From the Principal

Congratulations Grade 6 Leaders

Our Grade 6 leaders were presented with their badges last Friday.  Our peer support leaders will be presented with their badges at assembly tomorrow.  Congratulations to our School and Vice School Captains, House and Vice House Captains, Specialist Captains, and Peer Support Leaders.   

Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) 2024

Each year the school develops an Annual Implementation Plan (AIP).  The AIP supports the goals of the four-year School Strategic Plan. We review and track our progress of the AIP throughout the year with leadership, staff and the SEIL (School Educational Improvement Leader).

The literacy and numeracy learning specialists and professional learning teams have continued to build on the strong teaching and learning that takes place at PPS. Our learning goal in literacy will focus on building staff capacity to plan, develop and deliver knowledge-rich curriculum across both fiction and non-fiction texts.   We will also focus on strengthening the connection between Inquiry and writing topics to increase the quality of written pieces.

In maths the focus is on developing a whole school approach to problem solving utilising the BAR Model and enhanced retrieval processes.

We have a dedicated teacher for wellbeing (Mr Sing) and the Wellbeing Team meet regularly.  The wellbeing goal will focus on implementing a consistent approach to inclusion for all students, including the element of strong teacher-student relationships.  We will also be investigating the High Impact Wellbeing Strategies (HIWS) which provide support to teachers in the classroom.  They promote student wellbeing and form part of a whole-school approach. 

School review

Parkdale PS is involved in a school review this year which will take place in Term 3. These formal reviews are held every four years and help us set a new strategic plan for the next four years. During this time, we closely examine our academic data collected over the past three years and add this to the information we have gained from our staff, student, and parent surveys. We also revisit our last strategic plan to review and analyse the aims that were set four years ago. The school self-assessment provides an opportunity for our school community to reflect on our achievements, our strengths, and areas where improvement is needed.  After we have completed our self-assessment, an external reviewer will work with us to offer independent and expert advice on our progress. 

School Council

School Council elections have closed, we received the required nominations to fill the number of positions. 

Congratulations to the re-elected parent representatives: Suzanne Kneen, Stephen Michelson, Jess Bambridge, Fiona Stockdale and new member Suzanne Black. 

We thank retiring member Grant Van Der Kruk for his time, contribution, and support on school council. 

PPA 

We had the first PPA meeting on Friday morning.  Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to take on formal roles of PPA.  

Shane Stevenson - President

Ange Fragiacomo - Vice President

Annabelle Coomerawel-Mortimer - Treasurer

Anna McDonald - Secretary 

Fiona Stockdale PPA rep for school council.  

We also have several parents who have taken on a variety of roles to support the school. Karen Meyer & Amanda Bardin (Parent Rep), Liz Blackmore & Christina Anderton (second hand uniform), Helen Maas & Phoebe Gibson (Mother’s Day & Father’s Day), Suzanne Black (special lunch days), Kerry Archer (Garden Club).

PPA will run a variety of events throughout the year, such as special lunch days, major fundraiser (TBD), Mother’s and Father’s Day Stall and Breakfast, second hand uniform stall, new family coffee & chat.

Important: COMPASS

The Compass Parent Portal is our main communication channel.  It is important you take the time to read the information which is sent via Compass.

Compass includes many different features, including the ability to:

• Monitor your child’s attendance, and enter an explanation for absence, illness, lateness/leaving early, holidays
• View school calendar
• Access the newsletter
• Book Parent/Teacher conferences and Meet and Greet

Student Accident Insurance

This is a reminder that the Department does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents/guardians are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs. Reasonably low-cost accident insurance policies are available from commercial insurers.

Important: Working with Children’s Check

Parents require a Working with Children’s Check if they are attending camp, excursions, and volunteering in the school eg: classroom assistance, school events, garden club, etc. Applying for a WWC is done online and is free if you click on the volunteer category. 

Please note: Parents need to have a WWC card before they can volunteer in the school.  http://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au

2024 School Contributions/Parent Payment Arrangements

The contributions are important in enabling us to provide the best learning environment for the children at Parkdale Primary school.  The Parkdale Primary School Council is extremely appreciative of the generosity of parents who are able to support the school through the payment of the voluntary contributions. Contributions were due 2nd February. Payment is via COMPASS pay. Please note: If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact Helen Teasdale (Business Manager) to discuss a payment plan.

Kind regards

Leanne Bradney