Principal's News
Grade 6 Camp
Recently our Grade 6 students attended a 3 day camp at 'The Ranch Mornington Peninsula'. The students participated in a range of adventure activities including horse riding, giant swing, rock climbing, pamper pole and mountain boarding. When engaged in these activities, students were encouraged to step out of the their comfort zone by being brave and courageous. An example of this may have been from just putting on a harness or by going all the way to the top of the giant swing. Our students embraced every challenge and opportunity, and demonstrated our school values at all times. We could not be prouder of the manner in which our Grade 6 students represented our school.
A huge thank you to our amazing staff and volunteers who made this camp possible. Firstly a shout out to our Grade 6 team, Mr Packham, Mrs Kerr and Miss Boucher for their organisation and planning. The camp ran flawlessly. Thank you also to the staff who attended. Mr Packham, Miss Boucher, Mr Hughes and Ms Davy. A big shout out to Mr Hughes for stepping in at the 11th hour due to staff illness and to Mrs Kerr for popping down to see the kids on the Friday morning.
Finally thank you to our parent volunteer Ms Juanita Sprott and Preservice Teacher Will Taylor for your attendance. We appreciate you both taking time out of your personal lives to support our staff and students.
Parent/Caregiver Focus Groups
Mrs Ward and I recently conducted a number of parent/caregiver focus groups to celebrate our school successes and focus on potential areas for future improvement. We would like to sincerely thank all parents/caregivers that gave up their time to meet with us. Below is a brief summary of the key points discussed.
Strengths
- Improved whole school communication
- Team Kids as our OHSC provider
- Term newsletters created by teaching teams
Thoughts for future improvement
- Streamlining Dojo communication
- Increase opportunities for parents to volunteer in the school
- Improved external promotion of our school
- Greater promotion and celebration of student learning
Teacher, Parent/Caregiver and Student Conferences
Thank you to our families who attended this week's Teacher, Parent/Caregiver and Student Conferences. We trust this provided you with the opportunity to both celebrate your child's progress and unpack the next steps in their learning. Thank you also to our teaching staff for facilitating these conferences. I know that the depth of knowledge and care they possess for each of their students, would have been evident. If you were unable to book a time on the designated day, please reach out to your child's teacher to arrange an alternate time.
Just a friendly reminder that all communication between parents/caregivers and staff must be respectful at all times. A positive connection and collaborative approach between families and our staff, allows everyone to focus their efforts towards the best outcome for every child. It also promotes high level trust within our community.
Individual Education Plans
Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are developed to assist students who may require a range of support to best access their education.
An IEP is a document that outlines the adjustments, goals and strategies to meet a student’s individual educational needs so they can reach their full potential. An IEP is essential as it helps teachers plan for and monitor, a student’s unique learning needs.
At Cheltenham East Primary School, we are committed to the use of IEPs to support students whose learning indicates they are working 12 months or below the expected curriculum level in Literacy and/or Numeracy. Some students may require IEP goals focused on improving their learning habits and/or social/emotional strategies.
Our teachers develop these IEPs termly and send them home via Class Dojo. Within this communication will be the offer to catch up in person or over the phone to discuss the IEP. We do recommend families take up this offer, as it strengthens the learning partnership between home and school.
Buildings and Grounds
Students at Cheltenham East Primary are proud to unveil the refurbishment of the school Wings Mural.
This mural was first created in 2019 by all students who attended that year. Each child had created a feather from painted paper and it was collaged to form the original wings. Over time the mural has taken on an ephemeral look and this term students have worked to remove the flaking pieces and repaint the original design with outdoor mural paint. This rainbow coloured artwork is a welcoming sign in our school, a place of collaboration and inclusivity.
"With friends I grow wings and together we can fly"
Thank you to Ms Reid for coordinating this artwork and for the contribution of our students.
School Foyer
We are in the process of giving our school foyer a much need facelift. Jon has been busy painting away and brightening up this space. We have further plans to continue to improve this area as the year progresses.
New Play Space - Coming Soon!
Utilising a recent $50k grant, we will be upgrading the space between the eating area and Coolac St. This will be opened up into a nature-based passive play space for our students and families to enjoy. We are still in the process of finalising drawings and will share with you all once finalised. What I can share is that the space will include a new sandpit and natural play structures. It's an exciting project and we can't wait to see works commence.
Mr Robert Ridgway
Principal