From the Principal’s Desk

Dear Mitcham Primary School Community,

I hope this newsletter finds you well. I would like to share some updates from our recent School Council meeting held this past Tuesday evening.

Prior to the meeting, our Education Sub-Committee convened to review three of our core school policies: Attendance, Mobile Phones, and Yard Duty and Supervision Policies. Of particular note was the timely review of our Mobile Phone Policy. Recent observations have revealed that some students are not adhering to the mandatory requirement set by the State Government to surrender their mobile phones upon arrival and retrieve them at day's end. We kindly remind families of the importance of compliance with these regulations. Additionally, we stress the necessity of ensuring all SMART watches are switched to 'school mode' or handed in to the office where this adjustment is not possible.

During the School Council meeting, we also endorsed the 2023 Annual Report to the school community. This comprehensive report, once endorsed by the Department of Education, will be made available on our school website for your perusal.

PUPIL FREE DAY

Our curriculum/pupil free day on Friday 26th April was a valuable and productive day for the staff at Mitcham Primary School.

The day was dedicated to enhancing our educational practices, with a primary focus on refining our reporting format and equipping our staff with essential skills in developmental rubric writing.

Our staff finalised our new reporting format, which will be officially launched alongside the Semester 1 Student Reports. This initiative reflects our commitment to providing comprehensive and insightful feedback to both students and parents, fostering greater understanding and engagement in the learning process.

Additionally, we participated in professional learning, delving into the significance of developmental rubrics and honing our proficiency in crafting them effectively. This endeavour underscores our dedication to adopting best practices in assessment and evaluation, ensuring that our students receive meaningful feedback tailored to their individual learning journeys.

Education Support Staff engaged in professional learning on the topics of trauma and inclusion, delivered by the Department of Education Disability Coordinators.

Overall, the Curriculum Day proved to be an invaluable opportunity for professional development and collaboration, enhancing the quality of education we deliver at Mitcham Primary School.

RIVERSDALE NETWORK PRINCIPAL’S CONFERENCE APRIL 23 -24

On Tuesday 23rd and Wednesday 24th Kavita Parmar, Michelle Anderson and I all attended the Riversdale Principal Network Conference at Cape Schanck. This annual event sees Principals from schools across our Inner East network come together to hear from experts and scholars in education and school leadership.

Our Keynote speaker was Professor Pasi Sahlberg. Prof Sahlberg is a professor of educational leadership at Melbourne University whose previous work includes teaching and teacher education at the University of Helsinki, Director General at Finland's Ministry of Education, senior education specialist at the World Bank in Washington DC, and the European Commission in Torino, and visiting professor at Harvard University.

Professor Sahlberg worked with us across the whole first day and covered three broad concepts - the state of global education, the Australian education situation, and what can schools do to improve right now. His message was one of change with a focus on collaboration and collective autonomy, whole student and whole school approaches, and trust-based teacher professionalism. In Australia we need healthy relationships, agency and engagement, and deeper learning and wellbeing. He believes Australia has a world class education system - but not for everyone. There are inequities and significant differences, both between and within Australian schools.

In the evening we heard from social demographer Simon Kuestenmacher the founder of The Demographics Group. Simon discussed the issue of the nation-wide teacher shortage and other demographic challenges facing schools in the coming decades.

On the second day we had a session with the Victoria Academy of Teaching and Leadership focusing on the Victorian Leadership Development Framework. We discussed Virtuous Leadership and leaders who lead with a strong moral purpose.

We finished with a fabulous presentation from Chelsea Roffey. Chelsea is a speaker, author, researcher and Winston Churchill Fellow who examines barriers and opportunities for diversity. She pioneers the role of women in a non-traditional domain. Chelsea is a journalist and a goal umpire in the Australian Football League.

Thank you for your continued support in maintaining a safe and conducive learning environment for our students.

Erin

Mitch Kids