As we move towards the end of the school year, we have continued to see some exciting activities and events held within the school. This will signal our final Friday school newsletter for the year and I will take the opportunity to share further information with our school community via SchoolStream over the next week and half.

Our goal for 2022 was continuity of learning and re-establishing our vibrant school community, providing opportunities to come together, build connections and work together.

Over the last few weeks, I was so pleased to see significant examples of this work with a large turn out for our school working bee and more recently, a wonderful ‘Amazing Art Show’ and the successful coordination and associated fundraising for our Lapathon and a celebration and acknowledgement with our volunteer morning tea.

We have enjoyed a year of onsite learning, something that none of us will ever take for granted again, given the challenges of 2020/21. I extend my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to our whole school community for supporting this to occur. Recognising that many imposed restrictions were challenging for many of us but provided an opportunity for our school to deliver a year of uninterrupted learning for our students.

I extend my thanks to our amazing staff that have, throughout this year, managed to continue to challenge and support our students and focus on their wellbeing and learning and build our base as a holistic bilingual school that focuses on the development of the whole child.

Thank you to our teachers, our education support staff, our administration team and to our Assistant Principal. All members of our staff work incredibly hard to ensure that Caulfield Primary School supports every child, every day to have their best day at our school. We will continue to be unwavering in our pursuit of this aspiration, to ensure that our children are going home having enjoyed the best of school that they can, each and everyday.

Farewell to the Class of 2022

The final weeks of the school year bring about an end to primary school for our 2022 graduates. We are very much looking forward to celebrating their achievements at our Year 6 Graduation held next Tuesday evening. It is an exciting and important step in the growth of our students as we see them taking the initial steps into secondary school in 2023. Importantly, for some families, this can also mean the end to a relationship between themselves and our school. On behalf of our whole school community, we wish our Graduating year 6’s a wonderful celebration and an exciting start to 2023 and we acknowledge and thank our departing families for their commitment to our school community during their time with us. Thank you and good luck.

Final Day of Term

The final day of the school year is on Tuesday 20th December with School Council recently approving a shortened day following the timetable below. Importantly, please note that supervision for students will conclude at 1:45pm sharp on the final day and a Camp Australia program will run from 1:30pm until 6pm. Please ensure your child is collected promptly at 1:30pm or that alternative arrangements are made to support this early dismissal.

9.00-11.00am: Classroom activities
11.00-11.05am: Eating time
11.05-11.30am: Recess
11.30-1.00pm: Classroom activities/ packing up
1.00pm: Whole School Assembly
1:30pm – End of Term Dismissal and students to be collected

School Reports

School Reports will be delivered via email on Friday 16th December, these are a significant reflection of learning and growth that has occurred in Semester 2. Well done to all our students on their achievements during this period. I have enjoyed reading these reports and the progress and development that can be celebrated for every student.

2023 Meet the Teacher

All students will have an opportunity to meet their 2023 Teacher on Friday 16th December between 11:30 – 1:30pm. Students will leave the session with an information slip containing their 2023 Classroom Teacher and they are encouraged to share this with their family that afternoon.

2023 School Year

A reminder that our first day of term for 2023 is Monday 30th January. Regular attendance is encouraged from the onset of the school year and the formative weeks of the school year are an important opportunity for students to rekindle friendships, routines and begin to transition into a new year level and classroom.

Our 2023 Prep students will partake in two orientation days to start the year, with the first Prep Assessment day on Wednesday before enjoying their first day of school on the 2nd February.

2022 Review

All schools are encouraged to set deliberately aspirational targets to strive towards over the course of the school year. These targets are documented in our Annual Implementation Plan. On Monday, our School Improvement Team met to evaluate our progress towards these outcomes and noted the following highlights that were achieved:

Student Input: Increase the positive endorsement for student voice and agency from 52% to 58% (Target 57%)
Staff Input: Believe that peer feedback improves practice from 69% to 72% (Target 72%)
Student Input: Improve the student sense of connectedness from 76% to 82% (Target 78%)
Student Input: Improve Motivation and Interest from 70% to 77% (Target 73%)

Over the next week, we will finalise our 2022 plan and begin to formulate 2023 targets that we will strive to achieve over the course of the school year, I look forward to sharing these targets with you early into next year.

Happy Holidays

We extend our best wishes and appreciation to all families and staff for a wonderful and safe Christmas and holiday period. Thank you for supporting our school over the course of this year and contributing to our school community. In my first year at our school, I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to meet families and thank you for trusting and supporting the work we do in our classrooms and the leadership of Miharu and I.

We look forward to an opportunity to enjoy some downtime before embarking on a wonderful 2023, building off the platform that we established this year.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

My Thanks,

Edward Strain