Year 3 - Year 5

Assistant Principal's Report

We Are Back!

It has been an absolute pleasure to have the school full of students again.  The sound of chatter and laughter from the yard and classrooms has been a welcome change.  Teachers across Years 3-5 have been working to re-establish routines and relationships, both student-teacher and student-student. I have been seriously impressed with how smooth the transition back has been.  The readiness of most students to take advantage of every learning opportunity has shone through.  The classrooms are settled and students are engaging in the topics and new information with curiosity and a smile. 

I have been reflecting on this feeling of calmness after such an unusual and slightly crazy year and I believe the success is largely due to the support you have offered your children, the effort you showed in supporting the online learning and the understanding and resilience that you demonstrated to your children.  I believe the success is largely due to our teachers, both general classroom and specialist, who planned and taught in a foreign and unknown method but held their heads high and carried on learning new technology and new methods that would support their students learning, wellbeing and general school connectedness.

Across Years 3-6 in Numeracy, there is the main focus on Number and Algebra. Teachers recognise that some students, depending on their engagement in remote learning, may need additional support to catch-up in some concepts, whilst other students are needing an extension.  Within teaching and learning teams, these range of needs are being planned for and individually targeted.  We are not mixing students across classes or grouping them, we are exploring rich learning tasks that match the needs of each student.

In Literacy, students in Years 3-6 have just completed a writing piece that will be used for our whole school writing moderation.  This process ensures that we gain a bigger picture of our students’ strengths and stretches and importantly a common understanding of how to support them now and in 2021.

At PSPS we value student wellbeing, general health and happiness.  We have held off on formal assessment and pushed everything back a few weeks to ensure students have every possible opportunity to showcase their understanding across the curriculum.  Many parents have expressed concerns about the missed learning.  At PSPS we are confident we can put plans in place using our own professional knowledge and the DET resources and supports to give students what they need to progress into 2021.

I am very proud of our Middle School and Senior School Students.

Enjoy the fortnight ahead,

Best Wishes

Jane King 

Assistant Principal (Year 3-5)