Port Melbourne Primary School Newsletter

Principals Report 

Rohan Cooper

Welcome to the first edition of my report in our new newsletter format. We hope everyone finds it accessible, informative and enjoyable. We have made our first official venture into social media as well; be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram  , as we share all that is great about our school.

 

This week we were visited by the Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, the Honorary James Merlino. Mr. Merlino joined us to discuss the ‘Maths Talent Quest’, an event led by our High Ability Program Leader, Sasha Goss, to challenge and extend high-end mathematical thinking. The Minister also discussed financial literacy programs in school (as our Grade 6 students are currently participating in) and the success of Victorian Government Schools in the 2021 NAPLAN testing period. 

 

Port Melbourne Primary School achieved outstanding academic and ‘climate’ results in 2021 and these were represented in our ‘Annual Report’ data, recently shared with us from the DET. Highlights included:

  • A significant improvement in student absence data, with our students absent for 2.4 days less per year, per child, than in 2020 (and 3.6 days less than in 2019). For the first time in a significant period, our average days of absence per child is less than the state average, an enormous achievement, considering where we have come from. 
  • Improvements in the percentage of students achieving at or above the expected level in English and Mathematics. 
  • Improvements in 7 out of 9 assessed areas in NAPLAN testing from the previous testing period (2019). 
  • Significant improvements in both the staff opinion survey and the parent opinion survey. 

From the analysis of this data, our future focus will be:

  • Consolidating and extending our academic achievements. 
  • Continuing our relentless focus on student attendance at school. 
  • Improving our student survey data. 

The implementation of programs such as ‘The Resilience Project’, ‘Upstanders’ and ‘Respectful Relationships’, as well as our ongoing focus on positive education and our school values, shows our priorities in building the social and emotional intelligence of all students. 

 

Thanks for your ongoing support and keep doing your best,

 

Rohan.