A message from the Principal

I want to extend a warm welcome back to SKiPPS to all of our returning families and also to welcome those families who have enrolled at our great school for the first time (including the families of our 56 new Foundation students). After the disruption to our lives in 2020 and 2021, it is wonderful to be starting the year with positivity, a sense of normality and, most importantly, on-site.

I have thoroughly enjoyed taking time during the first week of term to visit all of our classrooms, chat to students new and old and find out all about the things that have happened over the summer.

Our 334 students have all made a great start to life in their new class groupings thanks to the hard work of our teachers and our CAPSE (Creating A Positive School Environment) program. By taking time at the start of the school year to set clear routines in classrooms and build relationships with classmates, we lay the foundations for a productive, positive year of learning right across the school.

A key part of these start of year discussions have been our new School Values that have been set following our school review process last year and the creation of our new Strategic Plan (which will be shared with the community in the coming weeks). Later in the newsletter Matt shares some more information about the changes we are making to our values and why.

The positivity and calmness throughout the school is a testament to the success of this approach. The new Foundation classes formally start their school journey at SKiPPS this Monday morning and I am so excited to welcome them to SKiPPS and see them settle into their new routines and make new connections over the next few weeks.

Whilst we are very excited to be back and approach the year with a great sense of excitement and an optimism that we will avoid the lockdowns and remote learning that have so badly impacted on the last 2 years, things are not yet 'back to normal'. 

Later in the newsletter I have outlined our covid-safe measures that are in place and the procedures that we need to follow when a student or staff member tests positive. Today saw our first confirmed case of the year from a student who has been in attendance at school whilst infectious but we are sure it won't be our last. We appreciate you all supporting the school by supporting your child to wear a mask, get vaccinated and take a rapid antigen test twice a week.

Later this term we hope to bring the community together for our school Jazz in the Park and Trivia Night events and have many camps and excursions to look forward to as we navigate our way back to (Covid) normal. We look forward to you joining us in this exciting journey.

Neil Scott

Principal