End of Term 1

As this is the last newsletter for the term, I would like to thank families again for your support so far in 2024. We have had our challenges with staffing shortages and illness. It has not been perfect, but despite the complications we have had a positive start to 2024. We have developed strong routines and relationships in classrooms. It has been magnificent to have onsite celebrations such as Cultural Diversity Week, Numeracy Week and S Factor again. I would also like to thank our teaching and education support staff for their care, commitment, and just plain hard work. I sincerely hope that everyone can have a genuine break over Easter and take a moment to recharge with loved ones. Please have a safe and happy holiday break and I look forward to seeing everyone back and refreshed for term 2!

2024 School Council

I would like to take a moment to express my deepest thanks to the members of our community who volunteer to be part of our school council. A well-informed and effective school council strengthens community confidence in the school and helps to provide feedback, build, and secure the school’s reputation. We would like to thank our returning parent, community, and student school council members, and warmly welcome our newly elected student members:

Currently we have:

President Daryl Partridge

Vice President Donna Taylor

Treasurer Connie Sonerson

Community Member Rachel Johns

Student Members Nermeen Abdelaa

Georgia-Lee Lynch NEW

Iyiesha Grech NEW

We still have opportunities for parent representatives. If you have ever thought about nominating and are interested, please feel free to reach out and chat with me to see what we can do.

Congratulations on student effort in NAPLAN

NAPLAN can be a very stressful time. I would like to celebrate and acknowledge all the staff involved in working through the logistics of the event and all the staff that nurtured and guided our students through the testing period. All that we can ask from our students during this time is that they put 100% effort in, one of school’s main rights and responsibilities. Effort is something that we highly value at Staughton. It is effort and not ‘natural ability’ that is usually the greatest determinant of success inside and outside the classroom. Our Staughton Student Matrix shows key behaviours that are seen when students show high effort. A key behaviour for the NAPLAN testing is to continue trying and persevering when challenged. This allows us to use the testing to accurately target teach students at their point of need.

Parent Teacher Student Conferences Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th of March

On Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th of March we are having our first Parent Teacher Student conferences for the year. This is a very important part of our learning cycle where students and parents to come together with teachers to celebrate and improve our students learning. We are at our best when our Staughton Family comes together to work for our kids. This year we are placing an even greater emphasis on strengthening connections with our parents so that we can improve students learning and wellbeing. In class, students will be selecting work to be able to demonstrate their progress so far this year. I am looking forward to meeting many parents and carers on the night.

Details

Parent, Teacher & Student Conferences will take place on Wednesday 27th 1:30 – 8pm and Thursday 28th 9 – 12:30pm of March.

Classes will run until 12:56 on Wednesday and there will be no scheduled classes Wednesday afternoon or on Thursday however, students are expected to attend the interviews with parents/carers.

To book a time, access the Parent Portal at: https://xuno.staughtoncollege.vic.edu.au

Cultural Diversity Week

This year we have run cultural diversity week over the whole week performances from the multitude of cultures that our students proudly celebrate each day. A notable feature of the week was how everyone celebrated everyone else’s culture. It is an example of our young people showing us how to embrace and leverage our diversity. It was incredibly inspiring to see huge crowds cheering on the performers. It showed the care and connection across our community. I would like to thank Yvette Medina and her Community Engagement Team for coordinating the event with our student leaders. During the lunchtime performances our student leaders completely ran the show, pumping up the crowd and leading the celebration of our diversity. It is a real feature of all our events throughout the school that students are empowered to largely organise and run them. We should be incredibly proud of all students involved, and of the way that all our students embraced the week.

KRISTY HERRIDGE

Acting Principal

We, at Staughton College, would like to show our respect and acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which our school is situated, of elders past and present. We extend a warm welcome to everyone who visits our school.