Principals Report

Dear parents and carers,

There is a lot of illness around including Covid. Thanks to those parents who are keeping their unwell children home.  It is recommended that someone with Covid remain away from school for 5 days or until there are no symptoms. We are also experiencing a severe shortage of replacement teachers and are having to split classes. Thanks to everyone for their understanding as we navigate this very challenging time. We always have the students at the core of our planning and attempt to have the least amount of disruption for them.

Attitude to School Survey (AtoSS)- Year 4-6 students

This week during normal school hours, students from year 4-6 will have participated in the AtoSS. Louise Scally has been administering the survey in all classes to ensure consistency so our data will be accurate.

The AtoSS is a voluntary annual student survey offered by the Department of Education to assist schools and the department to gain an understanding of students' perceptions and experience of school. We value student voice as a means to improving student engagement, wellbeing and quality instruction and will be asking your child about their thoughts and feelings in relation to their school, their learning, peer relationships, resilience, bullying, health and wellbeing, physical activity, and life in general.

Building Update

The painters started this week, working their way around the Speight St. building. They have been sanding, filling and painting a base coat on all the windows. Next step is to apply 2 coats of paint to finish. They will be moving to the Wales St. building next week to start the same process on the windows. Roof plumbers came for a site visit yesterday in preparation  for working on roof issues on the Wales St building. I have bought some pigeon proofing for the Speight St building as they are a big problem on the Speight St. building. The painters have kindly offered to attach the pigeon proofing where needed up high while they have the scissor lift here. I am very grateful for this and have thanked them on behalf of the community.

Our ramp compliance works will also be commencing shortly. Apart from our front ramp on the Wales St. building, all other school ramps have been deemed non compliant and will be altered or replaced. I have an onsite meeting with the builders next Wednesday and will keep you informed as to when the building works will commence.

URSTRONG

I was so excited to see so many parents online participating in the parent/carer workshop.  Hopefully it gave families an understanding of the skills and strategies your children are learning at school. Strong school/home patnerships can have a positive impact on students' motivation, engagement, behaviour, and academic and social outcomes.

Access to the workshop recording has been extended till 7th June. The link was resent last week on Compass. I encourage families who missed out to take the time to watch it.

Wellbeing

Wales Street Primary cultivates a sense of community and belonging to create an inclusive, supportive environment in which happy, healthy and resilient staff and students perform at their best. Wellbeing, inclusion and engagement is at the core of our teaching and learning ethos. We believe that health and wellbeing underpins performance and growth.

Recently our RRRR (Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationship) team have revised our wellbeing document which highlights our Wellbeing program at Wales Street. Please take the time to read the below document.

Dress Code Policy

Many thanks to the families who have given feedback on the dress code policy that was sent out for community consultation last week. The feedback will be taken back to the policy sub committee and the school council over the next couple of weeks. The final draft will then be circulated to all families so you have a clear understanding of what is acceptable and non acceptable. 

We take immense pride in our school, and wearing a uniform is a significant part of expressing this pride. The school uniform is more than just a dress code; it symbolises our unity, identity, and the values we uphold. Reasons for a school uniform include, a sense of belonging, equality & inclusivity and school identity. I thank you in advance for helping our students instil pride in our school.