Leadership Report

Dear Saltwater Community,

We have officially passed the halfway point of Term Three, wow, how time flies! We would like to take this opportunity to thank our community for their continued support and to our hard-working staff who continue to work to make Saltwater P-9 College the best school it can be!

Please read to find out about some of the exciting things that have been happening at Saltwater P-9 College over the last fortnight.

Parent Opinion Survey

We want our parents, caregivers and guardians to tell us what they think!

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents, caregivers and guardians think of our school. The Parent Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. The survey is optional but we encourage all chosen families to participate. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.

A random sample of approximately 30 per cent of families have been selected to participate in this year’s survey.

The Parent Opinion Survey will be open from Monday 14 August to Friday 8 September 2023.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the survey period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in English and 10 other languages including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

Please look out for communication from school which explains how to access the survey, for the families that have been randomly selected to participate. 

Dr Helen Street Visits Saltwater

During week four, Saltwater College staff and parents were privileged to work with Dr Helen Street. Dr Street is an Applied Social Psychologist, an Educational Consultant and Professional Speaker. During her three days at our school, Dr Street worked with our staff, consulted with students and addressed our parent community. 

Dr Street’s work explores the wellbeing, engagement and motivation of young people and she firmly believes that the most effective way to support student wellbeing is through the development of contextual wellbeing in school. Our role as educators is not to tell someone how to be well, or to reward them for behaving well. We have to provide young people with a context in which they can flourish.

Dr Helen Street presented an evening information session for parents and we had close to 50 families attend her presentation. Not only was she a highly knowledgeable speaker, but she was also a very engaging presenter. Through her own research and her wide academic reading, Dr Street prompted parents to consider what success means, whether it is explicably related to achieving outcomes alone, and how they can help their children to be ‘better than OK’ at school and beyond. 

She explained that Contextual Wellbeing is a state of health, happiness, and positive engagement in life and learning, that arises from membership of an equitable, inclusive, and cohesive environment. Her overall message imparted that lasting happiness develops from the ongoing creation of healthy connections to others and to the world around us, and not just on the attainment of outcomes. Happiness is a positive state of wellbeing resulting from our connection to a social environment that supports and nurtures us to become the best we can be. Helen recommended reading her published book for a further understanding and even gave away two copies during the evening. 

Before and After-School Supervision

Thank you to all community members who have provided feedback to the school around before and after-school supervision. To support our students in being able to safely make their way to school, we are now trialing additional supervision areas - the communal area of Tribeca Village and the bus stop outside of Saltwater Swim School. Please let your children know if they have any concerns when making their way to or from school, that we will have supervising teachers, leaders and wellbeing staff available to support. If they aren't sure who to look for, members of staff will be wearing their high-visibility vests, so please tell them to keep a look out!

Changes to Early Departure Arrangements

On Friday 4 August, all families should have received an email through XUNO informing families about changes in our school's early departure procedure,whichis aimed to minimise disruptions to student learning. As of Monday 7 August, parents or guardians are now required to complete an early departure form for any student who needs to leave school before the regular dismissal time. 

Key Highlights of the New Procedure: 

• Early Departure Form: Parents or guardians must complete an early departure form which can be collected from the schools administration office, providing at least 2 hours notice before the intended early departure time. A copy of the form can be found below by clicking the link.
• Streamlined Communication: With the office being aware of all early departures, teachers will be promptly informed, eliminating the need for classroom disruptions and helping us maintain a focused learning atmosphere. 

We would like to take this opportunity to remind families that consistent attendance is a crucial aspect of learning, as students learn more effectively when they are present in school regularly and for the entirety of the school day. We kindly request that you arrange for your child to be picked up early only when it is absolutely necessary.

Celebrating Principal's Day

On Friday 4 August, our Saltwater Staff celebrated Principal's Day - a chance to celebrate the school's hardworking and dedicated Principal Class team. Leading a school of our size is no easy feat, so we hope the school community can join us in thanking Jackie Daniali, the Principal, alongside our team of Assistant Principals - Taxia Katsouranis, Danielle Colling, Hayley Mann, Joseph Doyle, Matthew Hart, Amanda Palombi, Michael Nicolaides, Sarah O'Connor, Mark McInerney and Ryan Ma for all the work they put in to keeping our school running effectively. 

Leadership and teaching can often be a thankless job, so if you have any positive feedback of how any of our staff (leadership, admin, teachers or educational support staff) have made a difference in your child's or your family's life, we would love to hear it!

After School Supervision  

We would like to bring to your attention an important matter regarding after-school supervision and activities on our school grounds beyond school dismissal.

It has come to our attention that children are lingering on the playground and oval after school hours. We want to stress the significance of ensuring your child's safety and well-being during these times. 

Our school's policy is that children should be heading directly home after school dismissal, participating in our After-School Supervision program, joining Big Child Care, or promptly leaving the school premises. The playground and oval areas are not supervised after school hours, and for the safety of all students, it's essential that children are under appropriate supervision at all times. 

We kindly request your support in reinforcing this message with your children. By working together, we can ensure that our students remain safe and secure during their time outside of regular school hours. 

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. 

Thank you for your attention to this important issue. 

Important Reminders

Please be sure to check our ‘Important Dates’ tab of the newsletter as we have many exciting events outlined for the remainder of this term.