Principal's Message

Welcome back  to term 1!

Students have been back at school now for 7 days - and it feels like ages!! I've been getting used to getting up early, being organised with lunches and having things ready - and trying to get to sleep early each night. It can be a tough time for kids and families getting back into routines.

Here at school, students have been getting to know each other in new classes and developing great learning routines to help them work productively in class. Teachers have been focusing on setting students up for success; organising their classroom for maximum learning and ensuring that every student feels known and valued -  and has a place in the class. 

Our theme this year reflects the Lunar New Year: The Year of The Dragon. In Chinese culture, the Dragon holds a special place - it symbolizes power, nobility, honour, luck and success.

We have named our classes after some of the qualities of The Dragon. 

Throughout the year we will focus on learning about these qualities - seeing them reflected in others, and developing strong and powerful Dragon-like qualities in ourselves. 

2024 is forecasted to bring opportunities, change and new challenges... We've got this!!

Learning Focus

We have 3 key focus areas for the year:

1. Deep thinking - in Reading, Maths & Inquiry
2. Student Agency
3. Community Connections

Deep thinking is about not stopping at surface level answers to questions. Teaching all students how to go deeper to critical thinking; to developing independence and more sophisticated thinking.

Student Agency is teaching students the skills and dispositions to take more charge of their learning - to know what they are learning and why; to know what "good" looks like; and to know how to improve. This heart graphic is a great overview of what student agency can mean:

Connecting with Community involves our whole school and wider community. Building support for learning and student agency across our school and into the broader "real world" of our local community.

Coming up...

Our Community Welcome BBQ is next Thursday 15 Feb 2:30-3:30pm. Please come and meet the staff, other parents and have a sausage sizzle. This is our opportunity for you to put a face to a name; meet other parents; and enjoy our community hospitality!! Everything is free :)

Playgroup runs every Wednesday morning 9:30-10:30 in our school hall. Offered by Cumberland Council - it's for any family with babies and toddlers who are not at school yet. It's free and fun!