Principal's Report
Acting Principal - Rob Hogan
Assistant Principal -Anthea Mathers

Dear Families,

After a shortened week this week, we find ourselves at Friday already. The weeks are zooming by and next week we find ourselves in Week 6.

Review Update

This week our school embarked on the second day of the Review process. This is referred to as a Fieldwork Day and members of the Review panel spend the day in our school talking to staff, students and parents about our school. They provide forums for a cross section of members of our school community to provide feedback, ideas and understandings of current school practices.

We thank everyone who has taken the time to share their contributions during this process. We have another Fieldwork Day scheduled for next Tuesday before the Panel meets to share their findings with the school and School Council in the coming weeks. The findings will then set the scene for the next 4 years ahead.

Attitudes to School Survey

All students in Grades 4/5/6 will be participating in this years' Attitudes to School Survey. This is a short survey aimed at gauging our students attitudes to their learning, connection to their peers, student agency and voice and school pride. This year's survey will also ask our students about their remote learning experience too. A note went home on Sentral to all families who had children who are eligible to participate.

This data is very useful when planning for the following year and monitoring students' attitudes to school over time. This survey will be completed over the course of next week.

Traffic & Pedestrian Safety

As many of you will know, the traffic around the school at drop off and pick up time is quite horrendous. We urge all families to please use common sense and caution during these times, especially along Wilkinson Drive. If you do park on the other side of Wilkinson Drive, please take the time to walk your child across the road, and please make sure when parking you are not in the Bus zones or too close to the Bus entrance area to the front of the school.

All students who are riding bikes or scooters need to be wearing a helmet and slow down until they are through the pedestrian traffic along the footpath. I am speaking to the Shire of Campaspe around ways we can make this a lot safer than it currently is.

I thank you for your increased safety and vigilance around this issue.

NAIDOC Week

Next week is NAIDOC week. Please keep an eye out for some fantastic activities taking place across the school to celebrate this week. The theme for NAIDOC week is 'Always was, always will be".

Remembrance Day

November 11th is Remembrance Day. It is a time to pause and reflect on the many sacrifices made during World War 1. The school will be holding a minutes silence at 11am to mark this commemoration.

Parent Opinion Survey

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents think of our school. The Parent Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is conducted amongst all parents. It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of parents’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, student engagement and experiences of remote and flexible learning. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. All parents will be invited to participate in this year’s survey. All responses to the survey are anonymous. This year, the Parent Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 12th October to Friday 13th November.

The survey will be conducted

online only takes 20 minutes to complete. An email along with a secure pin code will be distributed via email and we encourage all our families to participate.

School Photos

School Photos are taking place next Tuesday, November 10th. All students should have received information about this over the past week. If you have lost or misplaced your order envelope, please contact the office.

'The Centre'

It was great to see PE classes and Art lessons taking place in our fantastic new facility. The space and flexibility for these Specialist classes allows for a much greater program to operate. Other classes have already been using the Gym for sport and games throughout the week, with a big focus on ensuring we follow protocols to protect the floor in this space. Thank you to the Grade 5/6 students who were great helpers on Monday to help re-locate the Art room and all of the supplies.

Athletics

The 3/4 students had a very successful Athletics Day on Monday. While the day was rather hot for those of us still adjusting to the warmer whether, our students demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship and competed with zest and resilience. We were very proud of their efforts. P/1/2 students Athletics Event will be held on Wednesday, November 11th.

Ribbons and medals for Age Champions will be awarded at assembly next Friday.

School Wide Positive Behaviour

Wally has arrived. Our very own life like Wally has arrived at Echuca Twin Rivers School. He made his cameo appearance during our Book Week Celebrations and was very well received by our students and staff. You never know where Wally might appear and what advice he might give but you can bet he will have a keen eye for people who are displaying our school values.