From the Principal
A Warm Welcome Back!
The sense of anticipation I have observed as we have been preparing for the children’s return to school is a great testament to our teachers’ genuine love of working with children and their deep commitment to Preshil. As always, we have many new families coming to Arlington. We have fifteen children joining the Primary School and sixteen children starting at the Kindergarten and I am sure they will be made very welcome. There will be the opportunity to do this at the Family Picnic, on Friday 17 February, which will be held on the front lawn at the Secondary School. Please try to be there as it does make a huge difference to the children when their families feel connected and are a part of our community.
During the last 3 days our teachers have been working intensively on collaboratively planning the learning to take place in the first term. Jason Barton’s breadth of experience and expertise has been inspirational, meaning that the hard work has been both exciting and satisfying. We are confident that the children will be similarly inspired and challenged as they settle into new routines and spaces. Over the next few weeks there will be a concentrated focus on respect; respectful play, respectful language and respectful interactions. This focus will be greatly strengthened when parents are also on board emphasising these same expectations.
In December Preshil achieved our Candidacy for the Primary Years Program of the International Baccalaureate. Rachel Bowen is our PYP Coordinator and she is to be congratulated for bringing together the massive documentation required to complete a successful application. Together with Jason, she will be working very closely with the teachers to achieve the rigorous standards of teaching demanded by the IB. There will be much more information about this program at Arlington in information sessions during the year.
This year Talitha Crawford will be running a Physical Movement and Wellbeing program for all classes. This area of learning and development has been an obvious gap in Arlington’s program, so it is very satisfying to finally have someone with Talitha’s passion and knowledge to initiate and build a program to suit our needs.
Our Compass communication system is now firmly embedded across both campuses and we are hopeful this will be one more way of satisfying our ongoing challenge to meet the complex needs for effective communication.
The Newsletter will once again be published at each campus on alternating Wednesdays and emailed to families through Compass. Newsletters can also be accessed on our Website. This year there will be an increased emphasis on showcasing the learning that takes place in each classroom, so please take just a few moments to at least scroll through and take note of the information relevant to you.
We will let families know when Firesides for each class will take place. These are yet to be finalised which we will do by the end of this week. Classes need to get underway and Jason needs to get to know the children. For the first three weeks Deb Heyes is on leave and Jason has welcomed the opportunity to step in to work beside Jared in the 10s and 11s. Melissa Westerman, who worked at the Secondary School in 2016, will join this class as a Learning Support Assistant. We welcome Suzanne Banfield to the team and she will also be stepping in to teach across the Primary School. Melisande Rintz, our new Language Assistant arrived from France a week ago and will be taking every opportunity to converse with our young French speakers.
With regard to facilities we have used the summer vacation to carry out some significant renovations and restoration in the Arlington house. We are delighted by these changes which have exceeded our hopes. Bryce McLean has been closely involved in overseeing this work and Robert Gillett and Josh Wilson have both worked tirelessly to achieve these results in such a short space of time.
The big changes mean that Reception is now inside the front door opposite the Sitting Room; what was the staff kitchen is now the Head of Campus, Jason’s, office and meeting room. My office at Arlington will be set up in the room that was the general office. The room which has been the Head of Campus office will be a planning and meeting space for the Kindergarten and Early Years teachers to ensure the continuity of the Kindergarten program into the 5s, 6s and 7s and the transition for the children is seamless.
There are still a few finishing touches to complete but the imperative was to have everything ready for the children’s first day – and with all hands on deck we have just made it! We think it is very much more welcoming and accommodating for our community as well as for visitors and it is very satisfying to know that the money contributed to our Building Fund results in tangible improvement.
Finally, our plans to undertake a much needed restoration of the Fives building and play area is about to get underway. This is a major piece of work to be carried out to meet exacting heritage standards as well as to ensure that nothing is lost from Kevin Borland’s original vision of a delightful and imaginative space for children. I will provide families with much more information about this project as we get underway and would welcome anyone who has a particular interest or curiosity about just what structural and aesthetic elements will be addressed to come and talk with me.
This year I will start each day at Arlington. Jason and I are both readily available to meet and to hear how your children are experiencing their school.
We are looking forward to an exhilarating year and I am very pleased to be sharing it with you.
Marilyn Smith
Principal