WORKING BEE

Last Saturday, despite the inclement weather, we had a fabulous turnout of families to assist at the working bee and because of their help, we were able to get the following completed:

Tech shed is now organised with plenty of room for the donations of items for the carnival second hand stall.
The garden beds near the swimming pool and year 1F portable look incredible now. The dead plants, leave sand weeds are gone.
The garden beds along Weeroona and Hobart Roads were cleaned of debris, including the build up of leaves.
The old apple crate wicking beds, have been removed- this was a huge job.
The box drains were cleaned out
The pathways along the edges of the main building were pressure washed and are now free of built up grime.

I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the following people who made the day so successful:

School Council facilities members: Bruce Macdonald and Ishan Cooper for their pre-planning and organisation.

Fi (and her daughter Ella) Sewell for the yummy morning tea- the kids most certainly loved it😊

And a huge shout out to the families who were able to lend a hand on Saturday. We really couldn’t have done it without you.

The Cooper Family: Ishan, Inala and Buddy

The Carroll family: Sarah, Thomas and William (and friend Poppy)

The Klein family: Rebecca, Joguan and Anton

The De Reus family: Suzanne, Annika, Tim, Reuben (and Joshua)The Conboy family: Tim, Clara and Simone

The Boyer Family: Charlotte and Fiona

Thu Ha and Emma (and Sylvie)

And the following:

Rebecca Hobden, Sean Tame, Tim Conboy, Dan Blackman, Dean Parker, Linda Gyorki, Fleur Dwyer, Judith Yani, Paul Singline, Ling Xu, Tom Cooper, Gill Upton

ATTITUDES TO SCHOOL SURVEY (AToSS)

The Attitudes to School Survey is an annual student survey offered by the Department of Education and Training to assist the school to gain an understanding of students' perceptions and experiences of school. Students are asked about their thoughts and feelings in relation to their school, their learning, peer and family relationships, resilience, bullying, mental health and wellbeing, physical activity, and life in general.

This year, the AtoSS will be conducted at our school over the period Monday 30 May to Friday 10 June.

We value student voice as a means to improving student engagement, wellbeing and quality instruction and so by conducting the DET survey we find out what our students think about their school.

A copy of the student survey will be held at the office and available for parent viewing.

NAPLAN

Congratulations to our year 3 and 5 students who over the past two weeks have participated in the nation wide NAPLAN testing. All tests were online with the exception of the Year 3 writing test which was pen and paper based.

The students displayed the school’s values throughout and many exclaimed they enjoyed engaging in the tests. Clearly the practices they did with the ipads and laptops gave students the confidence to participate with ease. Parents will receive their child’s NAPLAN report later in term 3.

THE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL (SRC)

Over the past few years, our school has provided greater opportunities for our students to have a ‘voice’ in matters related to their school. The SRC provides opportunities for students to be involved in discussion and decision making.

For example, the students suggested that there was not enough playground equipment in the school and as a result, Mrs Foster worked with the SRC and playground companies to design the rope challenge playground that students enjoy today. The 2018 Carnival raised almost $40, 000 which was used to install that playground along with additional funds saved by the school.

The SRC’s Current Project and the Colour Run

Last year, during remote learning, the SRC students continued to meet and discuss school improvements. Their discussions led to a desire to replace the old drink troughs with new water fountains and so the SRC set about undertaking various activities to raise funds for this to happen.

Some may think replacing the old drink taps is not a priority, but considering it’s what the majority of our students voted for, we are committed to making it happen. The ‘Colour Run’ will be the final fundraising activity to help the SRC reach their goal. The school will supplement their fundraising efforts to ensure that the colourful new water fountains are installed this year for the students to enjoy and to feel a sense of effort, satisfaction and pride.

While the school has short and long term plans for maintenance and continuous improvement, it makes sense to also involve our students in the decision making as they are the people who are at the school the longest.

CARNIVAL FUNDRAISING

With the electrical upgrade that occurred during the building repairs last year, we finally have the capability to run an increasing number of appliances and devices in the school. Our School Council has decided it’s now timely to ‘cool the school’ and install new air conditioning units to the main building classrooms.

The Department of Education will fund the cost of air conditioning in the hotter parts of the state, but in the cooler areas, schools use locally raised funds for these additional extras.

Our school council social and fundraising committee have run several successful activities this year and along with the profit from the carnival, the money raised will go directly to the purchase and installation of air conditioners.

EDUCATION WEEK

Victoria is celebrating Education Week 2022 from Sunday 22 May to Saturday 28 May 2022.

This year’s Education Week theme, ‘150 Years of Public Education’, commemorates the past, celebrates the present and imagines the future of education in Victoria.

Education has certainly changed over the years and we are proud of the student leadership, voice and agency evident in our students of today. While we recognise the state’s education week, our school will be celebrating and showcasing our school in term 3.

We will be holding an ‘Open Day’ inviting the community to view the buildings and grounds improvements and to the opening of our new library. We’ve already had several delays in our current refurbishments so when we have a clearer indication of completion dates, we will set the date for our open day.

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE DAY

As part of the teachers EBA (Enterprise Bargain Agreement), staff are provided a ‘professional practice day’ which they use to extend their professional knowledge. Over the past few years, we have booked casual relief teachers to release teachers across a year level so they can work together. This year however, due to the critical shortage of teachers, the Department of Education has approved a ‘pupil free day’ with the date being approved by school council.

We chose Tuesday 14 June, the day after the Queen's Birthday long weekend in the hope it causes the least disruption to families. It is also timely for teachers as they analyse student data and prepare mid semester reports.

Teachers are also entitled to a professional practice day in term 3 and one day in term 4. We are hopeful that over the next few months, there will be greater availability of teachers so we can once again hold a professional practice day on a school day.

CURRICULUM DAY

A curriculum day is slightly different to a professional practice day. A curriculum day enables the school to engage facilitators to run training programs for its staff in support of the school’s Annual Implementation Plan. The first day of the year is always a Curriculum (pupil free) Day and the dates for the other three days are approved by school council.

Our final two Curriculum days for this year will be on Monday 11 July (first day of term 3) and Monday 31 October (the day before the Melbourne Cup.

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