Thursday 13th May

Dear Parents, Students and Friends,

I hope all of our mums had a fantastic day on Sunday. I found some time to visit the new ‘playscape’ at Jells Park (next to Madeline’s Café) with my family. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, I recommend a visit as my children really enjoyed it. My 6 year old daughter loved the new ropes course and the mini trampolines - even if it was very busy!

For more information, here is the link: https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/projects/jells-park-playspace

The Importance of Reading

I recently found one of my favourite books at my parents' house that I absolutely loved as a child. It is called Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and I have been reading it to my two children over the last few weeks. I've looked forward to this time each night, snuggled up with them on the couch, as we shared the excitement and intrigue of these highly intelligent rats and their connection with Mrs. Frisby. It's a book best suited to slightly older primary aged students but I do recommend it if you're looking for a good book to share with the family.

We know that reading is such an important part of our children's lives but did you know that reading for more than 15 minutes per day has enormous benefits for life outcomes? 15 minutes is the magic number. Not 14, not 10, definitely not 5. 15+ minutes of active reading helps students achieve higher academic growth than their peers. 30 minutes is even better and 60 minutes has enormous benefits.

Studies show that only 18% of students read for 30 minutes per night and that at 60 minutes, student growth is on average 48% higher than the average, no matter what the child’s background.

The table also shows the correlation between high reading engagement against international student rankings. Those coming from the lowest socioeconomic backgrounds achieve well above the international average if they read regularly. If we compare a student from a low socioeconomic background who does not read daily, with a student from a high background that does, the difference is massive.

That difference is cut dramatically by high reading engagement. The evidence could not be clearer. If you want your child to succeed, read to them and give them plenty of opportunities to read. This is also important if you have pre-schoolers, the research shows how significant being read to is, enabling students to start school with reading skills well above their peers.

*And if you have a book recommendation, I'm always open to hearing it! Happy reading!

School Photographs

A friendly reminder that school photographs will be taken next Wednesday 19th May. Please ensure all students are dressed in full school uniform looking their best for their big moment.

Pyjama Day – Monday 17th May

Thanks to the Highvale Primary Community Group for organising the snack packs and dress up for Monday. I know lots of staff and students are looking forward to wearing their onesies, pyjamas and dressing gowns. Just don’t forget to wear appropriate shoes!

NAPLAN

Today, our Year 3 and Year 5 students will complete their final NAPLAN assessment. We’re proud that our students approached NAPLAN with confidence and did their very best. This assessment forms just one part of our ongoing process of monitoring student achievement and the data will be analysed by teachers when results are sent out later in the year. Special thanks to Mrs. Duke for coordinating the NAPLAN testing this year.

Walk Safely to School Day

This Friday 14th May is Walk Safely to School Day. This annual campaign is in its 22nd year and encourages all primary school children, their parents and carers to walk safely and regularly to school.

The objectives of National Walk Safely to School Day are:

To encourage parents and carers to walk to school with primary school age children
To promote the health benefits of walking and create regular walking habits
To help children develop vital road crossing skills and ensure children up to the age of 10 years hold hands with an adult when crossing the road
To reduce car dependency and traffic congestion
To reduce the level of air pollution created by motor vehicles
To promote the use of public transport

We are encouraging all students to walk to school tomorrow. If you do live further away, we suggest that you leave the car a few streets away and walk the rest of the way. As this is an event outside school hours, we remind parents that will need to supervise your child during this time.

Child Safety Presentation

Last Friday I sent out a Child Safety presentation on School Stream. Please take the time to read over it and talk to your child about staying safe - at school, in public and online. It is important to discuss who they can talk to if they need support. If you need any more information or have any questions, please contact me via email or through the school office.

Assembly

We continue to promote student engagement and voice through our assemblies. Last week, our student leaders created a video 'news report' on some of the hot topics around the school, including sports reports, lunch reviews, teacher cameos and a report on the local cockatoos! We look forward to more exciting presentations in the coming weeks.

Warm regards,

Josh Crozier

Assistant Principal

joshua.crozier@education.vic.gov.au

Highvale Happenings

Respect Responsibility Honesty & Integrity Commitment

Issue 13 · 13 May 2021

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