Assistant Principal Report

Smiling Students

Schools are far better places when they are full of smiling students ... 

This year has been filled with uncertainty and ever-changing expectations. We could never have imagined a Term 2 quite like this one, however it has been wonderful to celebrate new ways of learning with students, staff and parents.  We are so proud of how everyone has adapted and shown resilience. The health and wellbeing of the students has been our top priority and staff have focused on checking in with students to make sure they are coping with the change.

Whilst we would have preferred to be learning at school, during remote learning we learnt a lot about our students and their families. The partnership between school and home was strengthened. Learning is not mutually exclusive to school ... learning happens everywhere! So thank you to the parents who helped their children learn at home and came up with creative and unique ways to combine family life with school life and still come out smiling! 

Have a restful break ... stay happy and healthy and we will see you all on Monday 13th July.

Student Academic Reports

Student reports were published to Sentral on the 25th June.  If you are yet to set up your Sentral Account or link your child/ren to your account please ask the school for support. Reports have also been emailed to families with an up to date email address on Sentral. 

* A reminder that reports are not printed on paper.

The Department of Education and Training has adjusted the expectations of Student Reports for Semester 1 in recognition of the transition to remote and flexible learning during Term 2. While our school has continued to deliver its teaching and learning program and monitor the achievement and progress of each student, there have been some unprecedented changes to our usual program. 

At Aitken Hill Primary School, we know it is vital to involve students and their parents/carers in learning. This process includes providing reports on student learning. These reports include information on student achievement for each curriculum area taught, however, there are some changes from our usual Semester 1 reports. 

Student reports for Semester 1 2020 include: 

• a description of the areas of the Victorian Curriculum F-10 taught 

• comments regarding student learning achievement, based on the Victorian Curriculum      F-10 for the subject areas taught 

• a comment on how the student has adjusted to the remote and flexible learning environment.

The reports do not include teacher judgements and a five-point scale due to the unprecedented changes to our program due to COVID-19. We will report on progress at the end of the year. 

If you have queries regarding your child’s report, you will have an opportunity to address these at the parent teacher interviews in Week 3 of Term 3.

The World is a Classroom

During remote learning, a number of organisations set up rich learning opportunities for students.

• The Melbourne Zoo set up live streams of animals including koalas, snow leopards and echidnas.
• The National Gallery of Victoria’s many exhibits can now be experienced from home with their interactive virtual self-guided tours. They also offer schools free virtual excursions, hosted by an NGV educator via video conference.
• The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra created a free livestream performance of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony.
• The ABC Me channel runs educational programming between 10am and 3pm on weekdays, including, Ecomaths, ScienceXplosion, and Numberblocks.

You can still access many of these opportunities ... and should check them out in the holidays.

Triple P-Positive Parenting Program 

Families can now access free expert parenting advice through the online Triple P-Positive Parenting Program. The program is relevant to families with children aged between 2 and 16 years and provides strategies to deal with specific challenges, such as building children's resilience and dealing with conflict. There are courses specifically for parents of toddlers to tweens, and for parents of pre-teens to teens. It gives parents strategies to:

• raise happy, confident kids
• manage misbehaviour so everyone in the family enjoys life more
• set rules and routines that everyone respects and follows
• encourage positive behaviour
• take care of themselves as a parent
• feel confident they're doing the right thing

Sign up to the FREE  Triple P- Positive Parenting Program

Australia’s Biggest Child Safety Lesson

In 2020, for the first time, the Daniel Morcombe Foundation is producing two editions of Australia’s Biggest Child Safety Lesson. On 25 June, our upper primary students participated in a lesson with a focus on online safety strategies for children aged 8 to 12.

Our Prep-2 students will take part in the second lesson, specifically for children aged 4 to 7, it will be live streamed on 10 September during National Child Protection Week.