Principal's Message
UPCOMING EVENTS
We are officially in Week Six of the term and we have many more school events on our calendar to enjoy for our students, staff and families.
These include:
- House Music led by our House Captains. They have selected their favourite song, are starting their choreography/act and are organising their house members for the ultimate house competition.
- Twilight Family Picnic will be the last chance for our whole school community to come together and celebrate what has been a fabulous 2019. Please lock this date into your calendars: Friday 29th November at 5:30pm on the back oval.
- Big Night In & Sleep Over commences the first experience of camping for our 1/2 students and they are extremely excited to be coming to school in the evening. They will get to enjoy circus activities and most of all the Year 2s will be sleeping overnight.
- Year 6 Graduation will be a time to reflect, reminisce and celebrate the achievements of a beautiful group of young individuals. There will be lots of tears and we are not really ready to say goodbye to these students just yet but are excited for the new adventures that await them.
- Student Leadership Elections will be an opportunity for our current Year 4 and 5 students to step into a number of various roles of responsibilities and represent the views and voices of all students at RPS. This year our students have already learnt that a badge and a role does not define you as a good leader.
For our teachers they are extremely busy making sure every last minute of knowledge and learning can be consolidated for your child and then they begin their final end of year reporting and assessment cycle. Over the next few weeks you might hear your child say, "I sat with my teacher one-on-one for an assessment" and these are sometimes completed online. With all the pieces of assessments, work samples, observational records, numerous data sources, moderation with other teachers, your teacher can make consistent and accurate teacher judgments and comment on how each child is performing against the Victorian Curriculum standards.
It is also that time of year where we might see the usual signs of tiredness and heightened emotions coming through with so much happening for adults and children alike. In particular, we know many of our parents are juggling work commitments and all the events leading up to the Christmas period.
We particularly love this quote:
“Give your stress wings and let it fly away” – Terri Guillemets
PARENT PAYMENTS 2020
On Monday all families received detailed information regarding the school’s Parent Payment schedule for the 2020 school year. School Council and the leadership team ensures parent payment practices are consistent and transparent and that all children have access to the standard curriculum. Our preference is for all payments to be made via the QKR portal. Rachel Helyer our Business Manager and Meagan Brake our Administration Officer can assist with all queries and additional support.
The School Council wishes to thank all members of the school community for your unwavering support over this year. Without parent contributions (essential, optional and voluntary) and all of the fundraising dollars, we would not be in the position we are today and the students would not be accessing the high quality programs, curriculum and experiences that have been afforded to them. Despite our older buildings, we have refurbished and provided learning spaces with new flexible furniture, new air conditioners and a lovely new playground that has brought enjoyment to many children in our community and will do for years to come.
We hope that your support continues in 2020 as we plan for some further exciting projects and, more importantly, focus on developing our students to be the best that they can be with our united partnership in all that we do for them.
DID YOU KNOW - COMPASS HAS 2020 CALENDAR DATES ALREADY?
We thought we might share with families that COMPASS is already prepopulated with dates for 2020, just in case you are forward-planning holidays and other special events in your life. The key is to always use the calendar in browser mode and scroll forward to the months ahead. With this in mind, we will share with our community the following important dates so far.
WHOLE SCHOOL STEPPING UP (Transition) PROGRAM
Tomorrow and Thursday next week all students will have the opportunity to move up into their next year level. This will provide your child with an opportunity to meet new teachers, mingle with new peers and learn about key events and information about the year level they are entering in 2020.
Please be advised that the teaching staff are not yet finalised and we hope to make further announcements in the coming weeks. We anticipate that there will be no dramatic changes to where our teachers are placed in the coming year. Like many schools we do have last minute changes in staffing circumstances and have a number of positions currently being advertised.
On Thursday 19th December during our final "STEP UP" Transition session, your child will move into their actual learning space and meet their teacher for 2020. Each student will bring home information regarding their teacher, class name, peers they have in their home group and a location map to help identify their new learning space in 2020.
Attached is some information to assist families in preparing children for transition into the new school year. In the event that your child requires some assistance in preparing for change, families are able to contact the school for further advice and support. We kindly request that you support some positive conversations regarding transition and changes that your child will face.
LIBRARY SYSTEM UPGRADE
Good news! We have recently upgraded our Oliver Library System to the new and improved Oliver Version 5. This means that our data has been migrated over to the new software and we have a new interface for students and staff to use.
Unfortunately, like many technologies it has had a few glitches. Please feel assured that we are working through these glitches. If you receive an overdue notice that doesn’t look quite right, please simply write a comment on the notice and return to the office. In the meantime, you can browse our library catalogue at the following ‘Orbit’ site: https://ripponleaps.softlinkhosting.com.au/oliver/junior.do
Happy Reading!
OUR TEACHERS AS LIFE LONG LEARNERS
Over the course of this year Ms Stef Hoffner & Mr Braden Leech have been undertaking course work led by experts in the field of Mathematics. Throughout the year they have been part of the Primary Mathematics and Science Specialist Initiative. This has afforded the school substantial funding to improve Mathematics outcomes for all students. Across the school we have prepared our learning spaces with additional materials (including online resources) and improved our assessment practices tracking student growth. We will be preparing to build greater knowledge and understanding on the four proficiencies of Mathematics and the productive dispositions we want our students to develop as mathematicians. These include:
- Problem Solving – applying, designing, planning, checking and imagining
- Understanding – connecting, representing, identifying, describing, interpreting and sorting
- Fluency – calculating, recognising, choosing, recalling and manipulating
- Reasoning – explaining, justifying, comparing, contrasting, inferring, deducing and proving
We want students to learn how to elaborate, explore, engage and evaluate. We want them to struggle first in their learning, moving from complexity to clarity, to investigate, problem solve and learn by doing. They need to develop a mathematical mindset and it’s okay if they stay in the zone of confusion before they solve their mathematical problems.
Congratulations to Stef andBradenin completing their first year of professional learning.
Amidst all of the wonderful creative work that Miss Zoe does with our students she has also managed to finally complete her Masters of Art – a thesis on “Discovering an artistic practice as an Art teacher and as a student”. This work has been of great interest to many other staff members as Zoe shares her unique expertise and passion for Art education.
Congratulations also goes to Mrs Bronwyn Howell for completing the 5 week intensive Bastow Institute for Educational Leadership - Leading Literacy for Networks Course. She has learnt a lot about literacy and is a very active and supportive member of the English Professional Learning Team. Mrs Bronwyn Howell has learnt what has been established through research about the nature of literacy and the pedagogical approaches that are most effective in maximising student outcomes.
These include:
- Current research on effective leadership with a focus on instructional leadership and the capabilities that positively influence student outcomes and build collective efficacy among teachers
- Strategies that optimise student engagement and motivation, specifically the provision of effective feedback, the setting of appropriate learning goals and strategies for substantive conversations and collaborative learning
- The conditions for literacy learning and the structures and models that support exemplary literacy teaching
- How to lead the development of a shared understanding of quality literacy instruction through professional learning
- Literacy assessment procedures and models, and how to establish a collaborative school culture.
Until next fortnight ...
Natalie Rose Jess Grey
Principal Assistant Principal