What a start to the year we have had; it is hard to believe that we are already 3 weeks into Term 1!

Over the last 3 weeks, I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know students, seeing families in the school and watching some of the outstanding activities taking place in the classrooms! This will be a continuing focus for me over the next few weeks, and I’m aiming to invite any families that would like to come in for an informal chat and get to know a few more people before the end of this term; once dates and details are confirmed, this will be sent out via dojo and MGM.

Before getting into a few important messages, I’d also like to acknowledge the excellent behaviour modelled by many of our students so early in the year, and would like to thank both students, families and staff for making me feel so welcomed in the school community!

School Board Expression of Interest

Last year, the tenure of some of our Board members expired, and some have moved away from Marangaroo PS. As such, I am inviting expressions of interest to fill some of the positions; dependent on the amount of interest, an election may be required later in the term. Rather than providing oversight and management of the school, The Board provides a link between the school, families and community members and can be consulted before introducing policy that may impact the school community. If you are interested in this, I am more than happy to make a time to discuss this in more detail, before you put your name down. Once expressions of interest are closed, and the current board members have reviewed how many new members are required, I will contact those interested. Please note, anyone seeking election to the School Board is required to undergo a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check before being nominated. If you are interested, please complete this short form: https://forms.office.com/r/dRu1k5gFqL

Student Update Forms

In the next 2 weeks, a student update form will be making it’s way home with students. Please can you review all of the information on this and let us know of any changes. This is an important part of ensuring that we can maintain accurate contact information and any changes to healthcare requirements. If you have any questions about this, please contact the front office.

Year 5/6 Swimming Lessons

Unfortunately, we made the difficult decision to postpone the Swimming lessons for our Year 5 and Year 6 student that were due to take place this week, due to concerns around the temperature and conditions at the beach. These lessons will now be included when the rest of the school goes in Term 2. A credit will be allocated to those who have paid for the cancelled lessons. Should you wish to discuss this, please contact Mrs Cross, Mrs Prunty or Mrs Smith in the office.

Public School Review

In Western Australia, every Independant Public School is obligated to take part in the Public School Review Process. This year, Marangaroo PS is due to take part in this partway through Term 2 (early June). As part of this, we may seek community feedback and perceptions through surveys, and some families may be contacted to see if they are interested in speaking with the School Review Team. The Public School Review will comprise of a Director and a Principal. This process is very transparent and reflective, and the review team focus on validating the information put forward by the school. Having been involved in this process several times previously, I am looking forward to sharing this information with the reviewers and telling them the story of Marangaroo, both where it has been, and where I see the school going in the future. As this information comes together, I hope to share some of these directions with you in future newsletters.

Positive Behavior Support

At Marangaroo PS, we are currently on a journey to becoming a Positive Behaviour Support School. This involves staff explicitly teaching the behaviours that are expected in classrooms, at playtimes and in the community. You may notice a bit of a shift in language to focus on the positive rather than the negative and using praise to highlight those expected behaviours.

Each week, a new behaviour will be targeted, and we have a committee of staff currently identifying a timeline of how this looks. An overview of this will be communicated to families once complete; we are hoping to begin explicitly teaching some of these late in Term 1.

I look forward to seeing you around the school over the next few weeks, and please feel free to drop in to the office or catch me around the school to introduce yourself!

Mr Tom Bagnall

Principal

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