Hello again families and friends of Murrumbeena Primary School,

With the term drawing nearer, teachers have been analysing student achievement data and comparing progress against the Victorian Curriculum in readiness for the semester one school reports.

SCHOOL REPORTS

Twice a year, parents receive a written report which provides a teacher judgement against the Victorian achievement standards assigned as a score which reflects where each student is along the relevant learning continuum for all curriculum areas taught.

To gain consistency in the progression point achievement scores, teachers use three key forms of information: they share student work samples and analyse the skills demonstrated within that work, they review progress notes made throughout the semester (learning intentions, success criteria and goals attained) and moderate these against standardised test scores.

The semester report will indicate whether the student is working at the expected year level (a dot will be within a yellow band), or above or below the standard. A second dot with the number 6, 12 or 18 inside it, will show where the student was when that curriculum area was last assessed (6, 12, or 18 months ago).

The semester report will be published on Wednesday 19 June via Compass.

STUDENT LED CONFERENCES

‘Student Led Conferences’ will be occurring next term (Monday 5 August). These conferences provide parents with information about their child’s academic progress that gives greater context to the semester report.

Our school’s vision for learning recognises the fundamental importance of empowering students and the contribution that student voice, agency and leadership make to improved student outcomes, health and wellbeing. Our students demonstrate agency when they are able to share their ideas and make decisions about their learning and to do this effectively they need to know: what they are learning, how they are going and what to do next to further their progress.

In Term 3, students will be leading a conference with their parents or caregivers to discuss how they go about their work (the processes) and show their work. It’s an opportunity to celebrate learning progress and achievements. Our Prep and Year one students will be involved in ‘Three Way Conferences.’ This involves the student, parent/ guardian and teacher sitting down together to discuss the students’ progress. The student shares their learning with the parents/ caregivers with the teacher supporting the student.

CARNIVAL – Saturday 17 August (11:00am to 5:00pm).

The biennial carnival is a highlight of the local community calendar and the school’s largest social event bringing together more than 3,000 members of the wider community. It’s a fun day with amusement rides, stalls and food, with an extensive entertainment program including live music and activities from the diverse range of cultures represented within the school community.

The event is the single most important fundraiser that our school undertakes, and we rely on the support from our local business community. That support in the form of financial sponsorship or donation of goods and services is vital to the success of the carnival.

If you own a business or know of a business who is in a position to offer their support, please let us know so we can invite their participation.

PLAYGROUND

The Student Representative Council will be meeting on Friday to review each segment of the newly designed playground to finalise components and to choose the colours. The current playground equipment in the senior area will remain. The garden area alongside the old equipment will be cleared to make way for the new playground. The cost of this equipment, including site works will be just over $100,000. This is why the fundraising efforts over these past two years, along with the carnival is so important.

SAKG

This week Laura (our garden specialist) has been working with newcomer Nik to do a handover for the garden program. Laura’s final day at school will be today as she’ll commence maternity leave and prepare for the new addition to her family.

We welcome Niklas Passman as our new garden specialist. Nik will share with the year 3 and 4 students his passion for growing seasonal produce and the importance of microbial activity in the soil. I have no doubt our students will learn there is a whole network of underground creatures which contribute to healthy plant growth.

Chellee Plumb

STEM