Principal's Message

Principal's Report

Welcome to the last week of Term 2. I hope your child enjoyed the term and experienced success. It is the reporting season where you have received detailed Semester Reports and Student Dashboards and will soon have Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews to gauge progress over time.

When my son was a baby, we tracked his weight and height almost weekly. In his first month of life, the maternal child nurse detected a flatlining in his body weight. A red light started flashing and we acted to alter his diet. At such a young age, I was astounded that tracking data could have such a profound effect on his life chances. If his weight was not monitored and his diet changed, he would still be feeling the negative effects of our inaction a lifetime later. He had gastric reflux and if he did not gain weight, his brain and body development may have led to significant issues.

When my father was elderly, I had a similar experience. His doctors were diligent in monitoring heart rate, blood counts and body weight. These metrics and the doctor's responses kept him alive 20 years longer than he would have lived if they did not track that data. It is incredible.

Last week, you all received reports and dashboards. Dashboards run via a traffic light system. At SMPS, most of the students have green and yellows on their dashboards. Green shading means that your child is tracking above where we would expect for their grade level. Yellow means they are about where their peers are achieving. Red, generally, mean 'react' - the score is below expectations. The code here is to take action to support the teacher to make up the gap. Just like I did with my son and my father when the data was not so healthy. 

Red does not mean panic. But it does mean that something is not quite tracking where it should. Failure to react to red means you are accepting, without response, a potentially solvable issue that can lead to future problems. Rubber bands can stretch, but in high school, they snap - and you cannot easily repair them.  I remember a Year 9 child I spent time with in my stint as a high school principal who was in tears. She turned to me and said, "Why didn't my teachers and parents help me in Grade 3 when I was falling behind? Now, I can't read! And I won't get to university!" It broke my heart. But she was right, unfortunately. 

Please read your child's reports and dashboards carefully. The data and teacher are trying to tell you something. Please listen, learn and support. In schooling, there will be a mixture of reds, yellows and greens. Not every child is a genius and we don't want or need them to be. But almost all of them can achieve "at the grade level" - at yellow at least. But it takes hard work, diligence and, above all, attention. Watch that rubber band doesn't snap while you are asleep. 

As a footnote, as I wrote last week, our results in Essential Assessment may be an anomaly. We are working with the company to get clarity. So don't panic if that score is red. It is red for a lot of our students and that seems odd. We will try to iron out any issues with Essential Assessment in readiness for the next testing period. 

Feedback from Parent Last Week

I received this lovely email from a parent last week that I thought was worthy of sharing:

Good morning Mr Noel,

I hope you had a lovely weekend.

I just wanted to pass on how proud I was this morning of a couple of Grade 6 students from our school.

I was about to board the 109 tram after the morning drop off and these beautiful students said hello, good morning and had the biggest smile! 

Please pass on my congratulations as they demonstrated incredible politeness and sense of community. 

Great way to start a Monday!

Like I keep telling you - our children are the best in the world. A credit to their upbringing.

Reminders

• Friday, June 28: Last Day of Term 2. Early Finish Reminder (2:30pm pick up). Rockstar Day Concert starts at 1:00pm.
• Dogs in Courtyard: Please keep your dogs on a leash if you are in the school yard. No dogs off leash. 
• Ball Games in Courtyard at Pick Up: If your child plays football or soccer in the courtyard after school, please monitor them. They should not start kicking the ball until after 3:45pm when the courtyard is cleared of most students and families. If they kick the ball hard, it can injure unsuspecting people - especially little ones. Help us by keeping an eye on your child.

Rockstar Day Message

• On the last day of Term 2 (Friday, 28th June) we have our fundraiser dress up day and concert to celebrate our Music Program at South Melbourne PS
• All students are in encouraged to dress up as their own version of a rockstar or a well-known rockstar/popstar.
• Students are asked to bring a gold coin(s) to donate to the Music Therapy Department of the Royal Children’s Hospital. Our goal is to support them with providing music therapy for unwell children. 
• The concert will be held in the gymnasium at 1pm and will feature performances by:
  • 5/6 Rock Band
  • 4/5 Rock Band
  • Marimba Band
  • Choir
• Due to space, we ask that only families of students who are performing attend the concert. 
• Thank you very much for supporting the Music Program at South Melbourne PS.
• See the wonderful poster for details (PDF below)

Let’s Rock!   

Mr Paul

Music Leader

Noel's Message

Thanks for reading our fortnightly iNewsletter. It is a privilege to communicate with you via this portal. I will send the last Newsfeed next week via Compass, but I wanted to thank you for another wonderful term. We are an excellent school, with excellent students and staff - and an incredibly supportive parent community. We do not take you for granted. Your smiles keep us optimistic that the world's future is in good hands. Don't underestimate your happy hello's and positive vibes. I see hope in your eyes and that is translating to your children. 

As Alexander Pope said in An Essay on Man, "Hope springs eternal."