From The Principal's Desk

Principal Report

End of Term 1/ Start of Term 2

It is hard to believe that the 11 weeks of Term One will come to a conclusion at the end of this week. There certainly has been a lot happening during the term, some of which have presented us with challenges and others being memories that will stick with us for a long time. These have included:

• Beginning the year by acknowledging the work of Scott Phillips (Principal) Tania McKay (Business Manager) as they moved onto new and exciting challenges in their lives.
• Successfully welcoming our Prep cohort and transitioning them into primary school life.
• Organising two curriculum days for staff to continue building their knowledge of teaching Numeracy and Writing.
• The Grade  6s attending the Melbourne camp and having a wonderful time exploring the streets of the CBD.
• Another successful Grade 3-6 athletic sports day at the Doug Dean Reserve.
• Excursions being back on the agenda with the Grade 3, 5 and 6 swimming program and Grade 5 Sovereign Hill costumed school experience kicking us off for the year.
• DASH (Before and After School Program) beginning successfully and returning to strong enrolment numbers. 
• Our continuing facilities upgrades including refurbishing the new portable, senior playground development, storage in the Art Gallery area, new Art display boards, the photo gallery in main corridor, the artificial grass outside the portable and the plans progressing for the two new shade sails outside the Grade 5 classrooms and near the P-2 playground.
• A successful start to the new play therapy program with Kim Baxter being introduced to the school community.
• The wafts of deliciousness returning to the corridors as the kitchen garden program returned to full swing

During the past week, all teachers have been involved in planning days to firm up learning plans for the beginning of Term 2.

I hope everyone enjoys the time away during the holidays to spend with family and friends. We will be eagerly awaiting the students' return to school on Tuesday April 26.

School Council and Annual General Meeting

Our Annual General Meeting and March School Council meeting was held on March 21.

During the meeting Aileen Shearer-Cox was reappointed President with Daniel Cook appointed Vice President. Congratulations to both Aileen and Dan who we know will continue to do a great job leading the School Council of Delacombe PS. 

Discussion points during the meeting included:

• A report on the enrolment numbers currently sitting at 503 students and more families continuing to show interest in sending their children to Delacombe during the term
• A report on the constant struggle schools are facing to maintain staff in all classrooms everyday given the state isolation guidelines.
• An outline of the emergency management procedures for the school and how they are being implemented and rehearsed with students and staff.
• The highlights from a term where excursions and camps are back on the agenda. This included an acknowledgement of the extra work staff are completing to ensure students are being provided with these experiences.
• An overview of the significant work that has been undertaken around the school during the term.
• A teaching and learning report that highlighted the focus on our writing model and how educational consultant Ann Angelopolous has been supporting teachers in the classroom.
• An outline of how students have been preparing for NAPLAN, given this is the first year that the assessments will be undertaken on a digital platform.
• Acknowledgment for the students who have been selected for the Term 2 High Abilities Program.
• A report from the wellbeing team that highlighted the significant staffing challenges faced by the team due to the staff shortage issue and the strategies being implemented to overcome these.
• A summary of the strategies being used to support Tier 2 intervention programs across the school. 
• A report on how Kim, the play therapist, is progressing.
• A report from DASH to highlight the progress this program is making as we return to full time onsite learning.
• Ratifying 2 policies; Electronic Funds Policy and School Purchasing Card Policy

We thanks the 2022 School Council members for their ongoing support of the school.

The 2022 School Council members are:

Aileen Shearer-Cox, Dan Cook, Felicity Hickingbotham,, Amanda Anderson, Mark Wall, Martijn Verheij, Briony Oldaker, Kate McDonald, Lauren Powell, Danielle McCann,, Stephanie Lindsay,,  Marnie Cooper and Dave Young.

Curriculum Day

Our thanks to all parents and carers who organised alternative arrangements for their 

child/ren on March 25 when we held our second curriculum day for the year. On this day all teachers spent the day with our educational consultant Ann Angelopolous who continued her work around the school’s writing cycle. We are already starting to see the impact that this work has had on student writing.

Division Athletics Sports

Yesterday we had 40 students from Grades 3-6 attend the Division Athletic Sports at Llanberris. The students represented the school extremely well and showed exemplary sporting behaviours during the day, for this we are very proud of you all. For some, the day was extra successful by winning ribbons in the various disciplines. A big thankyou to Addam Storey for his organisation of the team and to Jarrod Rogers and Phil McGrath who ably assisted on the day.

Student Reports

Later this week on Friday April 8, the Term 1 Classroom Learning Reports will be made available on Compass. These reports are a wonderful opportunity for your child’s teacher to share their learning journey so far this year.

Please take the time to sit and discuss your child’s report with them and talk about the plans for Term 2. Should you require further clarification about anything on the report, there will be an opportunity at the Parent Teacher Interviews on Wednesday April 27.

Parent Teacher Interviews – Wednesday April 27 – Early finish at 1pm

The first Wednesday back in Term 2 is our Parent Teacher Interviews. In order to allow the interviews to take place, school will finish at 1pm on this day. This is a timely reminder to organise alternative arrangements for your child/children.

Bookings for the Parent Teacher Interviews are currently open on Compass and will close on Friday April 8. 

Our expectation is that all students will have a Parent Teacher Interview to discuss the learning journey, share in celebrations and challenges and assist in creating goals for the future.

Unfortunately we don't have enough time slots to offer separate appointments for parents who don’t live together and therefore ask that families respect this decision. 

ANZAC Day 

It was pleasing to hear that Delacombe PS will be represented by 20 students at the ANZAC Day ceremony in Ballarat on 25 April. Our Junior School Council leaders will be laying a wreath on behalf of the school community. Thanks to Bianca Gerrard who has been instrumental in organising this experience for our students.

Fundraising Team 

In 2022 the Junior School Council, School Admin team and parent representatives will be joining forces to create a fundraising team that will manage fundraising activities across the year. 

The purpose of this team is to ensure there is a voice from all key stakeholders of the school and to spread the fundraising efforts evenly to ensure families are not overwhelmed with requests to support school activities. This team will also ensure the funds raised are shared equitably between school based programs and outside charity organisations. 

We look forward to sharing a fundraising calendar with you early in Term 2.

A huge thank you tp everyone who has sold raffle tickets and/or donated to the Easter Raffle. Your support has been greatly appreciated. 

We wish everyone a restful holiday period and look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Tuesday April 26.