Principal's Report

Dear Families,

As we come to the end of our first term it is the perfect opportunity to stop and reflect on what has been a busy start to the year filled with a wide variety of learning opportunities for our students. 

As you are all well aware, we live in a global world that requires our students to be prepared to think both critically and creatively, evaluate massive amounts of information, solve complex problems and communicate well. A strong foundation in reading, writing, maths, and other core subjects is still as important as ever, yet by itself is insufficient for lifelong success.

The demands of the 21st century require a whole child approach to learning, teaching, and community engagement. Measuring academic achievement is important and necessary; no one is arguing otherwise. But if we don't give our students the opportunity to shine in subjects other than English and Mathematics we are doing them a disservice. 

It is for this reason that we have focused on offering our students a variety of learning opportunities to engage in throughout the term. 

Last Thursday we offered our students the opportunity to engage in sport through their participation in our Athletics Carnival. It was wonderful to see all of our students involve themselves in the many events that were on offer. Students had the opportunity to compete in shot put, discuss, long jump, triple jump, hurdles, 100m, 200m and 800m. Students were all encouraged to give everything a go. Some students excelled and other students pushed themselves out of their comfort zone to achieve a personal best result. We were proud of all of our students for not only giving everything a go but for also showing wonderful sportsmanship, encouraging others, working on their strategic approach and enjoying themselves. 

This term we have been very excited to offer all of our students the opportunity to perform in our 2018 Lion King Jr. Concert. Every student will perform in the concert with a select few students having the opportunity to take on a lead role. It was encouraging to see a record number of students applying for main roles in the concert this year. Students were invited to audition and the lead cast was presented to the school community this week. The Performing Arts Program at Galilee is very strong. We have a large number of students participating in instrumental and vocal lessons throughout the week. We introduced Specialist Performing Arts lessons for all students last year and the program has grow to include a Concert this year. We offer students opportunities to learn the skills necessary for them to shine on the stage and express themselves dramatically and musically. Providing students with the skills in the Performing Arts, provides them with life long skills that will carry with them throughout their schooling and into their professional lives.

We understand that supporting the wellbeing of our students is central to ensuring that students are ready to learn and have the skills that will help them navigate difficult situations. It is for this reason that we have had a major focus on Student Wellbeing over the past 12 months with the introduction of the Berry Street Education Model. Educating the whole child is a large focus in the Berry Street Education Model. We are in the process of training all staff in all four areas of the Berry Street Model and we are starting to see the results in our classrooms. Classrooms feel calm and they are filled with students who are ready to learn and equip with skills to navigate difficult situations.

We have also focused on educating our spiritual selves this term. In all year levels there has been a focus on Lent with the students preparing for our special Holy Week Liturgy next Wednesday at 2.40pm on the basketball court.  Our Year 3 students have been on a very special journey this term as they have been preparing to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. Students have been invited into dialogue with each other and with the Catholic tradition to form their own understandings about faith and life. It has been inspiring to watch students grow in their faith understanding as they prepare for Holy Week and to receive one of the sacraments of healing. 

Our camping program has given students the opportunity to engage in a range of new activities, develop new skills, step outside their comfort zone and take responsible risks. It has been wonderful to watch our students flourish that they test themselves on giant swings, in canoes and on surfboards this week. Our camping program gives our students the chance to experience learning opportunities in a range of different settings. This term, our Year 6 students had a wonderful experience in Canberra learning about our democratic system in our national parliamentary buildings. Our Year 5 students are currently on camp at Merrick's where they are given the opportunity to learn to surf among many other activities. Our Year 4's, have spent the second half of this week at Angahook Camp in Aireys Inlet where they have been canoeing, mountain bike riding and participating in team based activities. 

We have also had a focus on the 'core subjects' this term. We have been fortunate enough to receive funding from Catholic Education Melbourne this year to improve our Mathematics Program at Galilee. This term, teachers have been assessing students with a new Maths Number Interview and using the data to inform a targeted approach to the teaching and learning of Mathematics. Students are targeted at their specific areas of need through a differentiated approach and through focus teaching groups in the classroom. Our Foundation Teachers attended Professional Development last week that has assisted them in how they can meet the needs of all students in their class. Our Year 1, 2 and 3 Teachers will attend a similar Professional Development in the first week back next term.

To ensure that our students are given the highest level of English education our teachers have been  assessing students this term in reading comprehension, fluency and their ability to make connections between their reading and other experiences. Spelling has been assessed using a different approach this term, giving teachers a greater understanding about the spelling strategies students need to learn. Student writing has also been assessed and moderated by teams of teachers to ensure that teachers are progressing each student along the continuum of learning no matter their starting point.  All the assessment completed this term has given teachers the opportunity to target their teaching and ensure that every student is challenged and supported at their specific area of need. 

We believe that it is important to give our students access to a range of different learning opportunities and we feel proud that we have managed to offer such experiences to our students. It is wonderful to move through the school and listen to the students learning inside and outside of the classroom. It is exciting to see students engaging in learning opportunities that challenge them, give them new experiences, push them to think about things in a different way and make connections. We believe that our high-energy school environment, where students are having so much fun learning, is because we are focused on targeting the specific learning needs of each student and giving them a range of opportunities to shine. 

We would like to thank everyone in our community for the part that you each play in offering rich learning experiences to our students. Many of you have gone above and beyond this term. Thank you to those who helped at our Athletics Day last week. Thank you to those who attended camp this week, leaving their families behind to ensure that our students had a wonderful time at camp. Thank you to those who assisted in Concert Auditions this term. Thank you to those who assisted in preparing the Year 3 students for Reconciliation this term. Thank you to everyone for your contribution to our school community and ensuring that we have been able to educate the whole child during Term 1. 

We wish you all a safe and enjoyable holiday and every blessing during the Easter period.

Simon Millar, Amy Burns and Danielle Gerecke

Staffing

This week we welcome our newly appointed Learning Support Officer, Sharon Cameron. Sharon comes to Galilee with extensive experience in working with students in a variety of educational settings. Sharon will be working in a number of classrooms supporting the learning of our students. 

Ride 2 School Day

Galilee will be participating in Ride 2 School Day again this year. National Ride 2 School Day will be held on Friday 23rd March, however as we have so many classes on camp we will be holding our own Galilee Ride 2 School Day on Tuesday 27th March 2018. We would like to see as many students as possible riding bikes, scooters or skateboards to school on this day. If you can please leave the car at home on this day and encourage your children to get their bike out and be active, we would really appreciate it. If you are unable to leave the car at home, please park a few blocks from school and walk or ride some of the way.

We also encourage you to decorate your bike, scooter or skateboard on Tuesday  - a prize will be awarded to be most creative decorations.

Let's get active together!

Run for the Kids

Thank you to those families and staff members that joined Miss Otte and Mrs Ford in this year's Run for the Kids Fun Run. It was great to see so many students and their parents, friends and family members getting together and running for such an amazing cause. Many students and staff from Galilee have been helped by the Royal Children's Hospital so it is nice to be able to give back.

We hope in 2019 we see even more students joining in such a wonderful event.