Scoresby PS Whole-school Newsletter

From Our School Leaders

Upgrade To Classrooms In The Main Building, Windows And Doors

We are very excited to say that our new windows and front door upgrade work will start on Monday 3rd September, with the front entrance being completed in the school holidays. 

  • Stage 1 - paint, carpet and windows

  • Stage 3 – paint and windows 

  • Stage 2 - paint, carpet, windows / new front door / windows admin

There will be a bit of disruption for the Year 3/4s as their classrooms are the starting point.

  • 3/4F will move to the library and work out of there for the remainder of the term.

  • 3/4H will move across to the collaborative space until the end of term. 

  • Excess furniture will be stored in the spare room of the collaborative space.

     

The 1/2s will move their classrooms into the hallway on the last day of term, ready for them to be re-carpeted and re-painted as well. We are very much looking forward to this long-awaited makeover. The administration area (Principal, Assistant Principal and Intervention Program offices) will also be shuffled on the last day of term, ready for new windows and the new front door. 

 

The oval side of the school will be closed for the last 3 weeks of term, while the work is being carried out to ensure safety for all.

 

Victorian High Ability Program

The Victorian High Ability Program (VHAP) branch, each term, sends offers for students to participate.  Students are externally chosen by Department of Education (DE) using an algorithm that is based on student achievement data to assess student ability and readiness to participate in the program. A combination of high NAPLAN scores and being one or more years ahead of their peers (based on teacher judgement data) indicates high ability. All of the course work is conducted online.

 

This term we have had James in Year 5 working on Reading with the VHAP, and next term we have 4 students in the VHAP - Hayden (Year 5), Amir (Year 5) and Dante (Year 6) working on Maths, and Harmony (Year 6) working on English.

 

We are so proud of our students' achievements; it’s lovely to see them recognised by DE as well.

 

Book Week Celebrations 

Book Week celebrates all that we want children to do – find a life-long love of reading. Whether it’s picture books, fiction books, non-fiction books, magazines, newspapers, even graphic novels, it’s a terrific thing to be able to read and be transported into the movie you create in your head while happily reading.

 

Reading a wide variety of material is vital for our young people as they start to explore what they like or don’t like in written form. Over their educational journey, they will be introduced to many forms of literature, and this will help them gain understanding beyond their world and help them form views and opinions about many topics. 

 

The annual Book Fair and parade were well supported by our SPS community, and a highlight for us every year is the books that are read aloud over Webex at lunch eating time to the whole school. 

 

Big thanks to Alison Lancashire and Jenny Clarke for their work this year with Book Week and the Book Fair. 

 

Please see the Book Week section of this newsletter for a complete wrap-up of Book Week at SPS, complete with photos.

 

Parent Opinion Survey

WE WANT OUR PARENTS / CAREGIVERS / GUARDIANS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK! 

 

Scoresby Primary School  is conducting the annual Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey offered by the Department of Education and is seeking your feedback. The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. The survey is optional, but we encourage and appreciate your participation. 

 

Our school will use the survey results to assist in identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies.

 

The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey will be open online from Monday 18th August to Friday 19th September 2025. 

 

All families are invited to participate in the survey. The invite was published on COMPASS last week to all families. 

 

There are 5 main areas that parents are asked to assess:

Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Community Engagement

  • Parent/caregiver/guardian participation and involvement: Schools have a strong connection to their parent/caregiver/guardian community and promote involvement

  • School communication: Parents’/caregivers’/guardians’ satisfaction of the school’s communication with them

  • Teacher communication: Parents/caregivers/guardians feel that teachers are approachable and communicate effectively with them

School Ethos and Environment

  • General satisfaction: Overall satisfaction with the school, its facilities, resources and extra-curricular activities

  • School improvement: Perception of the school’s efforts to continually improve

  • School pride and confidence: Parents/caregivers/guardians feel confident and trust that the school, and the Victorian Government more broadly, is achieving the best outcomes for their child

  • Physical Environment: Parents’/caregivers’/guardians’ perception that school facilities and grounds are well maintained and clean

Student Cognitive Engagement

  • High expectations for success: Teachers and students have high expectations for success

  • Student motivation and support: Students are supported and feel motivated by the ways they are learning

  • Stimulating learning environment: Parents/caregivers/guardians perceive that teachers create a conducive learning environment and make learning stimulating

  • Effective teaching: Parents’/caregivers’/guardians’ perceptions of the effectiveness and quality of teaching in the school

Student Development

  • Student agency and voice: Parents’/caregivers’/guardians’ perceptions of the opportunities for students to develop agency and voice

  • Confidence and resiliency skills: Parents’/caregivers’/guardians’ perceptions of the opportunities for students to develop confidence and resilience

Safety

  • Managing bullying: Parents/caregivers/guardians perceive the school handles bullying and harassment appropriately

  • Experience of bullying: Parents’/caregivers’/guardians’ perception about their child’s experience of bullying

  • Promoting positive behaviour: Parents’/caregivers’/guardians’ perception about the schools’ effective promotion of positive behaviour

  • Respect for diversity: Parents/caregivers/guardians perceive that people are treated fairly and diversity is respected

Connection and progression

  • School connectedness: Parents’/caregivers’/guardians’ perceptions about their child’s sense of belonging and connection to the school

  • Positive transitions: Students feel prepared for each year of schooling and for the pathway they will take next

 

We hope many can find the time to complete the anonymous survey.  It greatly helps us plan for the year ahead, and annually assesses the programs and processes we have in place.

 

New TV 

A big, new TV has been purchased for all events in the hall and assembly, with funds raised by our PFA. As many of you who attend assembly will know, the projector and speaker system that we have is very unreliable, and the quality of the picture is very dull. Our new big TV will display our homemade movies and slideshows perfectly.

 

Thank you to the school community for your generosity and support for our PFA fundraising events, and thanks to our PFA for their work. 

 

 

SUE HARTLEY AND NICOLE RHEUMER

Scoresby Primary School Leaders