Pete & Rachel's Report

WELCOME BACK

Welcome back to all staff, students, parents and a special welcome to our new families. We hope 2021 will be a most rewarding year filled with many wonderful opportunities for learning and growth.

Congratulations to the school community for such a successful start to the year. We are very impressed with the excellent way in which students have returned to school. 

NEW STAFF

This year we fondly welcome new and returning staff members to our school.

New staff for 2021:

Achilles: Julie & Shae

Argus: Alex & Laura

Xenica: Nicole

Ulysses: Kellee, Declan & Linda

Icarus: Lisa

Admin: Jane

Leadership: 

Kirstee (Learning Specialist: Whole school numeracy - Year 3-6 Teaching and Learning), Chryssanthi (Leading Teacher: English as an Additional Language)

Tutor: Namarta

STUDENT LEADERS

Over the last few weeks, our 5/6 students applied to be in leadership roles in our school. They presented speeches to their community, Icarus, and were interviewed by the school leadership team. We are proud of all the students who put their hand up to be a student leader, well done to everyone for your great ideas and your confidence and courage.

Congratulations to our school leaders for 2021!

School Captains: Baani & Ammar

Vice Captains: Kendra & Shamir

HOUSE CAPTAINS

Blue House: Narmin & Navroz

Red House: Marenda & Bakari

Green House: Lacie & Anika

Yellow House: Aisha & Mazin

SPECIALIST CAPTAINS

STEM: Angad & Harvin

Visual Arts: Ebony & Gracie

Italian: Salam & Jesse

Performing Arts: Prabhleen & Wyllow

MENTOR GROUPS

This year we introduced mentor groups to help students, teachers and parents have a regular contact each morning and after school. Morning mentor groups begin at 8:50am and finish at 9:05am and afternoon mentor groups start at 2:55pm and finish at 3:10pm.

Students meet with the same teacher in the same space with the same students during mentor group sessions in the morning and afternoon.

During the morning mentor group session, teachers check-in with students to see how they are feeling, it's a great time for the mentor teacher to notice if a child needs extra care and support that day. The mentor teacher marks the attendance roll, collects any notices and reminds students to put their lunch order in if they have one. The mentor teacher will explain what is happening throughout the day, including which teacher they will be working with for reading, writing, mathematics, inquiry learning and our social and emotional curriculum. The mentor teacher will also read to students and help them get ready for their learning that day.

Students who are late to their mentor group are missing a vital part of their day and their learning. 

Afternoon mentor group sessions are an opporutunity for mentor teachers to help students reflect on the learning they have done throughout the day. To share what they've been successful at and what they found challenging. The session provides an opportunity for the mentor teacher to remind students what is happening tomorrow and there is anything they need to bring to school as well as homework they need to complete. During the mentor group session, students will collect everything they need to take home, including notices from their mentor teacher.

For parents, the mentor teacher is your first contact for any queries or concerns you have. 

We believe mentor groups will be a great addition to our school, we hope that your child values them and that they feel it's a special part of each day. 

ATTENDANCE

Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education. Students learn new things at school every day – missing school puts them behind.  

BEING AWAY FROM SCHOOL FOR ONE DAY A FORTNIGHT EQUALS MISSING 1.5 YEARS OVER 13 YEARS OF SCHOOL

Top attendance tips for parents

• Schools want to work in partnership with parents – act early if you have any concerns by contacting your child’s school and asking for advice and support
• Remember that every day counts
• There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes and their social connectedness
• Talk positively about school and the importance of attending every day
• Open and prompt communication with your child’s school about all absences is a good idea
• Avoid making routine medical and dental appointments during the school day or planning family holidays during the term
• Seek help from your school if you are concerned about your child’s attendance and wellbeing. Schools want to work in partnership with parents to support student attendance and wellbeing.

DEPARTMENT'S TUTORING LEARNING INITIATIVE 2021

We know that the remote learning experience was different for every student. While some students thrived, some students may not have engaged as fully with remote learning. 

For most of our students, regular high-quality teaching in 2021 will be enough to help them progress to the expected level of learning. Some students will benefit from additional intensive learning support in 2021. 

As you may be aware, in response to this, the Victorian Government is investing $250 million in the Tutor Learning Initiative to enable schools across Victoria to engage around 4,100 teachers as tutors in 2021 to support students who need extra assistance with their learning. Schools will determine how this initiative is best implemented for their students and will ensure that students will get this support in a way that minimises disruptions to other learning or school activities.

By engaging additional teachers to support children with intensive learning, classroom teachers will have greater capacity to ensure that all other students’ achievement, engagement and wellbeing needs are met, so that all students receive the support they need in 2021.

Further information about the Tutor Learning Initiative, and how it will be implemented for students who need individual learning support in our school, will be issued over the next few days.

GOLDEN SUN MOTH

The golden sun moth is an endangered moth that lives in our local area. On Waterview Boulevard, at Aitken Creek, there is a protected reserve for the golden sun moth. There are fence posts surrounding the reserve. 

Our school logo is based on the golden sun moth.

Our communities are named after moths and butterflies.

Thanks everyone, for a great start to the year!

Pete & Rachel