A message from the Assistant Principal

Dear parents and carers,

Another great term has come to an end. School will resume on Monday 11th July for the start of Term 3.

“A moment in time” last Friday when parents and carers were onsite, attending a school assembly in the Multipurpose Room. Assemblies, incursions/excursions, parent helpers, swimming, cross country, parent meetings in person, and choirs were all things that had disappeared from normal school life but have now returned following the long COVID intermission over the previous two years. We have also been able to resume our prospective parent tours of the school. Visitors have been able to see the high-quality teaching and learning happening in classes. The principal class team visit classes and speak with students about what they are learning, whilst touring the school with future families seeking enrolment, discussing Clifton Hill's commitment to the learning and wellbeing of every student.

As the cooler weather arrived this term, illness continued to be prevalent at each year level and amongst the staff. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all students and families for their patience and support over this term, during times when we have been impacted by staffing shortages. Where possible, we have been fortunate to engage a small pool of Casual Replacement Teaching Staff (CRT’s) who work exclusively at our school. In addition to this, we also source CRTs from two agencies, however they have both experienced continuous shortages. Teacher shortages are state wide with many school’s experiencing the same issue. Due to these shortages, we have exercised internal options, such as using specialist and support teachers to cover absent classroom teachers. From time to time we have had to split students to other classes within a cohort though this is a last resort. We will continue to do our best to mitigate these staffing challenges, especially when the winter months increases the transmission of illnesses.

Farewell

At the end of this term we will farewell Michael Masters, a valued member of staff. The backbone of our school and the education imparted to our students is the staff that we have at Clifton Hill PS which Michael has been part of for the last 8½ years. We would like to thank him for the support and dedication he has given to those students he has taught both as a classroom teacher and in his current role as the PE teacher. Michael has been a valued colleague and teacher throughout his time at our school and as such will be missed. His farewell marks a new chapter in his life as he and his family move to New Zealand. Goodbye and good luck Michael!

As a recent appointment, Rebecca Thorpe will be our new PE teacher. She spent a day with Michael earlier this week as part of her transitioning into her new position. Rebecca will begin taking PE classes at the beginning of next term. Welcome to Clifton Hill PS Rebecca!

Reporting Process

Teachers have been busy over the latter part of this term assessing student learning achievements and writing student reports, celebrating student learning growth throughout Semester One. Last Friday, you were given access to your child’s reports on Compass. Parents receive a written report twice in a school year. A student's report provides a formal record at a point in time on their progress and achievement. The key purpose of reporting is to support student learning by providing information to students and parents about student achievement and progress, and to indicate areas for further development.

What is included in your child’s report at Clifton Hill PS?

COVER PAGE

A cover page displays the following information:

school name and logo
student’s name and their photo
student’s class name
title of document and date e.g. Student Report Semester 1 2022
teacher’s name (homeroom)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This page explains:

contents of the report
definitions of achievement and progress
how to read the ratings and scales
how to interpret any tables

INITIAL PAGE

This page includes:

personal comment from the student’s homeroom teacher
learning characteristics’ ratings
homeroom teacher’s name
attendance data including days absent and days late

SUBJECT PAGES

The subject pages provide an opportunity for teachers to report their judgements based on evidence of what each student achieved against the Victorian Curriculum F-10 achievement standards, this includes:

level of achievement and progress displayed along an age-related continuum for English, Mathematics and Science
teacher comments on student achievement and progress in English and Mathematics
areas for improvement in English and Mathematics
five-point scale rating the quality of achievement for units of work in Integrated Studies, Art, PE, Music and LOTE.
effort and behaviour ratings for all specialist subjects
name of each subject teacher is included on the subject pages.

Opportunities this week have been provided for parents and carers to discuss the school report with teachers. These parent-teacher interviews promote communication between school and home and enable both the teacher and the parent and carer to work together toward their student’s learning and social wellbeing.

The objective of parent-teacher interviews is to:

involve the parents in the educational process
document the student’s progress for the parents
reflect on learning achievements and areas for improvement
give parents the opportunity to express feelings, questions and concerns
establish ongoing communication networks between the teacher, parents and student

Student Attitudes to Schooling Survey

Students in Years 4 to 6 have recently completed The Attitudes to School Survey (ATtoSS). This survey is a mechanism for gaining an understanding of students’ perceptions and experience of school. At Clifton Hill PS, we will use the survey results to set improvement goals and to plan programs and activities to improve each child’s learning experience.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our students a happy, restful and safe break over the upcoming school holidays. If families manage to go away for a break…enjoy!

See you next term,

Gareth Buck

(Assistant Principal)