AP's Message

Dear Endeavour Hills Specialist School community members, 

It has been lovely to see our students return from their mid-semester break, refreshed and ready to go for another term of learning. With it being our shortest term for the year (made even shorter with a couple of public holidays and student free days) we are expecting a full and busy term! 

Ready to Learn

As we continue to re-establish learning routines at the school, our educators continue to work hard at assisting each student to understand how to get themselves to a stage of being ‘ready to learn’. As all our students are different, we understand, first and foremost, that each one of them will require different strategies to regulate and prepare themselves to learn - because after all, if they aren’t ready to learn, learning won’t happen! 

Through the use and implementation of various strategies recognised over time, our amazing staff do a fantastic job at differentiating the learning and the provision of learning, to evidently cater for each students 'ready to learn program'. As a result, we are seeing high levels of student engagement during times of classroom learning activities.

Term 1 Whole School Assembly

At the end of Term 1, we had our inaugural whole School Assembly. Assemblies are a fantastic way for our school to come together and congratulate our staff and students on the work that has been completed, and celebrate the learning that has occurred. 

This will be an ongoing, termly event, and as our students become more understanding of the routines and expectations of the assembly agenda, we will extend our invitations to all families within our community to join us on the day to celebrate this learning.

Building Update

Over the holidays, we had a few construction jobs organised and completed at the school. In addition to the general upkeep of various learning spaces, the most notable upgrade was to our Bursaria Learning Place playground, where we now have a twin swing and hammock set up to assist our students during play and regulation times. It is a fantastic addition to the play space, and has already been used quite frequently. 

Photo Day

Today we had our annual, school wide Photo Day. During the day, students were provided the opportunity to get their individual photo taken, as well as a classroom photo with their classroom peers and educators. All students did a fantastic job at working with the staff during transitions, and with the photographers in turn taking whilst getting their photos taken. 

For the students that weren’t in attendance on the day, or weren’t able to get their photo taken, there will be an additional photo day later in the term to provide that extra opportunity. Please stay tuned for that date. 

Compass Communication

As we continue to develop our understanding and implementation of Compass - our school wide management and organisation system, it is encouraged for all families to continue to be vigilant in viewing the updates and/or announcements that regularly provided. These announcements provide families with information as to any current and/or upcoming events that are relevant to either our school wide community, or specific sections within our community. 

Upcoming Student Free Days

As acknowledged above, this already short term will be made to feel a little shorter with two student free days. There will be an allocated Curriculum Day on Wednesday, May 17 and an allocated Professional Practice Day on Wednesday, May 31. These student free days provide our educators with an opportunity to come together and focus on developing their skills and understanding in targeted areas of learning relative to their teaching practice. 

For those families that require it, there are options through the TheirCarePlus Program, to organise supervision and care for the day via their Pupil Free Day Program. For more information, please see the TheirCarePlus page in this newsletter. 

Additionally, it is recommended that all families also view the Important Dates page of this newsletter to acknowledge any upcoming days of importance for Term 2 and beyond at the school. 

Wishing you all a lovely weekend ahead. 

Kind regards, 

Tim Witcombe