Principal Report

Principal Message – Term 1

Principal’s Message Week 7 Term 1 2022

It seems hard to believe that we are well over the halfway mark for term one. Despite the challenges of COVID we have managed to ensure our students have had a consistent start to the year and continuity of learning. The children have continued to settle back into school and with support, empathy and consistent expectations we are seeing progress in all areas of the curriculum including social emotional. 

It has after all been two years of interruption to the flow of school. Schools are social hubs as well as learning hubs; both of which are interconnected and contribute to the full school experience. I know there has been much talk in the media about ‘learning loss.’ A term that I believe is somewhat difficult to unpack. Because as we know for many the experience of school (socially) and learning go hand in hand and during lockdown this was very difficult to maintain despite best efforts. Renowned author and educationalist Dylan Wiliam takes the view that learning didn’t stop during lockdowns, it was just different. And I tend to agree with this. So, now that we are back at school a key factor in planning for all learning experiences has been to reconsider the starting point for each of our students socially, emotionally and academically. We can’t just backfill but instead need to look at what students in our care already know and can do and move forward from there.

Ultimately, it comes down to the advice offered by David Ausubel over 50 years ago: “The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach [...] accordingly.” Dylan Wiliam

Many of you would have by now had the opportunity to discuss with classroom teachers your child’s progress so far. I know from staff that these have been very productive and insightful meetings. One of the greatest direct influences on a child’s progress at school is parental engagement. 

“Parental involvement is a general term that describes parents' participation in their children's education while parental engagement is parents' active and meaningful participation in children's education.” Department of Education

It has been wonderful to see parents actively taking up the opportunity to return onsite and to volunteer for upcoming events. I know that many of you have missed this aspect of our school. I urge you to also continue to engage with your child’s learning. I know that during lockdown you were extremely active on Seesaw and it is still the best way to involve yourself in your child’s learning, as is discussion and check ins with classroom teachers. Teachers are posting regularly to Seesaw and we are all out on the playground every afternoon. Please feel free to come on site and have those discussions and interactions that make such a difference to your child and their learning with staff.

We have our sights clearly on the goalposts and after our two successful reviews we have a clear direction as to what our next steps are as we continue into the year. Over the past two years we have spent considerable time reviewing, refining and implementing a consistent and rigourous pedagogy from Prep – Year 6. Mathematics is a high priority and our school closure day last Friday was dedicated to unpacking the teaching of mathematics by using well researched and evidenced best practices. In particular this year, especially during literacy and numeracy, you will notice that explicit and targeted instruction, is very apparent. This approach allows classroom teachers, LSOS and differentiation teachers to really tailor the curriculum and cater to the direct needs of children. The Victorian Curriculum is by design expressed as a continuum of learning and we see this as paramount in enabling children to receive their entitlement pitched to their needs. It also means our groupings are very fluid and children are constantly moving forward along the continuum rather than being pigeonholed into a ‘grade level’ or having them sit in the middle of the pack. 

There is much to do this year and I am excited by the new opportunities we have ahead of us. I invite you to journey with us as an integral part of your child’s learning.