Principal Report 

Dear families,

Welcome back to term 3. I think I spoke too soon at the end of last term when I said we are looking forward to a bit more 'normal' after the holidays. It seems we cannot shake the illnesses that are around. 

I can report that this does not seem to be impacting our enthusiasm for school! The energy that children have returned to school with is brilliant to see. The children have really embraced their subject changes and the events we have organised for them so far this term.

In the last two weeks we have had a Junior School Council Pink Ladies Day fundraiser, Basketball Clinics, and Kofi Kunkpe running African Drumming with grades 3 to 6. We have also been running our tutoring and intervention programs alongside our regular classes. We have been able to continue to manage our programs with very little interruption for our students. This is a credit to all the staff and their ongoing, daily,  flexibility. 

We have also had district sports where the grade 56 girls' netball team won their grand final and now go through to the regions. Last week they were encouraged to share their success with the school. I don't think Lily put the trophy down all day. We are proud of all of our students when they give things a go, even more so when they work together as a team to be successful. 

A group of students have also been highlighted to part of the 'The Student Excellence Program' and have been attending additional lesson online with teachers and mentors at other schools. The students should be immensely proud of their past academic achievements to be selected for this program.

In the coming weeks we have a Flamenco Dance group at school for grade 3 to 6. The chance to learn, see and hear about different cultures is a something that doesn't come around often and should be encouraged. 

Those students who have opted out of the incursion this week will be supervised in class by one of the teachers from their team. 

There is a canteen lunch on 1st August and Hawks 4 All program on the 4th August. 

There is also a teacher planning day on 12th August, with no students at school that day. Osh Care is bookable on 9726 9396.

Welcome to new staff

We have some new staff to welcome:

Reuben Langerak has replaced Llinos Poole during her 6 week leave. Reuben completed is final placement here as well as working in a tutor role for 12 months. It is great to have him back at school. 

We also welcome to the ES team Steve Frost, Rebecca Stephens and Rebecca Blackwood. They will be working with a range of students in class.

We have also advertised for a parental leave replacement and will be able to share details of who has been appointed later this week. Thank you to families in 1MO for being patient while we finalise the hiring process. Mrs. Oakley will begin her parental leave on 16th August. There will be plenty of opportunities for handover before then. 

3-Way Conferences

The upcoming conferences are a good chance for students to reflect on their strengths and to target areas they wish to improve. The students have been supported to do this over the last week, and will be ready to share with you what has gone well  this year, and what they plan to do work on next. This can be academic, attendance or extra-curricular. 

Please make sure you and your child are online 5 minutes before and your speakers and sound are working. It has been 3 years of online meetings, and it still catches me out!

The meetings will be on Zoom, and booked through Compass. 34S and 1LP will be rescheduled to due to teacher leave. Details will be communicated with families.  

ZOOM Night for Grade 2, 3 and 4 students - Laptops 

I am excited to be able to share with you further news on the laptops initiative for grades 3 and 4.  I would like to invite families from Grade 2, 3 and 4 to a Zoom session to explain our plans.

The meeting will be online at 7:30pm on Wednesday 3rd August. The link is below. 

It would be great to be able to share our ideas with all families in those levels. I hope it would take no longer than 30 minutes. 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6038782680?pwd=Z04ybHBOaEtHYzNaQnl4bVFjTnJuZz09

Meeting ID: 603 878 2680

Passcode: rhps2022

OSH refurbishment

I want to share our thanks to you for your continued support of our OSH care program. The numbers enrolled keep growing. The team at OSH have been brilliant at managing a tough 6 months plus, while always providing interesting activities and yummy food. We have recently started to update the space. In the last holidays we repainted the rooms, there will be new felt boards fitted, as well as new furniture. I hope it is a space that children continue to enjoy for many years to come. 

I hope you have a great few weeks and you stay fit and healthy as a family. If you do have any health concerns please keep your children at home until they feel well. You can access free RAT tests at school. Masks are being encouraged, especially when a child is unwell. If anyone is a close contact they must wear a mask at school all day and complete a RAT test daily. 

Thanks for your ongoing support,

Craig