Dear Parents / Carers,

Term Two may have been a short one in length, however at Rowville Primary School every term is full of learning opportunities and experiences for our students. Just like our students, we as teachers and leaders also engage in opportunities to grow, learn and develop our skills in teaching and leading. Last Monday, I was fortunate to attend the 2023 Government Schools Principal Conference. This day was all about connection and conversations, with a focus on how school leaders need to be ready to meet the demands of the changing generations as they move through their schooling. Social researcher and analyst, Mark McCrindle defines our current primary school-aged students as Generation Alpha (born from 2010–2024). They are the children of the Millennials. They are the first generation who will be entirely born and shaped in the 21st century, and the first generation that we will see in record numbers in the 22nd century as well. They are logged on and linked up – known as ‘digital natives’. They are the most materially endowed and technologically literate generation to ever grace the planet! What will Australia look like in 2034, when our current Generation Alphas are in their late teens and early 20s?

The population of Melbourne will be 5.9 million (that’s larger than the whole of Victoria today).
Australia will have reached 32 million (up from 25 million currently).
The global population will be 8.8 billion (that’s twice what it was when the parents of Generation Alpha were born in the early 1980s).
India will have surpassed China as the world’s most populous nation.
There will be more Australians aged over 60 than under 20 for the first time in our history (a sign of our ageing population).

Throughout my classroom visits this term, I have been impressed by student engagement in writing sessions and the quality writing pieces crafted by our authors across the school as well as the conversations students are having with their peers and teachers to share their mathematical thinking during numeracy lessons.

One of our Year 2 students proudly shared his innovation on the book ‘Colours of Australia’. Okitha took inspiration from the text to create his own book ‘Colours of Nature’ using the text structure and repetition.

This week I received a visit from Maisie in Year 5 who confidently shared the personal goal she has set herself to achieve and the training she is completing to help her achieve her goal of participating in a marathon. Maisie crafted an informative text about the organisation CPEC and she is excited to share this text at assembly tomorrow.

During a Mathematics unit of work, the Year 3 students explored the concept of area in multiple ways. One successful lesson was to find out if the entire school could fit into one classroom. The lesson was launched with the provocation “How many students could you fit in the area of one square metre?” One square metre was marked out with tape on the floor. Students were asked to pack as tightly as they could into the square metre and they found out that only 13 students could fit! Next students explored whether it was possible to fit all 411 students at Rowville Primary School into a classroom. Students used multiple strategies and various equipment to investigate the problem. The next day the students shared with me that their classroom was roughly 67 square metres in total and if each square metre could hold 13 students, then a total of 871 students could fit in the classroom, but not very comfortably.

“It was interesting and surprising we were able to prove our exploration with real maths” – Georgia

“I feel so smart, like a mathematician, when I solve problems myself” – Zayn

“Maths isn’t always easy but when we finally solve it, it feels so exciting” – Scarlett

Student Reports

The semester one student reports will be available on Compass next Friday 23 June at 3.30pm. Student reports provide families with information on how their child/ren are progressing and achieving across the learning areas and capabilities of the Victorian Curriculum. I encourage you to download your child’s report and celebrate their learning growth and achievements this semester. Parents will have the opportunity to discuss their child’s learning progress with both classroom and specialist teacher’s next term. Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Wednesday 2 August (3:30-7:15pm) and Thursday 3 August (3:30-5:30pm). Bookings will be available for families on Compass early next term.

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea

Having first-hand experience of a cancer diagnosis and treatments, to now being cancer-free, Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea is an annual event close to my heart. Every dollar raised helps support those impacted by cancer. Many of our teachers and families have a family member or friend who has been affected by cancer and the Cancer Council provides ongoing support to patients and families when they need it most, life-saving prevention programs and world-class research. If you would like to support the Rowville Primary School's Biggest Morning Tea, please see link below to my donation page: https://www.biggestmorningtea.com.au/s/7837/68570

Kind regards,

Tiffany Bamford

Assistant Principal

Health and Well-Being