From the Principal 

Dear Families,

Week 9 already! We are nearly half way through the year. Yesterday the School Leaders and Leaders of the Annual Implementation Plan teams met to reflect and determine aspects we have had success in and areas still to work on in second semester. We do look forward to seeing the student’s data sets from Teacher judgement and NAPLAN results.

Parent Teacher Meetings: Next Tuesday, we have scheduled MS Teams parent teacher meetings. These will be booked in SENTRAL but hosted on MS Teams. Your children each have an account and we will invite you at the time you have booked to join the MS Teams meeting. To avoid multiple people attending your meeting, we have the ‘lobby’ on hand and you will be admitted by the teacher. We may have a few technical hiccups but we will work them. Please ensure you have MS teams set up on a device to chat with your child’s teacher. SENTRAL will be open at 6pm tonight for you to book a time. If you prefer a phone call, send your class teacher a Seesaw message. Ideally, we’d love to meet you all in person and onsite! I sincerely hope this is not our new normal!

Separated Families: We would prefer to have the one meeting with the parents of students from separated families. We ask that where possible (no court orders etc) join together to hear about your child’s progress. At the end of the day we all want the best for the children. Please discuss with the other parent about how you can manage this for your child so we get a great outcome and are all on the same page.

Reports: Staff have done a great job writing about your children. Kristy and I are now reading the reports and we are really enjoying hearing about all the characters across the school. We have so many great kids here. I feel very lucky and I know our staff do too.

Behaviour: Ever wondered how teachers do what they do – Teach, manage behaviour, cater for the diverse range of learners, settle disputes etc? Ask them! Sometimes they are miracle workers and sometimes they may not hit the mark! This semester staff have been trialing some approaches based on Psychologist Andrew Fuller’s day he spent with us. We have had a dedicated group of teachers who have revamped the Student Engagement Policy that was ratified at School Council last night too. Over the next few weeks and term 3, we will share bits and pieces with you and have the policy on our website. Does it cater for all possibilities?? No! I don’t think I have seen a policy that does but we have a great framework to draw upon. Thanks to Kerryn and Caroline on staff who were instrumental in collating the feedback from parents, staff and students and sets us up in a restorative way.

Nude Food: Our Sustainability committee is busy promoting Nude Food. Most kindergartens have the Nude Food Policy and we would like to continue this sustainable practice at primary school. Please support the Sustainability Committee in this venture and leave the rubbish at home!

School Council: School Council met on Tuesday evening at 6:30pm. I feel extremely supported with such an enthusiastic and energetic bunch of people to work with. Topics covered at the meeting include fundraising, facilities, curriculum, finance, sustainability and inclusion. A special thank you to all of our hard working sub committees that meet between council meetings. The time, effort and dedication you put in to make our school the great place it is, is very much appreciated – thank you. Special mention to Judy Webb as this was her final School Council meeting. Judy has been a wealth of knowledge and tremendous support to all on Council.

Parents & Friends: Did you know we have a P&F? Keep reading the newsletter for their details and reach out! Kristy and I met with them last week and we currently have a great team ready to meet others and add value to the school – your children’s school! Who knows, you may even make friends for life!

NAIDOC Week: Kim Kenny, Kristy Dodds, Emily Merrett, Amanda Vranken and Dallas Holden have been very busy this week making preparations for NAIDOC week, next week. Special activities will be incorporated into our Peer Connect sessions to mark this very special week. We encourage you to talk to your child/ren about the significance of NAIDOC week.

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920′s which sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Have a great week everyone.

Scott McCumber

Principal