Acting Principal's Report

Education Week ‘A Spotlight on STEM’ – Monday 13th to Friday 17th May 2024

It has certainly been an exciting time at Chatham Primary School. This week we have delighted in opening up our classrooms and Specialist areas to families to celebrate Education Week. Parents and carers enjoyed the opportunity to engage with their children in their daily programs as part of our open mornings on Tuesday and Thursday, and also visiting classrooms and Specialist areas across the school as part of our open afternoon on Wednesday. It was fantastic to see the Education Week theme of ‘A Spotlight on STEM’ alive and well in our classrooms, with students and families exploring coding, robotics and circuits, and engaging in engineering challenges amongst other feats as they progressed through the school. Students relished the opportunity to collect stamps on their open afternoon ‘passport’, which also provided a great opportunity for our students and their families to engage with teachers they were not as familiar with. Please see photos of our exciting open afternoon happenings below.

Development of Chatham’s STEM Program 

Over the last few weeks our teaching staff, together with our STEM Coordinator Mr Sam Norris, have been reviewing our resource needs in this important area. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and currently we have a room dedicated to the development of our STEM program and to which each grade is timetabled to visit for an hour per week. In order to progressively add to our current resources in this space, Mr Norris has prepared a STEM funding proposal to further develop this area, which will be considered by the School Council at our upcoming meeting on Monday evening. Our staff are grateful for the high level of interest that parents and carers have expressed in seeing this area progress and expand across all levels of the school in 2024.

Creative Endeavours at Chatham:

School Production – Term 4 2024 

At Monday morning’s assembly, our Performing Arts Coordinator, Mr James Rampant, made the much-anticipated announcement that we will be performing a whole-school production of ‘Chatham in Wonderland!’ This was met with great jubilation and gasps of excitement from students. The production will be held in Term 4 and I commend Mr Rampant for his wonderful enthusiasm and efforts in bringing this to fruition. All students from Foundation to Year 6 will be involved in a singing, dancing and/or acting capacity. Our Year 6 Performing and Visual Arts leaders will play a pivotal role in the creation and execution of this production, in terms of the mentoring of younger students in learning to sing their class songs and mastering associated choreography, and also in the design and development of sets and props. A date and venue will be confirmed and communicated in the coming weeks, as Mr Rampant and I review venue options for this performance. 

State Schools’ Spectacular – Term 3 2024 

Currently our Year 6 students involved in this event are learning their fifth dance in preparation for the main performance on the 14th September at John Cain Arena. Within a short period of time, our students have learnt complex choreography, worked collaboratively with students from other schools, and actively taken responsibility and leadership within their learning by not only attending rehearsals at lunchtimes, but also practising outside of school hours using their new Google Classroom account to view and master the required sequences of dance. 

The theme of the 2024 Spectacular is ‘Splash!’ with a water theme emerging in the construct of the twenty show pieces. At present, our students have learnt dances to the songs Miserlou, Don’t Stop Me Now, Happiness, Joy and Hold Back the River. I too participated in the State Schools’ Spectacular as a student some 25 years ago, which is an experience that left me with a passion for creative and performing arts. Similarly, this promises to be a transformational experience for our students that they will remember with fondness and happiness for the rest of their lives. 

Aero Schools Aerobics Team – Term 3 2024

In August 2023, our students performed for the first time in this competition, achieving a second placing in the Aero Schools Spring Challenge, which was a magnificent result. This year, our Year 5 students have commenced training, which has involved learning a new routine at a higher level with more complex movement sequences, as well as integral fitness components. More information will be provided to the families involved in the coming weeks, as dates and times for the State Championships to be held at the Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Complex become available.

District and Division Cross-Country Competitions 

Congratulations to the fifty-five students who competed in the Kooyong District Cross-Country competition, held at Anderson Park in Hawthorn East. The sun was shining as the students gave their best effort to remain competitive and confident, achieving many personal bests on the day. Thank you to all the parents and carers who were able to attend and cheer on our students, along with our Physical Education Coordinator, Mr Walter Boulton, and teachers, Ms Corinne Robinson and Mr Zac Barry, who were all able to accompany our students and facilitate our school’s involvement. 

There were in excess of sixty students competing in each race, with the top ten place getters proceeding to the next level of competition. Seven Chatham students will move on to the Division Cross-Country competition to be held on Monday 27th May at Ruffey Lake Park in Doncaster, which is a marvellous achievement. Thank you again to Mr Boulton who has been providing training sessions at 8:15am for these keen athletes who will be well-prepared for the event. 

We wish the following students all the best on Monday 27th May and once again encourage parents and carers to attend if they are able.

Charlie Hughes – Placed 4th in the 10-year-old boys age group

Laurence Darlington – Placed 10th in the 10-year-old boys age group

Georgia Lomer – Placed 2nd in the 11-year-old girls age group 

William Hughes – Placed 2nd in the 11-year-old boys age group

Joel Pham – Placed 7th in the 11-year-old boys age group

Elizabeth Martinelli – Placed 9th in the 12/13-year-old girls age group

Sammy Newman – Placed 10th in the 12/13-year-old boys age group

Chatham’s Kitchen Garden Program

We are truly motivated and uplifted by the progress we are making in this wonderful area and the level of enthusiasm demonstrated by students, staff, parents and carers for the program. Last term, our Years 3 and 4 students enjoyed taking stewardship of the nurturing and care of our vegetable garden, along with the preparation of harvested vegetables and the cooking of related recipes. It was wonderful to visit our students at each stage of this process and witness the involvement and support of so many parents, carers and grandparents during these inspirational sessions. This, along with the infectious positive attitude and drive of our Kitchen Garden Coordinator, Ms Leda Semercioglu and the Years 3 and 4 teaching staff, created a dynamic conducive to optimal engagement levels for our students.

We have now commenced the program with our Years 5 and 6 students in a gardening capacity, with cooking sessions scheduled for the next two weeks. Please check the Chatham website calendar for session dates and times, and contact Ms Semercioglu if you would like to assist at: Leda.Semercioglu@education.vic.gov.au

Smart Watches at School

Recently you will have received communication from our Principal, Mr Christopher Cotching, regarding the use of Smart Watches at our school. This message is repeated below for your convenience:

I expect you will be aware that the use of mobile phones for students in Victorian Schools is no longer allowed. Students at Chatham Primary School respect these requirements and have followed our expectations in this regard for many years. Generally, there is rarely a matter or event of concern. Please refer to our Mobile Phone Policy on our website if you have any queries.

Nevertheless, the use of Smart Watches and similar devices is problematic because in many respects students potentially have the capacity to use these inappropriately.

We have made it clear to all students that if they are to bring such devices to school they are to be on ‘school mode’ or other settings that ensure that they cannot be used for contact with persons outside the school gate – including parents and carers. We trust our students to abide by these expectations whether at school or beyond the school gate at interschool sport, camps or excursions.

This morning I made our expectations clear in this regard and our students also without exception, obliged. I have also made it clear that if this trust is broken and watches are used inappropriately, they will be promptly confiscated and secured in the school safe. Parents will be contacted and the watch can then be collected. Students will then not bring the watch to school until the Principal is satisfied that the trust involved can be assured and there is no risk to privacy and other matters.

Again, I would ask that you share our expectations, if indeed your child is wearing such a device to school.

School Tours for Enrolments for 2025

We continue to provide these valuable experiences for prospective parents for 2025 on a weekly basis. Tours are held on Wednesday mornings from 9:30am to 10:30am and if you would like to attend, please make a reservation via the School Office, by phone: 9830 1933 or email: Chatham.ps@education.vic.gov.au

We also continue to welcome a number of local preschools and kindergartens to Chatham to experience a ‘Story Time’ and associated arts and crafts activity, facilitated by our Foundation Coordinator and Teacher, Ms Kirstie Briggs. These sessions are always well-received, generating interest in our school and establishing positive connections with our local community.

We look forward to sharing more wonderful experiences at Chatham Primary School in the weeks ahead. 

Thank you,

Georgina Kirwan

Acting Principal