Principal Team's Report

Welcome to 'Springer News'!  So much has happened since our last newsletter, and we hope you also keep track of news on the school's official Facebook page.  Students and staff are enjoying being able to attend events and excursions and plan for camps again. 

Be sure to read all about the extracurricular activities each fortnight on the 'Springers in Action' page in this newsletter.  Our students certainly have been busy!

Memorial - Susan McMahon

Many of you will remember Susan (Mrs Mac) who sadly passed away in October 2020.  Susan was a much-loved teacher at the Springs and is greatly missed.  Last Friday a memorial service was held for Susan in Hobart, the family very kindly invited some staff to attend.  I (Kerryn) was privileged to represent the Springs with the other staff members who all shared fond memories of Susan.

We are also working on a 'quiet space' in the school for staff and students to remember Susan.  More details to come on this. 

Learning Conferences

It was terrific to see so many families onsite and via WebEx, participating in our Learning Conferences.  The Learning Conferences provide an opportunity for the school, home, and student to connect.  At PSPS, we value this connection and believe in strong communication between home and school.  This is a great opportunity to remind families that Compass is also used to communicate events and permission forms, newsfeed items relevant to individual classes, and whole school information.  Compass will also keep you updated with your child's positive acknowledgments and student behaviour choices.  In Compass you will find (as relevant) Individual Learning Plans, Student Support Group meeting minutes, Essential Assessment login details, and other assessments completed. Please contact the school if you have misplaced your Compass login details.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD).  The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about the support provided to students with disability.  These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• year of schooling
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory, or social/emotional
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial, or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools 
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process.  The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured.  All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information.  To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy.

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal.

Progress Reports Week 5.

Progress reports will be published on Friday 12th August.  A reminder that these are a 'snapshot' of your child's learning and behaviours for learning.  The Progress Reports indicate how your child is currently tracking in the areas of Mathematics and Literacy as well as assessment of the Learning Habits.  Some areas of Mathematics may be marked with a N/A, this indicates that the strand of Mathematics was not a focus in the five-week teaching period.  Progress Reports can be accessed via Compass using the reports tab. Teachers welcome any questions you may have about the information presented.

COVID Safety Measures

It is important for all parents/guardians to continue to alert the school if a member in the family tests positive for COVID.

The PSPS Leadership Team