Acting Principal's Report

National Reconciliation Week

 

This week is National Reconciliation Week. It is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared history, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation.

 

At Concord we pride ourselves on our inclusive practices and take this opportunity to reflect on the deep significance of National Reconciliation Week. The timing of the week is framed by two landmark events:

  • the 1967 national referendum in which more than 90 per cent of Australians voted ‘Yes’ to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the census and allow the Commonwealth Government to create laws for them
  • the anniversary of the 1992 High Court of Australia Mabo decision, named after Eddie Mabo, the man who fought for recognition of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners of their land and waters.

Concord School has a strong commitment to Aboriginal inclusion. This includes recognising Aboriginal culture as the world’s oldest continuous living culture and the important role of Traditional Owners and Elders in our communities. Our entire staff will undertake cultural, understanding and sensitivity training next Monday during the curriculum day to ensure the continued support and recognition of the cultural diversity we have within our school community.

Our students will all benefit from the learning that takes place on Monday. Don’t forget it is a pupil free day.

Changes to Concord School Staffing

 

We do have a few additional staffing items this week. As you know Sarah Abbott will be leaving us on the 10th of June. Sarah will be the Assistant Principal at Fairfield PS and her wonderful talents will be sorely missed here at Concord School. Over 13 years Sarah has worked in many areas of our school and will be a great asset to the community at Fairfield. We are very grateful for the role that Sarah has played in the lives of countless young people in supporting them to ‘be the best they can be’ and know that she will continue on with this great work at her new school.

 

Jane Black has been a learning specialist at Concord this year and she will be moving out of her classroom and into the Team Leader role. Jane is extremely experienced and has already proven to be a great resource for our students. We have also been very fortunate to pick up an extremely experienced classroom teacher to replace Jane’s classroom position. Leesa Fatone will be joining us in term 3. We are quite excited to be able to pick up a person with such a decorated teaching career and do look forward to her commencing as the fulltime classroom teacher for SJJ. Jess Mitchell will move into a specialist role where she has already started supporting the digital technology and cyber safety programs.

 

Brooke Martell has also successfully picked up a position with the NDIS and will be moving on in the coming weeks. Brooke has been a wonderful support to the students in Upper Primary and she will be greatly missed. The vacant ES position in PKJ has been advertised and will be filled as soon as possible.

School Review

As you know we are seeking your feedback for our upcoming school review. Please note the following dates in your diary as we would love to have your attendance and input in one of the following sessions.  One session will be held on Wednesday the 12th of June in our transition building from 9:30am – 10:30am and a repeat session will be held on Thursday the 13th of June in our transition building from 6:30pm – 7:30pm. We will also have a child minding option for the evening session to allow more parents the possibility of attending.

The purpose of the session is to explore how we are tracking and what alterations we might make to improve what we are doing. The following is a sample of questions that we will use.

 

  • What skills and attributes do you wish your child to develop as they move through the school?
  • What qualities make an excellent school and why?
  • What aspects of our school culture do you value?
  • What perception do you have of the school as an inclusive, safe, respectful learning environment?

 

As a school we invite feedback as we really want to improve our practices so we can ensure that our students are ‘the best they can be’ and would love to see you at one of these sessions. Together we can make a huge difference.

Principal Award- Saif Syed

Saif is a kind and caring student who loves a laugh and a joke with his friends. He comes to school with a positive attitude and is always ready for the day’s activities. He displays a strong interest in learning and engages in conversations on a variety of topics. Saif always puts in his best effort with each activity and has made fantastic progress already this year.

 

Congratulations on this wonderful achievement.

 

Acting Principal

Kirrily Lamers