Principal's Report

As we approach the end of Term 3, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the exciting developments happening across our school. From enhancements to our learning environments to important strides in curriculum and professional development, our focus remains on creating a dynamic, inclusive, and engaging school experience for every student. This term has seen significant progress in areas such as student wellbeing, academic growth, and fostering learner agency, all of which are shaping the future of our school.

Below is a summary of what we've been working on over the past few weeks and what we’ll focus on in Term 4.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. As we head into the final stretch of the year, I look forward to Term 4.

Kate Mancarella

Principal

Facilities & Grounds Update

A new rock play space is being developed next to the portable building on the blue basketball courts. This area is designed to provide an additional play and seating space for students, offering them another environment where they can engage in active play or take a break and relax. This new space is part of our goal this year of beautifying our school and reflects our commitment to fostering both active engagement and well-being among students whilst they are outside.

New furniture has recently been purchased for the library to create a more inviting and comfortable space for students. The new additions include modern seating options and shelving designed to improve the overall functionality of the area. This update will not only enhance the library's aesthetic appeal but also provide a more student-centered environment.

A fence will be installed around the sensory garden next to the Manuka building, turning it into a dedicated outdoor learning space. This purposeful transformation will enable teachers to bring students outdoors for lessons in gardening, native plants, and well-being in a calm and reflective environment. With the support of dedicated parent and teacher volunteers, this space is evolving into a vibrant area where students can engage with nature while benefiting from a peaceful setting. The fence will also help preserve the sensory garden over weekends, ensuring the space remains a dedicated learning environment. Next year, an Indigenous artist will collaborate with students to create meaningful art pieces that will be displayed in the garden, enriching the space with cultural significance and student engagement.

The library's new split systems were installed this week, which is a great upgrade as we head into the warmer months. 

Curriculum Updates

Maths 

We have now successfully completed our terms work on the Numeracy goal outlined in our Annual Implementation Plan (AIP). The professional development led by Jayde Williams and Sian Katsineris during Term 3, alongside ongoing staff collaboration, has had a significant impact on our teaching practices. Through focused efforts on building teacher knowledge and confidence in data-driven instruction, we have enhanced our ability to create differentiated learning experiences that meet the individual needs of our students. In response to the success of our Numeracy goal work, we have now established a mathematics working group made up of dedicated teachers who meet weekly. This group is focused on refining and improving our mathematics units, with the goal of ensuring that our curriculum is continuously evolving and meeting the diverse needs of our students. By working collaboratively, the team is preparing for the 2025 school year.  A  big thank you to Jayde and Sian for leading this work in the school 

Language Arts

In Term 4, we will focus our professional learning on enhancing our literacy instruction around systematic, synthetic, and explicit phonics teaching. Megan North will be leading our teachers and Education Support staff through this, deepening their understanding of the crucial role synthetic phonics plays in early literacy development. Together, they will collaborate to refine our reading and writing units, ensuring that they align with best practices in phonics instruction and meet the diverse needs of our students. 

Student Agency

A group of 6 teachers have now successfully completed the five-month course on cultivating learner agency. Throughout the program, they explored the relationship between learner agency and improved student outcomes. They gained valuable insights into how fostering student voice, choice, and ownership over learning can drive academic success. They also learned to implement assessment practices that integrate learner agency, ensuring that assessments not only measure learning but also empower students to take an active role in their progress. As part of their learning, the group evaluated the school’s capacity to transform its assessment practices, identifying opportunities to further enhance student engagement and autonomy in their learning journey.

Wellbeing

Kids Hope is a mentoring program that partners with local primary schools to provide one-on-one support for students who may benefit from additional emotional, social, and academic guidance. The program is volunteer-driven, where trained mentors meet with selected students for one hour each week, building positive, long-term relationships that foster a sense of belonging, confidence, and resilience.

In Term 4, we will partner with Kids Hope to support students who may benefit from additional encouragement in their learning and wellbeing. This partnership reflects our ongoing commitment to offering a diverse range of supports and strategies to enhance student well-being. Trained mentors from Kids Hope will work in close collaboration with our school team, ensuring their efforts align with and complement our existing wellbeing programs, creating a holistic approach to supporting our students' growth and success.

Professional Learning 

Six of our teachers have recently engaged in a 20-hour professional development course focused on inclusive education practices. Four of these teachers are participating in a course on managing challenging behaviours, while two are involved in a course centered on supporting students with autism.

The Supporting Students with Autism professional learning emphasises a strengths-based approach to inclusion, helping educators understand key characteristics of autism and apply positive behavior support strategies. Teachers will learn a variety of methods to support students with autism, focusing on personalised strategies and assessments that can be used to identify student skills, set meaningful goals, and create targeted teaching strategies and adjustments.

The Supporting Student Behaviour professional learning provides a behavioural science lens to understanding and managing student behaviour. It offers evidence-based approaches for supporting students at multiple levels, including whole-school, classroom, and individual interventions. The course also highlights the importance of data-informed supports and interventions to ensure effective behaviour management across the school community.

We look forward to the learning these teachers will do and what they will be able to bring back and implement at Milgate Primary School.