From the Principal

Next week is the last week of Term 1.  It has certainly been an extremely busy term.  The Grade 5 and 6 students participated in their beach swimming program and Grade 3 and 4 students completed their swimming program.  Our Grade 3 and 5 students completed NAPLAN, Grade 2 students had a visit to Ripponlea as part of their inquiry topic.  We celebrated diversity with Harmony Day and the children decorated a rock representing them as a person.  The Japanese Garden is taking shape and these rocks will form part of the garden.  Grandparents and special guests made a visit at the end of March.  The Grade 3-6 children participated in the school Cross Country and the SRC ran a very successful icy pole day.  The 2023 Foundation students have completed their first term of primary school. 

End of Term Assembly and Early Dismissal 

On Thursday 6th April assembly will be at 2:00pm, children dismissed at 2:30pm from their classrooms. 

School Council

This week we held our first meeting with our new school council, and I am pleased to announce our school council office bearers for 2023 are:

President: Suzanne Kneen 

Vice President: Jess Bambridge

Treasurer: David Williams

Parent school councillors:  Steve Michelson, Fiona Stockdale, Grant Van der Kruk, Helen Maas, Kathryn Higgins

School council endorsed the Annual Report for 2022 and the Annual Implementation Plan for 2023. Once these have been fully endorsed the full report will be available on our website next term.

Annual Report 2022

The 2022 school year was an extremely busy and successful year.  Our first fulltime return to a school year after 2 years of disrupted learning.  I would like to thank our staff for their ongoing professionalism and commitment to the teaching, learning and wellbeing environment they provide for the students at PPS. It is only when you reflect on the year that you truly appreciate what the school achieves in one year in addition to the compliance and regulatory requirements. 

Thank you to the school council members who give their time in supporting the school for our students to receive the best teaching and learning environment they can have.  I would also like to thank the parent community for their contribution to our school in various leadership, coordination and volunteer roles; PPA, Parent Representatives, Mother’s & Father’s Day, second-hand uniform, Garden Club, camps, excursions, classroom assistance, and the numerous people who volunteer for events that come up throughout the year.

Achievement

PPS has continued to ensure our strong focus on academic progress for all children and is proud of its strong student learning for all children. A cohesive team approach to planning ensures consistent teaching and learning across each year level.  We continued to consolidate and improve our Professional Learning Communities in 2022. The PLC process has enhanced teacher practice and upskilled staff to utilise a range of data to teach students at their point of need. 

PPS staff continued to work as effective teams to improve student learning outcomes in Literacy and Numeracy, through collaborative planning and assessment procedures. We had a Whole School focus on Maths in 2022 focusing on building teacher capacity in teaching Maths, implementing essential assessment for Maths and utilising the PLC model to facilitate Math’s planning across the school. 

We employed extra support staff and teachers via the Tutor Learning Initiative and Tier 2 funding to support children to consolidate their learning. Dedicated Learning Specialists in Numeracy, Literacy and PLC have facilitated improvement across the school. 

In 2022 English Teacher Judgements, 97.9% of our students from Foundation - Grade 6 were assessed at or above age expected standards. In Mathematics Teacher Judgements, 99.3% of our students from Foundation - Grade 6 were assessed at or above age expected standards. Our NAPLAN results are strong across Reading and Numeracy and we were above State and similar schools.

Year 3 Reading percentage of students in Top 3 bands – 91.6%

Year 5 Reading percentage of students in Top 3 bands – 89.1%

Year 3 Numeracy percentage of students in Top 3 bands – 86.0%

Year 5 Numeracy percentage of students in Top 3 bands – 76.1%

Wellbeing

As a school we continued to provide a safe and happy environment for the students.  We have continued a strong focus on student’s mental health and wellbeing as well as their physical wellbeing. Wellbeing lessons were taught as part of our learning programs using Respectful Relationships resources.  Students also attended a weekly Specialist session focused on Wellbeing for a semester.   A staff member from each year level has completed the RRR PD to facilitate the planning of RRR in each year level. Staff also undertook Professional Development in the Zones of Regulation.  Students participate in weekly physical activity through scheduled sport lessons as well as year level sport sessions.  

In 2022, the ATOSS measures overall reported a positive endorsement from our Grade 4-6 cohort.  Sense of connectedness 84.4%

Overall parent satisfaction was a positive endorsement of 82.1%, this was above State level.

School staff results indicate a positive endorsement for School climate 83.5%, this was above State level.

Engagement

Parkdale Primary School provides a positive environment for teaching and learning allowing students to feel valued and connected within the school setting. Our curriculum engages all students by recognising and responding to their diverse learning needs. Effective teaching, inclusive curriculum and respectful relationships between staff and students is promoted through the school. Staff implemented a variety of methods and programs focusing on engagement of students through inquiry units and the use of technology.  Our school has maintained a strong focus on regular attendance. In 2022, the average number of absence days per child was 18.2. This figure was below the state average. All year levels had attendance of 90% and above. This measurement is a positive endorsement of our strong connection with students and families.  The students participate in 5 Specialist sessions each week giving them the opportunity to experience various curriculum areas. Parkdale Primary provides a depth of extra-curricular activities and leadership opportunities for the students. Students had the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of extra curricula activities throughout the year. Student voice is encouraged through SRC, leadership, student learning goals and student forums. We ran many Whole School events with the students, such as assemblies, camps, excursions, sporting activities, Whole School Fun Run and a Christmas concert at the end of the year.

Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) 2023

PPS 2 priorities for 2023 are Learning and Wellbeing.  The Annual Implementation Plan supports the goals of the four-year School Strategic Plan. We review and track our progress of the AIP throughout the year with leadership and staff.  

Learning - Support both those who need extra support and those who have thrived to continue to extend their learning, especially in Numeracy and Literacy.

We will continue the implementation of Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s) from Foundation to Grade 6, with a focus on Maths for the first semester.  Our focus for the second semester will be on Literacy. We will continue to enhance the PLC process, with a focus on building teacher capability through shared planning.

TLI (Tutor Learning Initiative) will continue in 2023. Tier Two funding has been expended on increasing human resources across the school. (Learning Support Staff across F-6)

Wellbeing - Effectively mobilise available resources to support students' wellbeing and mental health, especially the most vulnerable.

PPS has a Dedicated Specialist teacher to Student Wellbeing, all students to attend a weekly 50 minute session. Staff will undertake inclusive education Professional Development to make adaptations in teaching strategies to accommodate student's needs to achieve learning outcomes and to improve learning.

Staff professional development on Friday Peter Sullivan 

The staff participated in Professional Development with Peter Sullivan focussed on Maths. This is aligned with our school goal of Numeracy and building teacher capacity. 

House Cross Country 

Well done to our Grade 3-6 students who participated in the school cross country today.  Congratulations to the students who will be representing PPS at the next level and congratulations to Jacaranda house who placed first. 

NAPLAN

Well done to our Year 3 and 5 students who have now completed the NAPLAN testing. The results won’t be released until later on in the year and we will communicate to you when this happens. Please remember that NAPLAN is one form of assessment, staff use a variety of assessments and teaching and learning strategies to support student learning and growth. 

Grandparents and special visitor afternoon

Tomorrow, Friday 31st March, Grandparents and special visitors are invited to visit Parkdale Primary School from 2:45 - 3:30 pm. This is always a very special day and the children love the opportunity to show their special visitor their classroom and some of their work. 

Building Works – Restumping Grade 2 Building

Restumping of the Grade 2 building has started, this will continue over the holiday break.  

Leanne Bradney

Principal