Principal's Report

Goodbye and Hello

This week sees both Tanya and Alison leaving Marlborough after very long-standing relationships with the school. 

Tanya first came to Marlborough as a parent and dove into the life of the school, supporting our Parents Association and fundraising events as well as classroom support. Over the following years, Tanya began to assist in the office and then became a member of staff about 8 years ago. 

Alison began working at Marlborough 14 years ago and has supported the school in so many more ways than being in the office. Alison has supported our fundraising events, including teaching many in our community to crochet and bringing members of our community together. 

Both Tanya and Alison will be missed by all members of the Marlborough community as they have impacted so many people. Thousands of students and families have passed through Marlborough Primary in their time here and are better for that experience. 

We will miss them both and wish them all the very best for their next adventures after Marlborough. 

As I sent our via Compass earlier last week, with Tanya and Alison leaving the school we will have a whole new Administration team in the office. We have already been able to appoint Natalie Watson to our Administration Assistant position. Natalie will be working 5 days a week and has been working alongside Alison and Tanya over the past week to learn the ropes. School Administration areas are complex and I know that our community will welcome Natalie warmly into Marlborough. 

We currently are working through the recruitment process for a new Business Manager and are aiming to appoint someone permanently into the position at the start of Term 2. 

Building Works

I was able to hold an onsite meeting today with City Living Property Services and Core Design Architects to finalise arrangements for the construction of our Sensory Garden and Passive Play Area.

This is an exciting project that will provide a number of alternative options during recess and lunch as well as for classes to use throughout the day. From March 22nd there will be temporary fencing installed around the area, and the project is scheduled to be completed by June 3rd. 

During this time the North East corner of the school, between the Administration Building and boundary fence lines will be fenced off and only construction staff are able to enter. During this time the Administration Building front entrance will not be able to be used and all families and visitors will need to use the rear entrance to the building, this will be signposted during this time. 

There will be some noise disruption at times in this build as there will be concrete cutting and excavation however we will put plans in place for our 1/2 classes, particularly 1/2A who are closest to the construction area. This is always a great opportunity for students to watch facilities improvements as they happen, especially when there are diggers and concrete trucks involved! 

Classroom Visits

This week I have been able to make the time (something I do each week once the start of the school year settles) to visit classrooms. This is always the highlight of my day to be able to chat with students about how things are going for them and what they are learning about. It has been so wonderful to chat to students this week as they have been able to engage in great conversations around their learning and articulate to me the 'why' of that they are doing. For learners, understanding 'why' they are doing what they are doing is a critical element to furthering their understanding and building upon their knowledge. I aim to visit classrooms a few times each week and be able to chat to everyone about their learning over the year. 

Tutor Learning Program

This week letters were sent out to families if their child has been identified to be part of our first cycle of our Tutor Learning Program. Over the past 5 weeks, we have been undertaking assessments with students, investing time in discussions with past and present teachers and looking at student data to ensure we have the right structures for our program.

Towards the end of Term 2 we will continue to plan and analyse in order to identify students who will move into, and also out of the program at the beginning of Term 3.