Ryan’s Rambling 

Dear Parents, Grandparents & Friends,

We are now heading towards the conclusion of Term One! With only three weeks to go, it does feel like we only just began yesterday. 

It was an exceptionally proud moment for me on Monday morning, as our 2024 Student Leadership group were presented to the school at our Leadership Investiture. Each one of the members spoke passionately about their strong ties to Dana Street and our Values, their individual understanding of the concept of leadership, and their aspirations for 2024. In front of our Grade 3-6 students and families, they were presented with their badges for the year. They did such a fantastic job and I am so very proud of them all. 

You may have noticed that we are running two fundraisers at the moment. The first is on behalf of our Junior School Council; the Easter Raffle. Whilst it has been a couple of years since we have run one of these, we simply couldn’t deny the voice of our students when they indicated that they were very keen to raise funds for this year’s Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal. Any and all donations for our raffle are most appreciated. The second fundraiser is for hot cross buns. These should be delivered on Friday March 22nd. Please make sure you place your order before then. Thank you. 

This week, we had an unfortunate situation with a breach of road safety one night after school. Whilst I understand that we, as parents, are constantly living in a state of being time poor, road safety takes precedence over anything. I therefore remind all parents that when you are picking your children up from school, please ensure you are parking your car in one of the many designated car parks, before allowing them to get in your car. We certainly cannot encourage children to run onto the road to enter cars. It’s just too unsafe. Also, please do not walk through our staff car park; especially when picking up your child. Again, for the same reasons; it’s just too unsafe. 

Next week, our Grade 3 and 5 students will undertake the first two of the nation’s NAPLAN testing. Writing will be on Wednesday and Reading on Thursday. This will be followed next week by Conventions of Language on Tuesday (19th March) and Numeracy on Thursday (21st March). Please ensure that your child fully charges their computer each night before the testing dates. Despite the controversial stigma often associated with NAPLAN, I think it is important that we don’t allow NAPLAN results to define individual students. The testing doesn’t ascertain how far a child can jump, how creative they are, how quick witted they are, how well they can play a musical instrument, nor should it or any other assessment place undue pressure on children. My opinion, be it ever so humble, is just to encourage your child to do their best, and nothing more. 

Finally, I hope you are able to take the time to enjoy something special with family and those closest to you this weekend. It’s going to be warm! 

Ryan 😊

“Supervision time begins at 8:30am and finishes at 3:45pm. Where possible, we appreciate you understanding that our staff are busy in the mornings preparing for the day. Students will not be actively supervised outside of these times” 

NO SCHOOL MONDAY LABOUR DAY