Assistant Principal's Report
Green & Gold Day Celebrations
Last Friday we celebrated Green & Gold Day. We dressed in green and gold in support of the Australian Olympic team and participated in a variety of fun and unique activities. There were so many amazing skills on display; the concentration and accuracy during paper plate tossing, the grace and flowing ribbons in the rhythmic gymnastic presentations, the coordination and enthusiasm shown by the line dancing performers and of course, the sportsmanship and comradery shown by all FPS athletes!
Lunchtime Clubs
Now we are back onsite, students are having a great time reconnecting at break times especially. There have been new games created (hello Nature Shop!) along with old favourites and this term we have some new lunch clubs as well!
Lunch clubs have been created to give students an opportunity to spend some of their lunch break in a quieter space with fewer students, participating in a relaxing and fun activity. Our new clubs this term include a Puzzle club, Craft club and a Writing club.
Teachers have put a list of the clubs available each day in their classrooms and students are welcome to attend these clubs whenever they wish.
- Monday – Catch up French/ Writing Club/ Reading Club/Chess
- Tuesday – Catch up Art/ Craft Club
- Wednesday – Singing Club (Foundation -Year 3)/ Wellbeing Club
- Thursday – Catch up Art/ Puzzle Club
- Friday – Mindfulness Club/ Student Voice Team
Professional Learning Communities
Our remote learning experiences have given families a little insight into some of the work teachers do to prepare and deliver the learning at school, and there is a lot that happens behind the scenes – one of these things is our PLC work.
PLC stands for Professional Learning Communities. Professional Learning Communities are an approach to school improvement where groups of teachers work collaboratively at the school level to improve student outcomes. We follow the Inquiry Cycle (see the image below). Teachers meet in teams regularly throughout the term to analyse student data, set goals for future learning, develop and implement scaffolded learning experiences over a number of weeks, assess progress during and at the end of the cycle, then analyse student data once again to begin a new cycle.
Teams are meeting again tonight to recommence the PLC cycle for their students this term. We value this time spent working collaboratively in teams and know that it not only improves student learning outcomes – it also improves teacher practice.
Professional Development Plan
Another aspect of a teacher's role is developing, implementing and reflecting on their practice while completing Professional Development Plans. These plans are created at the start of every year and align with the school’s AIP goals (Annual Implementation Plan).
Teachers spend time with Paul and myself reflecting on their progress toward their goals. This is done half way through the year and again at the end to ensure the set goals are achieved.
The PDP process is a great way to reflect, acknowledge and celebrate successes as well as recognise areas for future learning, maintaining a focus on continual improvement of teacher practice.
Annual Implementation Plan
The AIP (Annual Implementation Plan) has a similar cycle with goals set at the start of the year. At the start of the the second semester, we revisit our goals and reflect on what progress we have made so far. We also take note of what areas we still need to work on to ensure we achieve our set goals on a whole school level.
Area Leaders met last week to revisit this document and added their reflections on what we have done so far and what we need to work on next. This was shared at our staff meeting and will be presented to School Council next week.
Our AIP is available for viewing on our school website.