Principal's Report

Welcome to 2025 

I hope that everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday break. It is hard to believe that the school year has started already; however, yesterday, as I walked around the school, I could see that our staff and students had quickly transitioned back to the routines and expectations of the school, including all our new Foundation students. Our classrooms were positive and productive, with many staff and students building strong connections.  

Before today, our staff participated in two curriculum days. As a staff, we looked at the Whittlesea Primary School Annual Implementation Plan (AIP), which highlights our school's priority areas for Learning (Instructional Models & Best Practice Teaching/Learning) and Wellbeing (Building Capacity in Social and Emotional Skills & Continued implementation of the Resilience Project) I communicated our actions under each Key Improvement Strategy with the staff explored in terms of what this will look like throughout the year for us to be successful and achieve our overall goals and targets. 

In addition to the AIP, we completed a detailed data analysis regarding Literacy and Numeracy outcomes, which clearly showed us where our students are achieving and where there is room for improvement. The data presented will help the school implement our next steps to inform our teaching and learning expectations to ensure that every student can achieve their potential.

As a staff, we also considered what it means to be a highly effective Professional Learning Community (PLC).  A professional learning community (PLC) is a small group of teachers within a school who meet weekly or fortnightly to improve student learning and wellbeing in their classrooms. PLCs engage in staged, continuous improvement cycles aligned to whole-school goals and priorities. The work of PLCs is underpinned by data and evidence related to student learning and wellbeing, as well as teaching practice.  Everyone is excited to be 'tweaking' our processes and working within inquiry cycles and their associated impacts. 

Community Gratitude - Whittlesea Lions Club

On behalf of the school community, I would like to send a message of thanks and gratitude to the Whittlesea Lions Club. The club donated their time and expertise to help repair and restore our Cubby houses. Unfortunately, over the last few years, the Cubby houses at the front of the school had started to show some wear and tear and were not in the best (or safest) condition.  The Lions Club repaired these over the weekend before school started to ensure they were restored and, more importantly, safe for Day 1 of the school year. I cannot thank the Lions Club enough, especially Eric and his team, who facilitated this work for the school.   (We cannot wait to see them painted very soon!)

Upcoming School Review

As mentioned in some of our communication last year, in Term 2 this year, we will be participating in a school review. All schools must participate in a school review every 4 years. The school review informs the development of the school’s next 4-year School Strategic Plan. In addition, the school reviewer also assesses compliance with the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard in line with the VRQA. 

The school review panel consists of the school leadership team, 'challenge partners' (two Principals from other schools), an independent reviewer, our Department of Education Senior Improvement Leader (SEIL), and our school council President. (Mr. Lyle Winter)

As part of this process, we must complete a Pre-Review Self-Evaluation (PRSE) this term. This PRSE summarises the school's performance against the goals and targets of the previous 4 years.  We will assess contextual enablers and barriers to achievement and whether the school has had the intended impact on student learning and well-being. 

Accessible Building Program  (Grant) 

Last year, Rae Gittos successfully completed an application for an Accessible Building Program (Grant). We are very happy that this has now been approved. This grant is not a specific amount of funding but instead provides the funds to support the school in making our buildings more accessible.  The Accessible Buildings Program (ABP) supports schools to create inclusive environments and meet legal obligations under anti-discrimination laws. Adjustments to buildings are considered to be cost-effective and flexible to allow for changes in demographics and medical needs.  So far, we have had the designer and the surveyor come to the school to audit and make some initial plans. You may see many coloured spray paint markings all over the school; this is part of this preparation work.  This will then be submitted to the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) to endorse the scope of this work.  We do not have a timeline for the commencement of any construction or redevelopment at this time. However, we do think that it will be later in the year. 

Staffing 

Our staffing profile is very stable, and we are pleased that all our teacher positions are currently filled. If you have any questions concerning your child's start to the year, please don't hesitate to contact them via Compass.  If you are having any issues accessing Compass, please feel free to call the office for support.