Dear Parents and Carers

As our COVID 19 restrictions continue to be lifted it is easy to start thinking that the pandemic is all over, however when I checked, this week's average Victorian infectious rates it was 11,361 cases. It is a reminder that COVID is still with us and schools are at the front line.

Our goal is always to provide high standard learning opportunities as well as balancing the wellbeing and health of our staff, students and their families. Each week we are getting notified of student COVID infections, as well as staff being affected too. It is a challenging time replacing absent staff, juggling staff numbers and dealing with sick students. To add to the challenge there is a nasty flu affecting staff and students at the moment. Currently we are averaging between 90-100 students away each day. Thank you for keeping your Child home if they are sick as we are aware of the challenges for families. Parents having to stay home with sick children, missed holidays and celebrations is a challenge we empathise with.

So it is a reminder that even if it's not COVID and your child is sick, they need to stay home.

Other COVID 19 reminders:

From Monday 23 May 2022, we do not recommend that your child complete a RAT twice a week as previously advised, unless they are showing symptoms of COVID 19.
RATs will continue to be required by students who are household contacts, to attend school (five negative tests over a seven-day period).
Families must continue to notify the Department of Health and the school if their child returns a positive RAT result. Additionally, you should inform us if any of your children are household contacts.
If a child is over 8 years of age and is in close contact with an infected person at home they must wear a mask while attending school.
Thank you to all families who have had their child vaccinated. Vaccination continues to remain the best way to protect students and staff in our school.

Appointment of DP/Diversity Leader at QOP

It is our pleasure to announce that Erin Jenkins has been appointed to the position of Deputy Principal/Learning Diversity Leader at Queen of Peace. Erin will begin at the start of Term 3.

Erin will join Michael Ozbun in the Deputy Principal role and work alongside Rose Gusman to support our students.

Erin has been working in Catholic schools in the Melbourne area for over 19 years as well as International schools in that time. She is currently the Learning Diversity and Student Wellbeing Leader at St Michael's North Melbourne. She has recently completed a Masters in Wellbeing. We are looking forward to Erin joining us, at the beginning of Term 3, and genuinely excited by her appointment.

School Review Report

We have received our School Review Report from independent reviewer Gaynor Robson-Garth (formerly the Principal of Siena College in Camberwell). Overall, the feedback was extremely affirming and positive.

The next step is for our School Improvement (Leadership) Team along with staff to devise our next four year School Improvement Plan based on the opportunities that Gaynor has identified for Queen of Peace.

Below is a summary of some of the Insights from our 2022 School Review Report:

Executive Summary

Queen of Peace Primary School is a welcoming and inclusive Catholic community where strong partnerships are forged with families. Over the previous four years, the school aimed to nurture its Catholic identity; embed clarity of purpose and professional engagement; improve student learning; enrich wellbeing through social emotional learning; and embed a culture of authentic partnerships.

The school leadership has a clear and intentional focus on continuous improvement, and high performance, establishing the conditions that enable teachers to deliver high quality teaching to students. Instructional distributed leadership, facilitated planning, and the analysis of student learning data in cycles of inquiry, have been pivotal in progressing the school’s improvement agenda. Staff appreciate the collegiality, mutual support, and collaboration of colleagues.

In the previous improvement cycle, teachers engaged with high impact teaching strategies including learning intentions and success criteria that are used across the school.

Religious Dimension:

Queen of Peace Primary School has a strong Catholic identity, underpinned by a well-established relationship with the parish priest and the other four primary schools that form a parish collective. Collaboration between principals and RE leaders is highly valued. Students join parishioners at weekday Masses and the parish and school share and animate an annual theme.

Enhancing Catholic School Identity (ECSI) sub population data for both students and staff reflect a reinterpretation of Catholic faith and traditions within a meaningful, contemporary context. The student data in particular compare favourably with the MACS averages for primary schools, indicating significant shift in the previous four years from a preference for reconfessionalisation and values based education towards recontextualisation.

Learning and Teaching

Queen of Peace Primary School has focused on literacy and mathematics teaching in its endeavours to enhance student learning outcomes. Consistent whole school practices, teacher capability, and confidence in using data are developing well through facilitated planning and professional learning community meetings. Facilitated planning is framed around student performance data.

High levels of staff collegiality and mutual support are evident, together with a strong sense of collective efficacy. Teachers work in year level teams and are well supported by school leaders and learning support officers (LSOs). The school is well resourced with digital technology to enable student learning, staff collaboration and access to data, including very effective communication and collaboration between teachers and LSOs.

Leadership and Management:

The leadership team manifests individual and collective efficacy and a strong sense of shared vision focused on improving student learning. Role clarity and high levels of trust enable robust exchange of ideas. Student needs are at the centre of all decision making.

Staff retention at Queen of Peace Primary School is high. Staff value the collegial environment of the school. Professional learning community meetings and facilitated planning have been pivotal in building teacher capacity.

Student Well Being

Queen of Peace Primary School is a welcoming, safe and inclusive environment for students. A ‘buddy program’, supervised lunchtime activities, extensive recreational and sporting facilities, support this. Personal behaviour support plans (BSP) are developed as appropriate and the wellbeing and learning diversity leaders collaborate effectively to address the needs of students who may be at risk. This allows for an orderly learning environment without student behavioural problems.

School Community

Queen of Peace Primary School is a welcoming and inclusive Catholic community. Parents and grandparents were highly visible in the morning as students arrived, mingling in the grounds with other family members and teachers.

Data analysis indicate high levels of parent engagement via See Saw and social media platforms and there was strong endorsement of the school’s remote learning program and communication, including the regular publication of a newsletter on ‘Learning at Queen of Peace’.

Community perceptions of the school are high and there is strong demand for enrolments.

Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) data suggest that the strategies employed have had an impact in lifting student performance. The reviewer endorses the school’s ongoing investment in literacy and mathematics and the additional resourcing of mathematics leadership and facilitated planning.

As a school community we are proud of the work that has been done since the last review, in 2017, which has contributed to student successes and the ongoing positive growth of the Queen of Peace community. We look forward to sharing with you the continuing successes as we develop our School Improvement Plan for the coming four years.

Warm regards

Darren Gibbons

Principal

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