Principal Report 

Welcome back to 2022! 

I hope everyone stayed safe and well during the holidays and you have returned to school well-rested. 

I would like to formally welcome our new families and their lovely children into prep and across the wider school, as well as our returning children. 

I would also like to welcome back all of our staff from their well deserved holiday period. Sharon White has joined the ESO team and comes with a lot of experience and friendly nature, welcome to RHPS. We also welcome back Rachel Boyle from her leave to 34K and Susy Sutton to the admin team. 

I am sure you agree that they make the return for us all so seamless. Walking through the school it is clear to see that there has been lots of effort put into making class spaces warm and welcoming for children. It is a little hard to open that up for parents at the moment so you can see this work. We are very keen to have you back in school as soon as possible. We are missing our reading and maths volunteers! On a side note, I would like to wish our grade 6 children from 2021 all the best as they transition to BIG school. We are so glad we got our graduation event happening last year!

Our goal this year is to normalise the school experience for us all, adding back into the mix the big-ticket items we have missed over the last two years. 

For many, this will be welcome news, and for some, I understand you may have worries or concerns about us coming back for events. We will solve these challenges together as a community as they are thrown up. As a school, we have not completely thrown caution to the wind, but we are working hard to make the sensible and safe decision that will support our community to come together after such a disruptive period for us all.

This term we will host a welcome picnic for our new preps...and those that missed out in 2020 and 2021. We will be running Information Nights in person so you can meet and greet teachers, and ask questions about the year ahead. This will be a QR event for those that are vaccinated. If you choose not to attend we will send the information home. We will run Getting to Know You Interviews with families and their children. These will be on Zoom as the vaccination rate for children will still be low across our school. 

(On that note I have been asked to promote vaccinations as a way of keeping our community safe, and bringing us all back together quickly. This is a parent choice and I respect every parent right to chose what is best for their child)

We will be running Athletics, STOMP for P-2, all sporting events, Clean-up Australia day, and our Parent and Friends Slime Run!

From a teaching and learning lens, we have introduced a school-wide spelling program called SMART that is highly regarded by other schools. We have purchased new readers for P-2, new decodable books, new books for mini-libraries in grade 3-6, new VR headsets (very cool) and 100 plus iPads for Prep to 2 grades.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

And to top it off we have introduced dedicated Science classes for our children with a new topic and science lens each term across all levels. I have seen the work the team have put in and it is going to be awesome!

Preps begin the year with Pets Alive: Living things.

Grade 1 - Minibeasts 

Grade 2 - Life Cycles

Grade 34 - Classifications 

Grade 56 - Biomes and Adaptions

We also have teaching and learning tutors (TLI) returning this year as well as a dedicated support program for P-2 children through Helen Plunkett (LLI) and G3-6 through Joy Smith (Macqlit). Maths club for grades 3-6 also begins next week each morning at 8:15 am in the Library. For children who wish to push themselves in literacy and numeracy, we will begin our Spotlight groups for grades 3-6 in week 5, and our Junior School Council elections begin next week. 

CURRICULUM DAY 

Our first curriculum day will be on 18th February and will focus on Flourishing Classrooms with Edwina Ricci from the HOPE centre in Maroondah. This will be a student-free day with the option to book into OSH care.

Before I talk about COVID-19, I would like to share this quote...

COVID News

So everyone is aware they are able to participate in the DET rapid antigen testing schedule over the next 5 weeks. Thank you to the wonderful office staff who had less than 24 hrs notice that this would be something they needed to roll out to families. I think they have handled the rollout brilliantly. Staff and families have been given one pack per child for weeks 1 and 2, with a spare test for week 3. By week 2 we will be able to send home with your child another 5 pack, allowing weeks 3 to 5 to be completed. I will continue to share where there has been a possible case at a level. This is not always a confirmed positive case, it can be that a child is a household contact. I would like to wish everyone all the best as they navigate this difficult time and would like to remind you that we are happy to offer support in any way to help you through a period at home. Emily sent through some work packs that children can complete on Compass. If you do have a child that tests positive, or you believe they have become a household contact, please notify the office and add your details to the DET portal. Further advice for families can be found by clicking the button. 

BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS

As well as the new play equipment that was installed in term 4 we have been modernising the entrance to the school using HM Building. I am sure you will agree it looks much more appealing. We are not finished yet!

At the end of last term, we complete the update of the gym, the new fence and the new entrance. In the next few weeks we will add new gates and some native flowers to the garden beds. 

In the holidays we replaced two of the basketball towers and added two new Prep to Grade 2 towers. This will open up basketball for 160+ students in the lower primary. Feel free to shoot some hoops at the weekend. 

We are also finishing off a new bike shelter for children's bikes. It is next to OSH and will provide a safer spot for bikes, scooters and skateboards. This should be complete by the time the next newsletter comes through. 

All the best for term 1. 

Warm wishes,

Craig