It has been a huge week at Concord School with a number of events occurring.

We have had the VCAL 2018 information sessions, the Upper Primary ‘Presentation’ evening, the Lower Primary ‘Showcase’ and the Primary Sports Day which was organised and run by many of our VCAL students.

A final reminder that the school is open and operating as usual on Monday, the day before the Melbourne Cup Day holiday. An upcoming date to remember is the Pupil Free Day on Monday 27th November.

Responses to the Parent Opinion Survey

The Parent Opinion Survey was completed earlier this year by 34 families from across the school.

This annual survey, conducted by the Department of Education and Training (DET), asks parents their opinion on factors such as Teaching and Learning, Behaviour and Safety. The DET informs us of how many surveys we need to send out and the parents to be surveyed are ramdomly selected. The school leadership team and School Council analyse these results to determine what we are doing well and what we can improve upon.

The survey provides an opportunity for parents to provide comments. As the survey is anonymous we do not know who provided particular comments and we are therefore unable to respond individually or seek clarification. After analysis of the ‘themes’ within the comments, I am providing responses as they may be questions or concerns that other parents may also have. As I’d like to provide in depth responses, I will address one issue in each of the next few Newsletters.

Can the communication home be more consistent?

Communication Books are the main form of daily communication between home and school. The school has a policy around the number of entries required to be written in the book each week however this can vary depending on the age of the child and their ability to communicate as well as the needs of the parents. Please speak to your child’s teacher if you would like more or less communication in the diary or would prefer communication via email.

Many students in the later years of schooling tend to read written communication and notes and, at times, will not pass them on if they do not like the content so Communication Books will be used less for some students. The school will be using Compass to communicate with increased frequency and including the sending home of notes and parent payment options.

The school is currently trialling the fortnightly sending home of an eNewsletter (like this one!) to parents within a particular section. We know that parents want to know what their children are doing at school to encourge communication with them and so they can help them with their learning. If the feedback from this trial is positive then this will be implemented across the school in 2018.

Before and After School Care

From 2018, ‘Extend Before and After School Care’ will operate the Before and After School Care service on behalf of Concord School and Watsonia Primary School. We have conducted a rigorous process in appointing this new provider and Extend have received outstanding references from schools that utilise their services.

We look forward to the provision of a high quality service for our students and their families.

The service will operate as usual for the rest of this year so if you use the service then please continue to do so.

You can find further information about Extend through their website at https://extend.com.au/

Annual Christmas Concert

This year the Annual Christmas Concert will be held on the evening of Monday 4th December on the Loyola Oval which is at the rear of our Bundoora Campus in Gleeson Drive.

It is important that all students from Prep-Year 10 attend on this evening as the classes will have spent considerable time rehearsing their items and they require all students to be present. As well as class performances and the BBQ there will be a visit from a special man who has a beard and wears a red suit!

Further details in regard to the Christmas Concert will be provided in coming weeks.

We look forward to seeing many family and friends coming along to enjoy a great evening.

VCAL Information Sessions

Bronwyn Hart delivered VCAL Information Sessions in the Transition Centre last week to interested parents and carers. The content covered VCAL but also included VET, Work Experience, School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships as well as the options available for our students after they complete Year 12.

For those who were unable to attend the sessions, the Presentation document can be found on Compass under school documents.

Compass Portal

All parents need to be logged into Compass so our school can communicate effectively with you. If you have any questions regarding Compass, or are having difficulty in logging-on, then please ring Karen Jordan at our school on 94673972.

The Compass log-on can be found at https://concordsch-vic.compass.education or through the ‘Compass Parent Portal’ link on our website.

Principal's Award

The principal's award goes to Jai Binge.

Jai started at Concord school this year and he quickly fitted into the Upper Primary section because he is very friendly. He always brings a footy or basketball to school and invites other students to play a game at lunchtime.

Jai is a very good student. In the classroom he is always polite and helpful. He often does jobs for teachers and helps other students. He has enjoyed running the footy tipping and watching the highlights with his classmates each week.

He likes learning new things and always does his best work.

Well done Jai!

"Students striving to be the best they can be"

Jason Coningsby,

Principal

Community Noticeboard

Multi Sports Program

Jets Youth Space