Principals Report

At this time of year we are undertaking preparation for 2021 staffing and class configurations. As always if you know that you will be moving and not here for 2021 please advise us in writing as soon as possible so that we can create the class lists as accurately as possible. Similarly if you know of families keen to enrol for 2021 please ensure that they get in touch with us for a tour or call for more information about 2021. Staff spent a great deal of time reviewing students as learners to put together effective class groups together. We also work really closely as a staff team to ensure seamless transition as students move from one year level to the next. Sometimes students have preferences for a particular teacher and they may feel worried or anxious about going to a 'new' teacher and 'new' class. These concerns are often reduced when students have a transition visit to the new class in Week 8. Some students though can struggle or worry about the change. There are lots of ways that you can help your child adjust if they are concerned:

Hear out your child's feelings but avoid fixing their feelings by adding your own judgments or solutions if they are unsettled. Feelings need to be worked through. They don't need to be immediately excited by the teacher they are going to have to learn successfully and thrive. All students need time to process change.
Avoid looking upset about your child's placement to empathise. Children use you as an emotional thermometer when dealing with change and need your calm and confidence to help them adjust. Your child's emotional connection and respect for school is strongly connected to yours. If there is a genuine problem or concern then please communicate promptly and privately with the school without involving your child in any associated stress that you may have.
Please trust the education process. Remember that the school staff carry out a thorough process to address student learning styles, personalities, class sizes, gender balance and developmental needs to provide the optimum conditions for learning. It is complex and teachers use extensive expertise and understanding about the needs of students in classes of 20 to 30 children which are quite different to their needs at home or socially with close friends.
Children learn, grow and develop better socially by being with a broad range of personalities and communication styles. When things are too familiar they can get stuck in their comfort zone and struggle with change later in life. To build confidence they need to work through small safe changes through primary school with a strong staff team around them, such as ours at Para Vista. Be there to hear your child's feelings and concerns and show them that you have the confidence that they will be fine.

Having said that, we have a very high success rate in our class configuration process and we appreciate the trust that families place in us. We take this responsibility very seriously.

In 2021 we will continue to have five teaching teams;

The Hive; Preschool and Reception students

The Orchard; Year 1 and 2 students

The Greenhouse; Lower Primary students

The Garden; Upper Primary students

Specialists; in 2021 we will continue with our specialist Music program and Health and PE. We will also be providing Italian as our specialist language study to align with our zoned high school, Valley View Secondary School, to provide better continuity of learning for students. We will also be providing for STEM education. This will enable students to apply Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths concepts to innovative projects to develop their Critical and Creative Thinking Capabilities ready to develop in specialist pathways at High School. Our STEM teacher, Luke Dunstan, will be working closely with the Science and Maths faculty at Valley View Secondary School to support seamless continuity of learning, particularly with Year 6 students as well as Year 7 students graduating to High School at the end of 2021.

The People’s Choice Credit Union Lottery has begun. Tickets are now available for $2 each and are on sale until the 19th of February 2021. First prize is a Toyota Rav4 valued at $41,289 with a variety of other prizes to be won.

A percentage of the sale of each ticket sold by our school will help kit out the new STEM space in 2021.

This link will take you directly to our page to purchase tickets:

https://communitylottery.peopleschoice.com.au/collections/schools-and-education/products/para-vista-primary-school

Winners will be announced by 26th February 2021 so be sure to get your tickets to have a chance to win a prize and please encourage friends and family to support our students.

School Self Review - Student Free Day 27th November

Please note that we have our final Student Free Day on Friday 27th Novemebr in order to conduct our school review of achievement, attendance, wellbeing and behaviour data. We will be documenting our successes against our School Improvement Plan for the local Education Office and planning for 2021. Please contact our OSHC if you require child care on that day.

Concert, Sports Day, Class Parties and Casual Day

Thank you to all those families who cheered students on in a virtual world by connecting with us on Facebook Live on Sports Day and for viewing our online Music Showcase. Hopefully our community events will be back bigger and better next year with eased Covid restrictions and a sense of normality, fingers crossed. We recognise that it has been a challenging year for everyone in our school community and thank you for your understanding and support. Unfortunately the Covid restrictions around shared food/food handling also mean no class parties this term. We will have a casual Day (gold coin donation towards St.Vinnies to support local families in need this Christmas and a disco on the last day. All staff will be out in the yard on the last day of term, at the 2pm early dismissal, to wish families a safe and happy holiday. I hope to see as many of you in person as possible to thank you for contributing to another very successful year at Para Vista PS.