Our first fortnight of school has flown by, probably because so much has already happened.

Our new 2023 School Captains have run their first whole school assembly
the House Captains have been elected and already shown true community spirit as they modelled and encouraged sportsperson ship at the swimming carnival
students and parent volunteers have been inducted into the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program
Swimming lessons have commenced for our year 6’s
Staff have undertaken their annual CPR and anaphylaxis training
Our new Prep, Year 1 and 2 teachers have been trained in the MSL 5 day accredited training program.

MSL – MULTISENSORY STRUCTURED LITERACY PROGRAM

In 2021, our prep teachers were trained in MSL; a scientific approach that uses a seven-step process to explicitly teach the sounds of the English language and the common spelling rules and patterns.

The teaching and the improved student learning outcomes, following that initial training in 2021, proved so successful that we trained our year one teachers in 2022 to continue the approach. Again, literacy growth was higher than in previous years.

Last week, our Year 2 teachers were trained in the MSL program along with our new Prep and Year 1 teachers. Our school is committed to providing early years students (Prep to Year 2) with a solid start in their literacy learning by teaching MSL explicitly every day and then applying skills learned within the reading and writing lessons that follow.

The five day training course was not just for our teachers, but also included teachers from various schools across south east Melbourne. It was pleasing to hear so many positive comments from our visitors about how the school not only looks fantastic but has a warm and welcoming feel about it.

We decided to have our teachers undertake the MSL training while the students are involved in the ‘Learning to Learn’ program and before the first unit of inquiry gets underway, rather than engaging relief teachers later. In this way there is less disruption to students and learning programs.

The classes have been taught by school leaders, current staff members and our regular casual teaching staff, all of whom are familiar with our ‘Learning to Learn’ program (which is about engaging students in activities designed to build relationships and familiarise with school and class routines).

This week, our prep, year one and year two teachers have observed each other teaching MSL lessons to ensure consistency of practice and fidelity to the program.

TIME IN LIEU FOR TEACHERS- The VGSA Agreement

The new VGSA (Victorian Government Schools Agreement) states that when teachers are required for duties after hours, that time is to be given back to them as time in lieu. Furthermore, the time in lieu should (where possible) be acquitted within a fortnight of the duty.

For our school, this means we will be minimising the number of activities held outside school hours where teachers are required to attend. For example, family conferences (student-teacher-parent) to be held on 21 and 23 March, and the student led conferences (in term 3) will be held during the school day with the last conference concluding at 5:00pm.

When it comes to teacher attendance at activities outside the normal school day, for example camps, the Union is in negotiations with DET (Department of Education and Training) regarding how this will be managed.

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE DAYS AND CURRICULUM DAYS

In my previous newsletter, I informed our school community of the VGSA Agreement which entitles teachers to five ‘pupil free’ days in 2023. As one of those pupil free days is looming closer (Mon 27 Feb), it’s important to provide a little more information about what teachers will be learning about: ‘The Science of Reading’.

SCIENCE OF READING (Teacher Training and pupil free day- Monday 27 February)

Over decades there has been extensive research into how humans learn to read, the skills required, and which parts of the brain are involved in literacy development. The science of reading is the term now used to reflect the essential components of effective reading instruction.

Our teachers and assistants are excited to learn about the science of reading as we are committed to implementing evidenced based practices guided by scientific research. We will be using student achievement data to identify the impact of introduced practices and refining our school instructional model for Reading as a result.

Here's a you tube clip by Dr Stephanie Stollar who explains what the science of reading is about in under 3 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRpW7Md5Zfs

HOUSE CAPTAINS

Our year 6 students are simply exceptional. Some of those students chose to prepare and deliver a speech to students in their house in the hope of becoming a captain. It has been a pleasure to listen to their speeches and the ideas they shared. Our year 4 to 6 students certainly had some tough decisions to make in choosing their House Captains.

We would like to congratulate the following students:

Red House Captains: Nicholas S and Ineka D

Gold House Captains: Claire K and Hugh B

Green House Captains: Chamath D and Billy G

Blue House Captains: Elliot T and Clementine L

Teachers and students alike commented on the positivity, enthusiasm and encouragement our new House Captains have already demonstrated at the swimming carnival held last week.

SCHOOL COUNCIL

The final meeting of the current School Council was held on Monday 13 February. At this meeting, the various sub committees presented their annual reports outlining activities and achievements for 2022 and recommendations for action in 2023.

To our wonderful school council members whose term of office has now ended, we extend a very heartfelt thank you for your time, input into school improvements, energy and constant support. Thank you to: School Council President Sandra Maxfield; Social and Fundraising Convenor and Co-Convenor Kimberley Payne and Jonathan Doncovio; Education member Elissa Blackman; Facilities members Bruce MacDonald and Ishan Cooper and to our DET representatives: Laura Bainbridge, Alicia Oliver-Cook and Lucy Dunshea.

VACANCIES ON SCHOOL COUNCIL

Membership on school council is for a two-year term.

Our school council is structured in a way that half its members are new to the council each year so they ‘learn the ropes’ from those in their second year of office.

We now have 6 vacancies for school community members. A compass post will be sent next week providing information about the role of school council and the nomination process.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY (and personal devices)

Our students are exceptionally principled (learner profile). They have a strong desire to be responsible and follow the rules, including when it comes to the use of technology. Students are reminded to turn off the notifications on their ipads, phones and smart watches. It is now equally important that parents contact the office to have a message passed on, rather than texting or phoning the child during the school day.

The Acceptable Use of ICT Agreement outlines the actions the school takes to ensure we teach our students to use technologies ethically and how we manage the times when errors occur. The majority of ICT agreements have now been returned, but we ask families to raise discussions at home and, through Compass to sign the agreements.

KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE ONLINE: PARENT EDUCATION (Thursday 16 Feb: 6:30 – 8:00pm)

We are an accredited e Smart school which means we have policies and practices in place to teach students how to be ethical and safe users of the internet and to monitor what they are doing online at school. As the use of devices and the internet occurs at school and at home, we have organised presenters from ‘ThinkUKnow’ to provide parents and carers with up-to-date information about what students can be exposed to when online along with some helpful strategies for parents. PLEASE don’t miss this important adult information session.

SCHOOL PICNIC- save the date: Thursday 23 Feb

The annual school picnic will be held on the oval on Thursday 23 February (5:30 – 7:30pm).

Families bring along picnic rugs or chairs and a picnic dinner for the family.

The picnic is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with old friends and expand your friendship group as you mingle with other members of the school community. Miss Nugent and our performing arts students will kick off the evening with a performance for your enjoyment.

Let’s hope we are blessed with the wonderful weather we enjoyed last year.

Chellee Plumb

What's Happening

SCHOOL PHOTOS