Dear Parents

As we approach the halfway mark of first term, I reflect on how much our students have achieved already, and what is ahead of us in the upcoming weeks.

Reminder: Public holiday

Monday, March 13 is a public holiday for Labour Day and school is closed on this day. No students will be at school.

Parent teacher interviews

On Monday afternoon we had a full house at our first of two evenings of parent teacher interviews. These meetings are an important avenue by which parents share information with teachers about their children to assist with a better outcome throughout the year. The second session is after school tonight. Appointment times have already been selected by parents – or were allocated to

those who were unable to secure a booking via COMPASS.

Naplan

Children in years three and five will be undertaking Naplan in the near future, and have been readying themselves for this national test, which will be held between March 15 and 24. Naplan assesses students skills in language conventions, reading, writing and maths and provides parents with a general indication about student achievement in these subjects. The school report received also assists the teaching staff to plan for identified gaps in children’s understanding, and, potentially, in our teaching program. Individual student reports will be back in the school in term three, and will be sent home to parents on their arrival.

Student leadership, badge presentation

Following the completion of the student elections, we now have our junior school council and house captains formalised for the upcoming year. These children will be presented with their badge of office at a formal assembly on Friday, March 17. This assembly will be held in the gymnasium and all are invited to attend. Congratulations to all who were successful in the venture, but also to those who were brave enough to put their name forward. It takes a degree of courage to have a try out for one of these roles, and every young person who had the courage to run for elections needs a big pat on the back.

Year one phonics and reading assessment

In line with practice across all government schools in Victoria, all of our year one students are currently being formally assessed for their reading skills and understanding of phonics, via a Department of Education test. This initiative is aimed to further improve student achievement in this area and will give each teacher a better understanding of the immediate needs of their pupils.

Year six camp

Initial information about the year six camp to Anglesea has been released to relevant families via COMPASS. To guarantee attendance by your son or daughter the $100 deposit needs to be paid by TOMORROW. After this date participation can only be ensured if there is a space available. There is also an optional surfing lesson available. Please note that, due to the limited capacity of the campsite, numbers are capped at 108 participating students. We currently have 157 pupils in year six. Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis, and in 2022 some children did miss out.

Swimming team

Congratulations to our swimming team who recently participated in the Werribee District swimming carnival with the team placing third overall.

Well done to:

Caleb 5C

Blake 4F

Zac 6C

Xavier 3F

Hannah 5G

Abigail 3C

Isaac 4E

Ruby 6B

Mayiah 4G

Sahana 6E

Congratulations to the following students who will represent our school at the

Divisional swimming carnival on Tuesday March 14:

Caleb 5C

Zac 6C

Isaac 4E

Ruby 6B

No dogs on school site

Please note that we do have a therapy dog on site but beyond this no other dogs, regardless of size, are permitted within the school grounds. Signage on the school fence line confirms this. Our school community is aware of Wynston, the therapy dog, and he is trained about how to react with a large group of people. We cannot guarantee that for any other dog. Note too that many people fear dogs, even the small ones. For these reasons we ask that these dogs are kept off the school grounds, and away from the gate so that people can enter and exit easily.

Community Picnic

This is planned for 3.00 – 5.00pm on the afternoon of Thursday, March 30. There will be some food stalls in attendance, along with stalls from the local community. Each class will pair with another to have their own stall as well. Children will need an adult with them to participate in this school event, which will not begin until school has closed for the day, and children from after school care will be given the opportunity to participate. We would love to see you there, as this activity is planned as a way to bring our wider community together.

Fun Run

Brochures will go home this week so that students can create a profile to help raise funds from the Fun Run which is scheduled to be held on Thursday, March 23. Students have the opportunity to raise funds for the PE department, so that more sporting equipment can be purchased. For information on how to create a student profile so that your child can participate, please refer to the brochure that will go home this week, or seek help from the office.

School Council elections

Nominations for the school council elections closed on Monday. Following the close of the call for nominations I declare the following people elected as the number of nominations did not exceed the number of vacancies.

Department Representative:

Linda Scullin

Parent Representation:

Katrina Volkerts

As we still have a vacant position for a parent representative a further call

for nominations has been made. These nominations need to be submitted by

4pm tomorrow, Friday, March 3, 2023.

School council meetings are held eight or nine times a year, on the third Thursday of the month with a minimum of two meetings per term. There is a mix of onsite and online meetings for this. School Councilors are elected for a period of two years, with some retiring at each election, which is held in March. Our standing orders allow for a membership of 9: three staff members, five parent members and one community member.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

Sue Seneviratne

Principal

Important Dates