Principal's Report
Dear all families,
Welcome to week 6 which indicates that we are already halfway through the term. Please take note of our P&C Meeting on Friday the 3rd of March at 9:00. We invite all parents, carers and family members to attend our P&C Meeting.
Education changes lives. Around the world, the undeniable case for better educational outcomes is increasingly recognised as the driver of economic and social outcomes. By leveraging the collective strengths of communities, families and cross-agency collaboration, we are working together to improve the lives of young people. We have a rare privilege and responsibility – the better job we do, the better someone’s life.
Today I would like to share with you the strategic direction of the Department of Education Queensland.
Through the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration, we, as a nation, committed to equity and excellence in education – that all children and young people are confident, creative lifelong learners active in their community. Achieving our vision requires a collective understanding of what we all stand for and how we will make it a reality. Excellence cannot be achieved without equity.
The Equity and Excellence Strategy focus on realising the potential of every student, renews our focus on empowering our teachers and school leaders, investing in digital innovation, school performance, fostering collaboration between schools and community and delivering sustainable investment in schools for the future.
In 2022, the Department of Education undertook extensive research into the factors that lift school and system wide performance and equity, partnering with educational experts to undertake literature reviews and jurisdictional scans and commissioning market research into factors that influence school choice for parents and carers. The Minister for Education, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Racing launched targeted consultation on the new Education Strategy at the 2022 Principals’ Conference and Business Day. System leaders, including Queensland’s state school principals and key stakeholders, informed finalisation of the strategy and implementation design.
Education system leaders resoundingly support the vision of Equity and Excellence and a focus on educational achievement, wellbeing and engagement, and culture and inclusion to deliver a holistic approach to student learning throughout schooling. Overwhelmingly, principals showed strong support for the strategic direction and focus on collaborative effort across the state schooling system and with other government agencies.
To achieve our vision of equity and excellence, every school in Queensland will focus on the following.
Educational achievement
Knowing each student’s learning progress is essential to making sure they are on track for positive educational outcomes. Setting clear expectations for every student and every school supports them to achieve.
This means we:
- have a common goal that every student achieves at least 1 year of learning growth each year
- have clear expectations for schools and help them to differentiate support so every student realises their potential.
Wellbeing and engagement
Being healthy, confident and resilient is a foundation for engaging in learning. With a focus on wellbeing of all staff and students, we create a sense of belonging and a positive environment for teaching and working. Designing and delivering meaningful pathways for every student is key to lifting learning outcomes.
This means we:
- know each student and understand what works best for them
- support staff and student wellbeing and engagement to establish a strong foundation for learning outcomes.
Culture and inclusion
The diversity of our staff, students and school communities is our greatest strength. By valuing culture and creating inclusive teaching and learning environments, we are driving equity and excellence across every state school.
This means we:
- embrace diversity by creating welcoming, inclusive and accessible educational settings
- value student, parent/carer, community and stakeholder voice in our approach to teaching and learning.
Please see below our school alignment with the Queensland Department of Education’s Strategy:
Have a fabulous week everybody.
Kind regards,
Dehlia