From the Director of Primary

There is a great deal to look forward to in the coming weeks including the Year 5 and 6 Social, the Early Years’ Athletics Carnival, Grandparents’ and Friends’ Morning, Celebration Evening, the Appreciation Supper and the Nativity Play.  I encourage parents to check the dates for these events as the final seven weeks of the year will be incredibly busy.

We welcome Mrs Jan Petterwood who will work alongside Mrs Maureen Fasnacht in Prep, as well as Miss Isabella Maskell who will be with Mr Werienga in Year 6 while undertaking her professional teaching experience.

PIPS and PAT Testing

The Prep students are currently completing the PIPS assessment.  This assessment occurs at the beginning of the year and then again in Term 4 in order to measure the progress of students for literacy and numeracy.  Similarly, Year 1 to Year 6 students will undertake various PAT Assessments for literacy and numeracy (Reading, Vocabulary and Mathematics) in the coming weeks.  The data gained will be used to inform the end of year reports and determine individual progress for each student across a 12-month period.  If you would like to access further information on these assessments, please contact your child’s Class Teacher.

Focus on Dyslexia

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month.  At this week's staff meeting, teaching staff enjoyed the opportunity to work with Linda McKillop, a speech pathologist and Accredited Member of the Australian Dyslexia Association.  This was the second session that staff have attended with a focus on:

• What is dyslexia?
• Signs of dyslexia at different ages
• Strategies to support students
• The effects of dyslexia

The opportunity for teachers and teacher assistants to discuss dyslexia, to form a common understanding about the signs of dyslexia and the strategies that may be implemented to support students was incredibly valuable. 

For more information, please read the attached fact sheet.

Focus of the Fortnight

Each fortnight the Years 5 and 6 Leaders meet to decide and collectively plan for a Focus of the Fortnight.  Attached are images of the doors of kindness that were completed in the final weeks of Term 3.  Over the course of the week students were encouraged to record acts of kindness shown by their peers and as you can see from the images, it did not take long for the doors to be covered. 

In the coming weeks, the students are challenging us all to be far more conscious about our environment by considering how we can use everyday items in the playground.  Without doubt the playground equipment is always a popular spot in the yard while many of the younger students enjoy creating various structures with the blocks that live at the end of the basketball court. 

Rather than merely using traditional items to play with at recess and lunch time, the Years 5 and 6 students are encouraging students to use everyday items such as cardboard boxes, pipes, fabric, pieces of wood and plastic containers.  Not only are such materials cost effective and sustainable, but will encourage the students to be creative in terms of how they may be used. 

The Leaders are inviting students to bring items from home that may be used as part of a recycling pod that will be available for use at recess and lunch time.  I would like to thank the Years 5 and 6 Leaders for their initiative. 

Caroline Wilson-Haffenden

Director of Primary