It has been an extraordinary and wonderful start to the school year at Chatham Primary School. We have so much occurring in our wonderful school as we leave the manacles of COVID well behind. Some of the momentous matters and events to date are the following:

House Swimming Carnival and District Swimming Carnival

We were delighted to witness the excitement and euphoria of our House Swimming Carnival at Bialik College Pool on Monday 13th February 2023. On this occasion Nugent were winners on 187 points defeating Corbett next on 180 points. It was wonderful to see the magnificent efforts by our students but also the many parents who visited to support our students or took part in various event duties. Thank you again to Ms Jess Wilson and Ms Georgina Kirwan who crafted and organised the events and the many staff and parents who gladly made it successful for our students. We now look forward to 26 students participating in the District Swimming Carnival to be conducted at the Boroondara Sports Complex on Wednesday 22nd February.

Preparatory Parent Picnic – Wednesday 15th February

Despite the steamy conditions it was fabulous to see many of our Preparatory students and their teachers and families at this event. Thanks again to Ms Kirstie Briggs and Ms Corinne Slade who made this special for our families with our Treasure Hunt and Egg and Spoon races. Thanks also to Jade from Team Kids who provided a Coffee Van for the occasion. We really look forward to experiencing more of such events this year.

Visual Arts Centre

We are thoroughly delighted with the way in which this facility is being developed and used for our students by our Visual Arts teacher, Ms Jessica Wilson. The facility is spacious, full of light, has areas for storage and our kiln, and is being transformed with each Art session. All of our students experience Ms Wilson as a Specialist Teacher for one hour per week. We are currently in the process of obtaining more art supplies and containers for easy and effective storage. In time, we look forward to more of our student artwork being displayed around the school.

Class Structures and organisation for 2023

We are delighted that we have an average of 19 students in Preparatory to Year 2 classes this year. Similarly, we have an average of 24 students in classes Year 3-6. This is well beyond the expectations of the Department of Education and Training as stipulated in the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2022 and has been achieved through considerable negotiation and arrangement by your Principal and senior finance officers of the Department of Education and Training. There is an exception with our Year 5 class which is bigger at 32 students however we are utilising a number of personnel to provide significant and targeted support. This is an exceptional outcome for our school and will enable important and targeted support and extension for our students as we utilise detailed student achievement data.

Year 6 Camp – Lakewood Park, Forge Creek, East Gippsland

Last week we took forty students and a number of our staff to this extraordinary venue. In my view it is one of the best camp experiences in Victoria as it provides activities and opportunities few others can provide. Apart from the spacious facilities, accommodation and food provided, the events were rich in their provision. Our students enjoyed their own sailing craft, canoeing, adventure activities including a challenging ropes course, archery, stand up paddle boarding, tubing behind a ski boat and amongst other matters, bush craft and hut building. I am pleased to advise that our Assistant Principal, Ms Georgina Kirwan, our Visual Arts Teacher, Ms Jessica Wilson, our Maintenance Officer Mr Peter Manning and myself were able to devote the entire week to support our students and create this opportunity. We were delighted that our Year 6 teachers Mr Rafael Fernandez and Mr Zac Barry were also able to attend for two days. This event is a watershed for student growth and leadership at this time and the timing of this experience is crucial from a range of perspectives.

Importantly, I convey my appreciation to all my staff both at the Camp and at school who enabled this to happen. Throughout thoughtful discussion and a sense of overwhelming commitment my staff have agreed to an industrial scenario that has enabled this to occur. The time in lieu provisions as they stand in the new Industrial Agreement make it virtually impossible for schools to now conduct School Camps in 2023 and beyond. I understand that matters in relation to this area are before the Fair Work Commission.

Again, I am delighted that we are showing insightful leadership here and enabling it to continue. At this stage we plan to conduct a three day Camp at Sovereign Hill, Ballarat on 27th – 29th March for Year 5 and considering the possibility of a Year 3 & 4 Camp for November 2023. Again, apart from the support of all staff to enable such undertakings we also need the support of the Department of Education and Training and the School Council.

Student Leadership – Year 6

On Tuesday 14th February we commenced this process with our Year 6 students. The provision of a Leadership role at Year 6 for all students is a long-held Chatham tradition and very atypical in comparison to other schools. Through their various leadership roles students learn and are coached through a range of public speaking and presentation skills. Having been a Principal of both primary and secondary schools I believe our work here is extraordinary. We so look forward to developing our Year 6 cohort in this regard. At Chatham we have leadership positions as School Captains and School Vice Captains, House Captains, Junior School Councillors, Wellbeing Captains, English, Science and Mathematics Captains, Music Captains, Art Captains, Japanese Captains, Environment Captains and ICT Captains.

The allocation of students to specific leadership roles is a well-defined process at our school over many years. All students are given the opportunity to nominate for the roles of School Captains and School Vice Captains. They then prepare and present a speech for a few minutes to all students in Years 5 & 6 and to staff. Students in Year 6 then vote for a male and female candidate to be the School Captains. Those students with the most votes become elected as School Captains and Vice Captains. Please understand that the Principal and staff do not have any role in this process. The election of House Captains follows a similar process but, on this occasion, both students in Years 5 & 6 cast a vote. The other leadership positions are allocated based on student preferences wherever possible.

School Council Elections for 2023

By this stage you will have received considerable detail about the School Council Election process. This is highly regulated by legislation and the Department of Education and Training and the process is very prescriptive.

I was delighted to advise on Monday 13th February that Mr Ashley Davies and Mr Richard Struthers had been declared elected to the Chatham Primary School Council for the period 2023-2025. Mr Davies has three students at our school in Years 2, 4 & 5 whilst Mr Struthers has two students at Years 3 & 5.

As a result of a further Parent member and Department of Education and Training member vacancy being available a call for further nominations was made on Monday 14th February. This call for further nominations closed at 4:00pm on Thursday 16th February 2023. At the time of writing this newsletter we are still involved in the process.

School organisation and expectations

As we commence our school term and year there is a need to remind our students and community of the expectations we have in relation to behaviours and social expectations. In these early weeks there is a considerable focus upon our motto of Being Safe, Being Fair and Being Kind. This is further inculcated along with our values and behaviours regarding responsibility, resilience, honesty, partnership, learning and respect. In each of our classrooms and learning spaces with Specialists there are behavioural agreements that reflect our expectations. In the main our students are a wonderful model for others. When I reflect on the behaviour of our senior students at the Camp recently, I was enamoured with their level of maturity and self-regulation. Where it is evident that students have not met expected requirements or engage in behaviours that are inappropriate, these are addressed promptly in a range of ways and may involve the Assistant Principal and /or Principal. Please be assured that action is always taken, when or if needed. Together with my staff we are always keen to enact our expectations and affirm the overwhelming great example that our students provide.

Under no circumstances should parents or others approach students in the yard about behaviours real, reported to them or imagined. If there are matters concerning the behaviour of another student, please always contact your child’s class teacher in the first instance.

Year 2 Silly Science Incursion

This was highly enjoyed by our students on Tuesday and really gave a great impetus for their development of conceptual understandings of gas, matters, solids, liquids, viscosity, sound, forces and basic chemical reactions. We look forward to the further experiences that will be provided by our Year 2 teachers Ms Sophie Semerjian and Ms Lorraine Mclean as they progress our Science Curriculum over the year.

Parent-Teacher Discussions – Monday 20th February and Tuesday 21st February

As scheduled, these will be held on these days from 3.40pm. By this stage all parents will have been given an opportunity to book in a time to meet their teacher for Parent-Teacher discussions. These discussions will occur for approximately ten minutes. This is an important opportunity for parents to share matters of mutual interest with their child’s teacher and for teachers to respond to other matters. Teachers may also use this opportunity to discuss their class programs and the plans for the coming year.

We have decided to use WebEx for these meetings on this occasion. We will consider carefully as to whether this occurs in June or whether we will meet in person. At present the encroachment and complexity of the building works does not make this a viable proposition.

In order to enable our Year 5 teachers Ms Hannah Scantleton and Ms Viv Twigg to attend we will be having Parent-Teacher discussions for Year 5ST on Monday 27th February and Tuesday 28th February. This time has been created in order that both teachers can be in attendance.

Student Achievement and Individual Education Plans

At this stage all teaching staff have had the opportunity to review the Individual Education Plans developed for students in 2022. In a number of cases teachers have met with parents to progress the identified goals and strategies for 2023. I expect that this will be continuing in the coming weeks. Whilst not necessarily attending the meetings involved, both Ms Kirwan and I will be overseeing the status of these IEPs with Ms Kirwan focussing on Preparatory to Year 2 and myself having a focus on students at Years 3-6. We look forward to being involved in this process.

Professional Practice Day – Monday 27th February 2023

Please be reminded that Monday 27th February is a designated Professional Practice Day for my teaching staff. There are two such days in 2023 as prescribed by the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2022. Whilst teachers will have a range of professional functions to perform, we will continue to work closely with the Education Improvement Leaders from the Department of Education and Training with a focus upon Mathematics. This is an area of key focus in 2023 and very much part of the leadership and direction reflected through our 2023 Annual Implementation Plan.

Thank you again,

Christopher Cotching

Principal

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