Thank you to everyone and particularly to the P&C for once again supporting our students and school this term. It has been a busy term, with Term 4 shaping up to be busier still. Your support is very much appreciated and is integral to our success in providing an exceptional primary schooling experience for our young people. I also want to express my appreciation of the Ben Venue team, their professionalism and hard work everyday to improve the experience of our students and families. It is because of this wonderful team, that I feel comfortable in taking a period of leave to travel with my family. I will be away from Ben Venue in the first five weeks of next term, returning on Monday 13 November. I know Ben Venue will be in capable hands, with Lana Howlett relieving as Principal and Jeanenne Gale relieving as Deputy Principal.

Everyone at Ben Venue wishes our families a pleasant school holiday period and looks forward to welcoming students back to school on Monday 9 October.

Term 4 staffing changes

In addition to the temporary change noted above, next term we welcome Mr Zane Osborn as he commences his position as teacher of S3J and Stage 3 Assistant Principal. I wish to thank Mrs Jennine Wilson for the three terms over which she has taught S3J. Mrs Wilson will be working in our library in the first half of next term, allowing Mrs Gale to step into the Deputy's office. Thank you also to Mrs Clayton and Ms Divall for sharing leadership of Stage 3 in Terms 2 and 3.

Miss Anabelle Greene will not be returning to Ben Venue next term, as she will be completing her major practical placement as part of her initial teacher education. We thank her for her time with us and wish her the best on her prac.

Syllabus implementation

I am very pleased to acknowledge the success of the Kindergarten and Stage 1 teams in developing highly effective literacy blocks that align with the recently introduced K-2 English syllabus. Through thorough research into evidence-based approaches and subsequently adopting a combination of cued articulation, the Heggerty phonological/phonemic awareness program and InitaLit, our early years team has achieved exceptional results over recent years. One key benchmark is the Department of Education's Year 1 Phonics Screening Tests, on which our student performance data has been steadily improving, with Ben Venue outperforming the state average by an increasing margin each year. This success is due to the hard work, research and evidence-based explicit instruction of our K-2 teachers, their stage leaders and our Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction.

Teachers in Years 3-6 are currently working hard to adapt units of work that were released in the past fortnight for the 3-6 English and mathematics syllabuses. I am excited by the work being undertaken in Stages 2 and 3, and am optimistic that similar success will follow as these teams begin implementing the new English and mathematics syllabuses from 2024.

I want to acknowledge our Assistant Principals for their leadership of the new curriculum, and Elizabeth Wassman, our Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction, for her outstanding support of teachers as they plan for and implement the new syllabuses.

Last day for students in Term 4

There is no change for students, but we have rescheduled the school development days that would normally be held on 18 and 19 December to several twilight professional learning sessions throughout this year. The last day of the year for students will remain as Friday 15 December and Ben Venue will be non-operational from this date until the commencement of Term 1 2024.

Cam Pryce

Principal

Garden Club

A message from Richard Cotter