From the Principal

ANNUAL SCHOOL PICNIC

What an incredible turn out for our annual picnic. We were blessed with warm, balmy weather making it the perfect evening to sit back and relax in each other’s company. A big thank you to Miss Nugent and the performing arts group who set the tone for the evening singing an uplifting song with passion and joy. 

On such a warm evening, it was wonderful to see so many parents mingling and enjoying the music while the ice cream van was a hit with the children, as was the pop music with students singing and dancing with gusto. Another successful picnic had by all. Thank you to those who attended.

PARENT REPS

Class representatives now have the contact details of parents who have given consent. Many of the reps are keen to organise social activities and assist teachers with organising parent helpers for class run events. The class representatives were asked to share the parent ‘Code of Conduct’ to set the tone ensuring communication continues to remain positive and inclusive.

Please remember that the WhatsApp chat forums are to remain positive and inclusive to all. Here at school, we have an open door policy and Mrs Sewell and I are always available to discuss specific matters with parents. 

Thank you to our Class Reps who have already provided timely information and clarified parent queries regarding the day to day activities.

PARENT - TEACHER DISCUSSIONS

Parent–Teacher discussions will be held on Tuesday 21 and/or Thursday 23 March. 

Due to the VGSA Industrial Agreement, most interviews will be held during normal work hours and concluding at 5:30pm. 

The parent teacher discussion offers parents and teachers an opportunity to share information pertinent to the student’s educational and social-emotional progress. Interviews are strictly 10 minutes long, so we encourage parents to think about the information you would like to share with the teacher beforehand. We’ll post details soon for how parents can book their interview time Compass. Parents and carers will also have the choice of whether to attend the discussion in person or via WebEx. 

WORKING BEE- save the date: Saturday 18 March (after the long weekend)

The warm tropical weather over the summer holidays created the perfect conditions for weeds to get out of control in the school gardens. We will need all hands on deck for a working bee to really get on top of the gardens. We hope that everyone who has at least one hour to spare can come along to help out with any of the following jobs:

• Weeding garden beds (there are several around the school)
• Raking leaves (we’ll organise a skip bin)
• Trimming bushes. 

The school has some equipment but it would be helpful to bring your own equipment if you can eg. garden gloves, shovel, rake, trowel etc. Students are also able to come along and help out. We’ll put on a morning tea and hope that will entice you to come along😊

SCIENCE OF READING 

On Monday, our staff participated in a full day of professional learning related to the science of reading. There was an incredible amount of information shared including: various screening assessments, evidenced based practices to maximise student engagement and involvement in reading, the role of background and content knowledge in aiding comprehension, explicitly teaching tier 2 and 3 vocabulary and strategies for developing fluency. 

We would like to thank the presenter Julie Scali (from Literacy Impact) who not only gave us the research behind effective reading instruction but also practical classroom-based strategies we can start using straight away. 

YEAR 6 LEADERSHIP CAPTAINS

All year 6 students have the opportunity to participate in one of the leadership teams. They are given time to discuss ideas and take action around the school to enhance the physical and learning environments. You can find out more about the school’s ‘Leadership Program’ through our website. 

A special assembly was held to award our  leadership captains with their badges. 

Congratulations to the following students who, we have no doubt, will inspire and lead others well:

Global Citizenship Team Captains: Laurine and Silvana

Community Action Team Captains: Isabella and Amelie

Wellbeing Team Captains: Valerie and Risha

Performing Arts Captains: Oliver and Kaela

Visual Arts Captains: Mimi and Isaac

Media Captains: Ahana and Liam

PLAY AMBASSADORS

The PLAY program is a fun lunch time program run by trained year 4 student leaders. The student leaders have learned how to organise then run safe and fun games for other students during the lunch breaks on a Tuesday and Thursday. 

When students feel like doing something a little different during their lunch break, they head on over to the junior area and join in the games. Our wonderful leaders meet every week to plan which games will be run that week and who will be in charge of setting it up and running the games. 

Without the dedication and commitment of our young leaders, the PLAY program wouldn’t be possible. The PLAY program helps students develop social skills and friendships and connects students across the different ages. The program has been running successfully now for over 4 years. 

We’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the leaders of the PLAY program and our very first group have organised and run their first PLAY session this week. 

Thank you to PLAY Ambassadors Federico and Dimitri supported by Hridaan and Johnny.  The students loved the way you encourage them to join in the soccer game and the way you helped them have fun playing in teams.  

Chellee Plumb