Principal's Message

Small Habits, Big Impact: The Importance of Reading at Home

As we move through the middle of Term Two, I wanted to take a moment to talk about something simple that has a powerful impact on student learning: Reading at home.

One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is helping them to develop a love of reading. While our staff work incredibly hard each day to build students’ reading skills at school, small moments of reading at home can make a huge difference to confidence, vocabulary, comprehension and overall success across all areas of learning.

Importantly, reading at home doesn’t need to feel like homework. Ten minutes curled up with a book, taking turns reading pages, listening to an audiobook in the car, reading a recipe together or talking about a story before bed all count.

Even for older children who are independent readers, continuing to read together and talk about books remains incredibly valuable.

Some simple ways families can support reading at home:

• Read together for 10 minutes each day

• Ask open questions (“What surprised you?” “What do you think will happen next?”)

• Let children choose books that interest them

• Model reading yourself

• Celebrate effort rather than perfection

Children become stronger readers not just through learning to read, but through growing up in homes and communities where reading is valued.

Thank you for the many ways you continue to support learning at home.

Preparing for School Review – Reflecting on Growth and Looking Forward

As we prepare for our upcoming School Review, our staff have been spending time reflecting deeply on the last four years of learning, growth and improvement at Launching Place Primary School.

A School Review is an important opportunity for schools to pause and ask: What impact are we having? What has worked well? Where do we want to go next? It involves analysing a wide range of evidence including student learning data, wellbeing information and feedback from students, families and staff.

As we have explored our data, some really encouraging patterns have emerged.

One of the strongest stories is the growth we are seeing in student achievement, particularly in Reading and Numeracy. Recent NAPLAN data shows significant improvement, with our Year 5 students achieving results well above our original strategic targets in these areas. These outcomes reflect the consistent work of staff and students and the strong partnership we share with families around learning.

We are also seeing evidence that students feel increasingly supported and challenged in their learning. Student survey data shows strong growth in areas such as teacher care, confidence as learners and differentiated learning, suggesting students are experiencing classrooms where they feel known, supported and appropriately stretched.

Interestingly, our data also reminds us that improvement is rarely perfectly linear. While many areas have shown substantial growth, there are some patterns that are helping shape our next steps. Writing growth remains an area we are keen to strengthen further, alongside continuing to increase student motivation, perseverance and engagement in learning. Parent feedback has also highlighted opportunities for us to continue improving communication and strengthening partnerships between home and school.

Another encouraging pattern has been the growth in staff collaboration and professional learning culture. Staff survey data indicates strong gains in instructional leadership, collaboration and professional learning practices across the school, reinforcing our belief that when adults continue learning, students benefit.

School review is not about reaching a finish line, rather it is about understanding our impact and identifying what comes next.

Thank you to our staff, students and families for the role you continue to play in making Launch such a special place to learn and grow.

Learning Beyond the Classroom – P–2 Excursion to Cranbourne Botanic Gardens

In May I had the pleasure of joining our Prep–2 students and staff on their excursion to Cranbourne Botanic Gardens and what a beautiful day it was.

The experience provided students with the opportunity to step beyond the classroom and immerse themselves in nature through exploration, observation and hands-on learning. There was something incredibly special about watching our students slow down, notice details, ask thoughtful questions and connect with the environment around them.

Experiences like these remind us that learning happens everywhere. We saw students demonstrating curiosity, collaboration and outstanding learning behaviours throughout the day.

A special thank you to the staff and parent helpers who supported the excursion and to the Nurtured by Nature Access Program for helping make opportunities like this possible for schools and students.

If you ever have the chance to visit Cranbourne Botanic Gardens as a family – I highly recommend it!

Looking Ahead

• Reports continue to be prepared across the school

• Semester One reflections and celebrations coming soon

• Thank you for supporting strong attendance and learning routines as we move into the second half of term

• Keep an eye on Compass for upcoming dates and 'Fortnight at a Glance' announcements

Warm regards,

Virtual Tour

See you around our place,

Laura Caddy

Principal