improvement Leader- Brendan running a session for this to occur. I will send more explicit details about this opportunity however the date set aside for this will be Wednesday 8th November. Please keep an eye out for a Compass message about this if you are interested in taking part.

2024 Planning:

Over the coming weeks, our teachers will be looking at creating class lists for 2024 and whilst this is often a complicated puzzle to achieve in schools, I always like to inform families of the process at school. Staff will give students the opportunity to identify friends, peers or trusted people they would like as options to be in their new class and whilst the list is never something we can 100% guarantee, capturing student voice here is really important and will be taken into account.

If there are specific pieces of information that you would like me to know about prior to this work taking place, please email me. I ask families to please remember that I can't take specific requests for teachers, especially as I am still finalising the staffing profile, however there may be specific things you need me know or be aware of and I am happy for this communication to be passed on.

Prep Transition:

Our amazing Prep team have been working on a really extensive transition program for our 2024 Preps that began a few weeks ago and has really be based on a strong connection between the school and the Moriac Pre-school.

We do however have our formal Prep transition sessions which will commence in late November and finish with a parent information session for families as well. Please see the dates below for those families with students due to start in Prep in 2024.

BYOD iPad Program:

For those families with students who will be going into Year 3 in 2024, I am finalising some key documentation for our BYOD (bring your own device) program which we run in Year 3-6 classes. As we operate as an iPad school, for those families who have children who are yet to have their own iPad at home, it is a good time to think about this as it is an expense that at this time of the year is often something to plan and think about. I will send communication to the relevant families about this in the next few weeks.

Have a great weekend and thanks for your ongoing support of our lovely school!