Principal's Message

Headlines - Please Note

We encourage you to read this entire newsletter as lots of effort has been put into its production.  Here are the most urgent and important details to read in this edition (not just on this first page):

1. Industrial Action Tuesday (this page)
2. Student Dashboards Pending (this page)
3. Harmony Week (this page)
4. School Photos (this page)
5. Easter Raffle and Hat Parade (various pages)
6. Port Sport for Girls (Free) Tuesday 24th March Kirrip Park (see Community Page)

** Note this page is written entirely by a human and may contain human error.

Principal's Message

Welcome to the start of Week 9 of a 10-week term. We have this coming week and the Monday to Thursday of next week before the term winds up. The Year 3 and 5 students completed their NAPLAN examinations last week. I was extremely proud with the way they approached that task. I know nothing of their outcomes, but know everything of their efforts to be their best. On that front, they cannot be faulted. I extend a huge thanks to the student's families for preparing their children for those tests. 

Clearly, the hot topic for next week will be the proposed industrial action by education staff. I have a separate section below where I outline our process next week, but also some views I have on the issue (where I can comment). Victorian Government Schools are, by nature, secular and apolitical. They also contain employees with needs and rights within their own lives that need to be respected. This can be a complex needle to thread. I hope my commentary below is fair and balanced on both scores. 

We are also heading into the first part of our reporting season, where Student Dashboards will be published via our Compass portal. I'm proud of our Student Dashboards. They are a concept conceived and maintained by Maddy Morrison, our Assistant Principal. I've not seen anything like them in any other school. My wish would be that every parent in the school heavily engages with these Dashboards. Just like a medical health check, they track data over time. Basically, they are an academic and wellbeing health check for students; fundamentally in real-time.  My father told me once that your health deteriorates slowly, then quickly. That sounds contradictory, but it makes sense. 

My section this week is quite lengthy, but I do invite you to read it all in its entirety because it does contain some valuable information. 

Industrial Action Tuesday, March 24

Our school will be open as normal this Tuesday 24 March, and students should attend as usual. What follows in my commentary is not a political statement, but it is my position philosophically on people's rights to take legitimate action for causes they believe in.

A number of our staff will be participating in protected industrial action called by the Australian Education Union. I want to be unequivocal: I fully support their right to take this action. The matters at the heart of it - the pay and conditions of teachers and education support staff, and the resourcing of Victorian public schools - are serious and legitimate concerns that go to the heart of what a quality public education system looks like.

Our staff give everything to the children of this community every day. The fact that some have felt compelled to take this step is a reflection of how deeply they care - not just about their own conditions, but about the future of public education for all of our students.

For families, the practical impact is that there may be some variation to the normal program in some classes across Tuesday. We will manage this carefully and ensure all students are well supervised and engaged throughout.

I have instructed the staff on Friday about what they can and can't do inside the legislation and policies. I wish everyone the best in their endeavours to support public education. 

Ride2School Day Thank You

It was beautiful to see children and families on the forecourt on Friday on our Ride2School day. I particularly liked seeing the staff dancing in front of the community, and the children and families dancing along together on the grass. I was with Colin, our Business Manager, who has been at our school since the outset. We reminisced about the early days when the staff outnumbered the students. We have come so far, and it is a credit to the families for trusting us. Thank you to everyone for your unbelievably supportive nature. 

Student Dashboard - Red = React

As I wrote in the Principal's message above, Student Dashboards will be released in the last week of Term 1. 

When my son Adrian was in Grade 4, he received a "Very Good" mark for his behaviour. "Very Good" by nature of the wording, is....well - very good. The problem for me as a parent is that every other year prior to this, he had received an "Excellent" mark for behaviour. I was curious about what had changed so I contacted his teacher. My goal was not to complain, but to find out what had changed. The teacher said that his trademark was excellent manners, and they had slipped a little. This troubled me because that was a controllable. Adrian and I made that a focus, and really sharpened up his behavioural responses in relation to manners. He never fell below excellent again.

The point of this anecdote is that parents working alongside teachers makes a difference. In partnership, we can turn something that might be flagging into an area of success. Please read your child's student dashboard carefully. The numbers, and the teacher, are trying to tell you something. I often write that "red equals react." My goal there isn't to overreact, but it is to react. We don't want the rubber band stretching to breaking point, and "red" fundamentally means the rubber band is stretching. 

The price of excellence is eternal vigilance. Our community is defined by high expectations within a nurturing environment. I think this is a wonderful community trademark that is shared by staff and parents alike.

Please read your Student Dashboard data with clarity and curiosity. Please celebrate what your child is doing well and gently support areas that need assistance. That is the pathway to achieving potential. Not everybody can be a genius, but everybody can work hard to get smarter.          

Annual Public Meeting

Applications for attendance have closed, and we have a group of interested parties turning up to our annual public meeting at 5pm on Tuesday, March 24. This is also the day that we will usher in our new School Council. I want to thank the entire community for their interest in the entire election process, and I look forward to another successful year at School Council. 

Harmony Week Celebrations

To celebrate Harmony Week, we have a whole school assembly on Friday 27th of March. We encourage families who have any sort of traditional dress from their countries of origin to adorn their children with those outfits on the day. I always love this day as I see children coming in their various forms of dress. 

For those who don't have traditional dress for their children, just put something simple on that may be a nod to the countries of origin that you would like recognised. As a default, orange is a colour symbolic of the day, but we don't want parents to go out especially to have the expense of that, and also any hassle associated with the purchase. Just encourage your children to join in on the fun, where we celebrate our wonderfully multicultural community. Parents are welcome to attend the assembly in the gymnasium in the last hour of school. It usually begins at around 2:45p.m. 

School Photo Day - Tuesday 31st March

We have our annual school photo day on Tuesday 31st of March. Parents do a wonderful job in ensuring children are in their full academic uniform. Please note that even if it is your child's designated sports day, the academic uniform is the expectation. 

We have a catch-up and sibling photo day early in Term Two. Those details will be conveyed to you at a later time. 

Please ensure your children are well presented on that day. It is old technology (taking a still photo) but it still retains a sense of perpetuity in future years. The photos also are represented on our Compass internally, and we like to be able to recognise the children in their neat splendour. It is also a way of recognising your children's classmates, which, in a sense, are frozen in time. 

Easter Raffle Donations - Please Keep Them Coming

We appreciate the community's largesse at donating chocolates for our annual Easter Raffle. It is one of the few events that we fundraise for the school, and every cent raised will go towards the children. We are not a school that trends heavily towards fundraising because of the busy nature of our community - we keep things simple and ask that you pay your contributions where you can. We appreciate anything you can give in terms of chocolates. It is a bit of fun for the children too. 

At the same time that we keep receiving donations, we have handed out the actual Easter Raffle. We would really appreciate if you could do your best to sell those tickets and return the tickets and money at your earliest convenience. As the day gets closer, there will be collectors near the front gates. 

A reminder that we have our annual Easter Hat Parade at 1:30pm on the last day of school for Term 1, which is Thursday, 2 April. A gentle reminder that school finishes at 2:30pm on this day following the Easter Hat Parade.