Principal's Report

At the time of writing, we have enjoyed an extraordinarily successful and engaging week at Chatham Primary School. This follows an extremely eventful week last week at Chatham with amongst other matters our Mothers’ Day Breakfast and Mothers’ Day Stall. These of course are established and traditional events at Chatham. Unfortunately, on this occasion I missed these events given some obligations to attend a Department of Education and Training Conference for Principal Class Officers.

Whilst the Assistant Principal Ms Georgina Kirwan and I attended to this matter we were appreciative of the stewardship provided by Mr Zac Barry and others for the two-day period. Again, I convey our appreciation for the leadership and organisation provided by Ms Jacqui McGowan, Ms Rebecca Henry and Ms Claire Thomas in providing the Mothers’ Day Breakfast, and Ms Pam Nasiakos and Ms Lisa Almond for their provision of the Mothers’ Day Stall. We are very aware of course that so many parents contributed to the success of these events.

Currently our staff are involved in a Curriculum Day which is largely focussed upon detailed curriculum and assessment plans at each Year Level and Specialist area. These detailed plans are based on the Victorian Curriculum and therein provide learning experiences based upon analysis of student data. Our comprehensive assessment schedule at all levels continues to be refined and recently we are working with officers from Elastik who provide an exceptional platform for the recording and analysis of student data for every student. This platform also enables us to create learning experiences that provide intervention and support, and also extension at point of student need in English and Mathematics. I will continue to keep you informed of our developments in this area.

Volunteers at Chatham Primary School

Given that it is National Volunteer Week from 15th – 21st May it is timely for us to reflect on the contribution such people make to the lives of our students, staff and school. We usually celebrate our own Volunteer Week in December each year and will be doing so more at that time.

The community strength and vibrancy of our school is due in no small part to the contribution of our volunteers at Chatham. In the coming weeks we will be looking at our formal approach in this regard. Our school achieves a great deal because of the contributions of our volunteers in the grounds, classrooms, Specialist areas, Library, sports events and of course, amongst other matters, fundraising. In the coming weeks we will be producing information to our parents and broader community members seeking to attract them to a range of roles and tasks that require ongoing assistance. Some of these areas of interest at this stage are the following:

To some extent the Year 6 Student Leadership positions also require the assistance of volunteers from time to time. We look forward to developing these areas in the weeks ahead and will have further communication in this regard.

Some of our major events have been the following:

School Council Matters

On Monday 15th May we conducted our School Council meeting. We note that Ms Jacqui McGowan has joined us for 2023 as a School Community member. On this occasion we were provided with a presentation by Senior Project Officer, Mr Trevor Power from the Victorian School Building Authority, regarding the status of arrangements with our Building Program. At this stage we expect the project to be completed by the end of this Term. Of great interest at present is the removal of the old Music Room. In the coming weeks we will be reviewing plans for the area with members of the School Council and Buildings and Grounds Committee. I look forward to providing further details in the coming weeks.

Tuesday 16th May 2023 – Grandparents and Special Friends' Day

This was an amazing experience with our School Hall full to capacity with grandparents and special friends on Tuesday. Given the pandemic and other restrictions we had not been able to do this for a couple of years. We certainly made up for it this year! It was wonderful to witness so many of our grandparents and special friends in our classrooms engaging with our students and staff, and on some occasions bringing relics and ‘souvenirs’ from past years. It was also fabulous to have our Year 6 students performing the new Chatham School Song on the marimbas and singing the words. This event was perhaps the greatest Chatham experience in terms of the number of families and volunteers involved, many of whom assisted with providing food for morning tea and accompanying grandparents and friends to various parts of the school. We convey our appreciation for the clear leadership and organisation of Ms Jo Haddock and Ms Aimee Macfarlane who capably planned and executed the experience with the support of many parents. We look forward to locking in this event on our calendar for 2024.

Open Afternoon – Wednesday 17th May

Again, it was fabulous to see so many of our parents taking the opportunity to visit classrooms across the school on Wednesday afternoon. Apart from the enjoyment of visiting other classrooms, it was also a wonderful opportunity for parents to view displayed work and peruse the efforts of our students.

District Cross Country – Anderson Park Hawthorn – Thursday 18th May 2023

We are delighted that we were able to participate in this event along with other schools, despite the restrictions in places in access to Council Parks because of the inclement weather. We will confirm early next week the students who will progress to the Regional Zone competition.

Again, this event was possible in part because of the volunteering provided by a number of parents: Ms Pam Middleton, Sophie Rigg, Ms Lucy Scott, Ms Rachel Muzzi, Ms Kate James and Ms Mabel Siew who offered themselves at short notice and completed marshalling functions. 

Thank you!

Staffing Matters – Year 5ST

Earlier this week we advised the parents of Year 5ST that Ms Hannah Scantleton would be taking family leave effective from Wednesday 17th May 2023. As expected, Ms Vivianne Twigg has assumed responsibility for Year 5ST full time. We expect this arrangement to continue for the remainder of 2023. Prior to Wednesday, Ms Twigg had been assuming responsibility for Year 5ST on Thursdays and Fridays. This is a most positive outcome for Ms Twigg, but also for our students at Year 5 as we progress the classroom program for 2023.

Parents' Club Meeting – Friday 26th May 2023

We look forward to progressing matters with this pivotal group at 9:00am in the School Library. It will be an opportunity to appoint the President for 2023, as well as confirming events for the year. All parents are welcome to join us and share in some of the exciting planning for 2023. If you are available, we strongly encourage you to attend.

Again, there is so much ahead of us for the remainder of the Term and we look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks.

Christopher Cotching

Principal