From the Principal,
Diana Ellis
Staff changes
For the two weeks I will be on leave, Jordan Chamerski and Kylie Minchew will be leading the school. Please contact them if you are wishing to provide positive feedback or help with finding solutions to any school related concerns.
Staffing structure and classes for 2023
This week I have announced our class structure and staff placement for next year. Based on our current enrolments we will have 18 classes.
The class structure is as follows:
Foundation Miss Quinn
Foundation Miss Lawrence and Mrs Meggs
Year 1 Mrs Smith/Mrs. Beaumont
Year 1 Mrs Smith/Mrs. Sutherland
Year 1 Miss Bronchinetti
Year 2/3 Miss Cannon
Year 2/3 Miss Adamson
Year 2/3 Miss Tobin
Year 2/3 Mr. Condon/Mrs. Thompson
Year 2/3 (to be filled)
Year 4 Mrs. Ireland
Year 4 Mrs Hall/Mrs Safstrom
Year 4 (to be filled)
Year 5/6 Mr Spilsted
Year 5/6 Mrs Richardson (Harrap)
Year 5/6 Miss Geer
Year 5/6 Mr Chamerski
Year 5/6 (to be filled)
Mr. Condon will continue as our Maths Learning Specialist.
Miss Lawrence will continue as our Literacy Learning Specialist.
Mr. Chamerski (Leading Teacher) will continue in his role of Data, Assessment and Reporting.
Mrs. Minchew (Leading Teacher) will continue in her role of Disability, Inclusion, Learning and Mental Health.
We are fortunate to be keeping our office, library, canteen and Education Support Staff.
Parent Requests
As explained each year. We only accept parent requests for class placements if there is a valid reason that directly impacts on your child’s learning. Student placement is a lengthy process that takes many factors into consideration. Please remember we often see learning and social and emotional behaviours that you might not see at home. We take into account the class breakdown of students achieving below, at and above standard. We also look at gender ratio, the way different students interact with one another and the emotional and social needs of students. The priority in the classroom is learning, not socialising and at times we will deem that some students need to be separated.
If you have a valid request, you will need to ring me to make an appointment to discuss your request. Requests must not go through class teachers, as the final decision on student placement rests with the Principal and Leadership Team.
Please keep in mind we are trying to place 430 students and this is a huge logistical task. If we tried to honour a request from every parent we would never complete the task. We take the placement of students very seriously and a great deal of consultation occurs in the process, including feedback from class teachers, specialist staff and Education Support staff, along with parents, in many cases.
Flooding and wet weather
Thank you so much to everyone for their patience, understanding and consideration of others when we were faced with impacts of severe weather last week. We have reviewed our practices and if faced with future scenarios that require parents to pick up students, we will send out communications to alert you but we will only require you to ring the school if you will be delayed in picking up your child.
We are aware that there is more severe weather predicted. We will send out COMPASS notifications to warn of the predicted weather and advice on recommended actions for the safety of you and our staff. Whilst we always wish for our students to attend school on a daily basis, safety for all members of our school community is a priority.
Maintenance and Facilities
We are continuing to upgrade and improve our facilities. Many of you will have noticed our stunning new adventure playground.
Sadly, a lot of our soft fall mulch was washed into the river last week. We will not be able to open our new playground until we refill the mulch and the playground company install some more drainage solutions.
We have also started work on the new garden area and retaining wall above the portables at the top of the school. A retaining wall of concrete sleepers will be installed behind the portables and then we will develop a native/indigenous/sensory garden, making sure we keep and protect the “Lone Pine” that was gifted to us.
The boards on the retaining wall at the basketball court have been replaced and we have installed gutter guards in the gutters to stop leaf litter accumulating and potentially being a risk during the fire season. Our fire hydrants and fire extinguishers have also all been checked and serviced or replaced.
Year 5/6 Change Convention
This week our Year 5/6 students presented their ideas at the Change Convention. There were some very, very creative ideas that were articulately and confidently described. It was pleasing to see the comprehensive effort demonstrated by many of our students and the pride they had in the completed projects.
Professional Practice Days
On Monday October 31 our teachers will have their last Professional Practice Day for the year. This extra day has been allocated by DET. On this day our staff will work together in their 2023 teaching teams to start planning for 2023 and they will also spend time on class lists and student placements for 2023. In the afternoon some time will be allocated for report writing.
Year 2/3 camp
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Year 2/3 camp. It was a pleasure to see students encouraging one another to step outside their comfort zone and take risks on activities, such as the Giant Swing and Possum Glider. A big shout out to the Year 2/3 teachers who organised and ran the camp and the parents who also volunteered their time.
Thank you for your understanding and patience with me calling an early pick up so the bus could return safely before flooding and also in dealing with torrential rain whilst trying to find, sort and collect soggy luggage and children.
Principal
Diana Ellis