From the Principal's desk

Welcome back for the start of Term 2! I hope everyone enjoyed the school holidays and that you are feeling rested and rejuvenated. 

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served". Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was initially devised to honour the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps members. They served in the Gallipoli Campaign, their first engagement in the First World War. We will be commemorating this national day of remembrance with our special DPS Anzac day assembly and our school captains attending the community Anzac Day service organised by the Rotary Club.

We are looking forward to a term filled with rich learning experiences and opportunities. Speaking of rich learning experiences, I wish our Level 6 students and teachers all the best for Canberra Camp! We are so excited that the children can participate in the camp this year. Thank you to our Level 6 teachers, Natalie our Business Manager, and especially Niky Corfios for your tireless efforts and meticulous planning. We cannot wait to share the experience via pictures, news feed posts and hearing stories upon your return. 

Education Week takes place this term from Sunday 22nd and Saturday 28th of May with particular significance as the theme for this year is celebrating the 150th anniversary of public education and renewing our commitment to the great values of free, compulsory education with equity and excellence at the core.

The students in Levels 3 and 5 will be participating in the Naplan assessments, which will be online for the first time. Thank you to our fabulous teachers for their efforts in completing all the necessary tasks to prepare for NAPLAN this year. Once again, special thanks to Niky Corfios as our ICT leader for your work in this area. And I would also like to acknowledge Julia Bay, Vanessa Keen and all the Levels 3 and 5 teachers for your work in preparing the students with Naplan practice. This year also marks the last time the assessments will be completed in May; from 2023 onwards, we move to the earlier time of March to provide more time for schools to make constructive and productive use of NAPLAN data. 

I will continue to update you on changes to Covidsafe measures in terms of school operations. Still, it is promising that we are resuming school events, activities and incursions, and parent participation in enriching our students' learning. We hope that this return to 'normalcy' will counter some of the adverse residual effects of the lockdowns and quarantine that are impacting some of our student's mental health and well being. 

I am looking forward to working together throughout this full and exciting term!