Principal's Message

Principal's Message

Welcome to 2023! I hope the summer was safe and happy for all children and families. Whilst we missed you, it was also good to take a break after another busy year in 2022. We look forward to another successful year at SMPS in 2023.

The following pages contain updates to the final iNewsletter sent out in the last week of Term 4. The pages introduce our wonderful staff to you all. Please scan through to either confirm your understanding or update. Not many changes have occurred from our last edition (thank goodness). Staffing across all schools is a serious concern and we are very lucky to have remained stable over the summer. Many schools were advertising over Christmas and New Year and that usually does not auger well for outcomes. 

Each year brings new challenges and I am sure 2023 will be no different. We embrace this as part of the journey. We are very lucky to have the community of families that we do at SMPS and are very grateful for who you are and what you bring. I was asked over the summer to use three words to describe the parents. I used:

1. Humble
2. Kind
3. Supportive

These wonderful characteristics flow onto the vast majority of students at the school. 

Families are humble and very few show any signs of arrogance or possess an inflated sense of self. The children, therefore, are not cheeky or aggressive. 

Families are kind as they understand that our staff do the best they can and are thus shown gratitude for their efforts. We always hear lovely 'thank you's' in emails and in person as we move through the year.

Families are supportive as they try to find the good, rather than attack the school with negative stories. We live in a world where aggression is often the first line of defence. Our families assume the best and gently inquire when something is not quite right.

One of the many upshots of this beautiful temperament shown by families is harmony within a magnificently multicultural scenario. Children come to school to learn and follow staff directions. Students are calm and kind and have the right mindset to succeed. 

Success in 2023

What will success look like in 2023 for SMPS? It will involve continuing the very high level of student achievement according to student outcome data (which is a positive outlier in the state and among nearby schools). We also strive to make sure students can make a friend and keep them. We closely monitor the happiness quotient of students. 

Aspiring to ensure students are safe, happy, connected and achieving is our ultimate goal. Success means using our measures to improve year-on-year. We have loads of data showing the school is in an incredibly healthy space and we want to push those boundaries to the limit in a relaxed, yet highly professional, environment.

I welcome returning families and students along with the newbies to 2023. We have the best students, families and staff in Victoria so let's make the most of this opportunity together. We welcome you to the journey.

I will leave you with a graphic that I created for our staff on our first day back on Friday. It outlines the 'destination' that I would like us to achieve in terms of key outcomes. It will be out of context for parents, but the sub-headings will at least give you a sense that the school has strong goals and a relentless drive to achieve them within a friendly and safe atmosphere.

Subjects 2023

Please note that despite our best efforts, we could not secure a highly skillful Mandarin teacher for Term 1, 2023. Our goal is to go-back-to-the-well and try again to see if one emerges. As principal, I am not willing to appoint a person on the basis that they can speak the language. I will always seek super-high teacher quality as the first port-of-call. 

The good news is that we have retained the services of Miss Hope who has worked at our school for the last few years in the specialist and class scenarios. Hope loves SMPS; the families, staff and kids. She is also highly skilled in Digital Technologies with an extensive background in the subject. Hope will take Digi-Tech as our specialist subject for Term 1 at a minimum as we embark on our search for a Mandarin teacher. I am sure you will all be happy to have Miss Hope in the fold (as much as we are)!