Patience is not the ability to wait but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting."

(Joyce Meyer)

Staff Update

Mr. Jeff Carter has contacted us and will not be returning for the rest of the year. We are thrilled that Mrs. Judy Goulding can continue to be 2B’s teacher for the remainder of the year. We continue to wish Mr. Carter the very best during this time.

Curriculum Day Notice

Please be advised that our next Curriculum Day will be on Monday the 31st July. More information will be in a later newsletter.

Building Update

Although from the outside, the building looks much the same, amazing work is happening on the inside. We are hoping that Year 2 and Year 4 will be moving into their new classrooms at the beginning of term 3. More accurate days of moving will be in the final newsletter for the term.

Help required for Furniture Moving

With the next phase of the building scheduled to start at the beginning of term 3 Mrs. Denise Braithwaite has already started the huge job of moving everything out of the Art Room, with art classes operating in classrooms for the remainder of the year. As you can imagine this is a very big job and we are asking for volunteers to come and support Denise with moving art room furniture and equipment and paper etc to storage containers near the hall. If you can assist in moving please let contact Denise. Classes will not be moving out of this part of the school until the beginning of term 3 but there are still a lot of things that we can move before then. Thanks in advance for your help and your understanding as we commence the next phase of the new building project that will result in a magnificent new school.

Bike Racks

With the building works there has been much moving around of all things big and small.

The bike-shed area is one area that will be making the move – we will be attaching new bike racks to the BER building walkway when the building works are complete, unfortunately until this happens children will not be able to ride to school, as bikes will not be secure. When we do get the bike racks, children will need a bike lock or chain suitable for keeping their bike/scooter safe.

Assessment and Reporting

As we enter the final weeks of Term 2, we are preparing for the important mid-year reporting. Our reporting to parents consist of three equally important parts. The Student Assessment Portfolios that are sent home at the end of each Semester, the Semester 1 & 2 Written Reports that are sent home in June and December and thirdly, the face-to-face parent-teacher interviews. These are offered formally in Term 1 and the end of Term 2 each year but are of course available at any time of the year as needed by either teachers or parents.

The Semester 1 written report will be able to be accessed at the end of the school day at 4pm on Friday 23rd June via COMPASS. Assessment Portfolios for this semester will be sent home on Friday June 23rd as well. We have slightly changed our written reports this year as we are using a different program to prepare reports. We have worked hard to ensure that the changes are minimal and that the key features that parents look for in the report are still there. These include the child’s progression point for each assessed subject showing their achievement in relation to the expected level of achievement and an A – E rating for children at this stage of their schooling, a rating of each child’s Work Habits, (Effort and Behaviour) and written comments from the classroom teacher and specialist teacher. It is important to note that different aspects of the Victorian Curriculum are assessed and reported on at different year levels.

One change that has happened due to the reporting program and changes to the Victorian Curriculum is that to receive an ‘A’ rating in any subject a child now needs to be at least 18 months above the expected level. In the past, a child needed to be just 12 months ahead. The following table shows the ratings and the achievement description:

Rating Achievement Description

A Well above the standard expected at this time of the year (18 months or more ahead)

B Above the standard expected at this time of the year (6-12 months ahead)

C At the standard expected at this time of the year

D Below the standard expected at this time of the year (12-18months behind)

E Well below the standard expected at this time of the year (24 months or more behind)

As this is the first year we are using this report writing program the report will not show each child’s progression point from this time last year. This will not be available until 2018. You will however be able to look at last year’s Semester 1 report to make this comparison yourself.

Any questions you may have about the new written reports can be discussed at the Parent-Teacher interview. Teachers do put in many hours making sure the reports reflect your child’s learning, if you have any questions regarding the report, or an aspect that is not quite clear to you, please speak to your child’s teacher.

COMPASS – Parent Teacher Interviews

A reminder that parent teacher booking is open via Compass now. Please log on and

make a time to see teachers on Tuesday the 27th and Thursday the 29th June. Specific days and times will vary from teacher to teacher. This will allow parents to book interview times that suit their family best.

A notice was sent home outlining the details of how to book interview times on COMPASS. It is important that you use a computer to make bookings -not the app on a device or phone. Fifteen minutes will be set aside to discuss each student’s learning highlights, self-reflection and midyear report.

If you are unable to attend the interview on the day, please contact the school office on:

9729 2614 to cancel or reschedule (if available) your appointment/s.

Prep 2018 Enrolment

If you are currently a member of the school community and have a child ready to commence school next year (2018) and have not yet enrolled your child we would appreciate you enrolling before the end of this term. Thanking you for your support.

Have a great week.

Kind Regards

Leanne Jennings

Heights Happenings

Issue 10 · 15 Jun 2017

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