Principal's Message
Julie Crawford
Welcome back to Term 4. We have hit the ground running with so many exciting things happening. We hope you enjoy reading this latest edition of our newsletter which is a celebration of the many wonderful learning experiences our students have had the opportunity to participate in.
Thank You to Warrandyte Community Bank
We recently received the great news that the Grade 3/4s grant application to the Warrandyte Community Bank for funds to create the Welcome to Country Garden at the front of the school had been successful! The $5,500 grant, together with locally raised funds will go toward purchase plants, rocks, signage and a waterway system. This very exciting project will begin shortly and will be a wonderful asset for our school community. We are extremely grateful for the generous support from the Warrandyte Community Bank, who have made this project possible.
Book Week Celebration
The Book Week parade was a wonderful celebration of our favourite book characters. Thank you to everyone who took part in this fun event.
Taking Action - our Big Idea of Country
Students in many grades have continued working into Term 4 on the Big Idea of Country and are now at the point of using the knowledge and understandings they built throughout Term 3, to now take action and make a difference. Some examples of our students in action is the creation of a labelled display of books in our library with a First Nations theme, the creation and selling of aboriginal inspired craft to raise funds for the VACCA (Victorian Aboriginal Childcare Agency) and the designing and creation of the Welcome to Country Garden with information stations accessed with QR codes. It has very valuable and enriching for our learning community to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. As we move forward we will play our part to build relationships and a community that values Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories , culture and futures.
Community Partnerships
Our school community has always had strong connections with our local Wonga Park CFA. A highlight of our annual Colour Run fundraiser has always been the visit by the CFA crew to provide an 'aquatic finale' to the occasion. We are very grateful for the amazing job our CFA volunteers do to keep our community safe and to show our appreciation our School Captains, Holly and Harrison were excited to present Aaron and Michelle with a cheque for $1000 to go towards a new fire truck.
Prep - 2 Concert
Congratulations to our Prep and Grade 1/2 students on their wonderful concert performance. They were simply sensational, so confident and joyful. A huge thank you to Mrs Salisbury and Mrs Lambden for all their hard work to direct such polished young performers and give them the chance to experience the joy of being part of a production. Many thanks also to our dedicated teachers, support staff and many wonderful parents who gave their time to help our with the costumes, make-up, the BBQ, setting up the amazing art display and the pack up. A very special thanks also to the team of people at Discovery Church in Mount Evelyn whose assistance and support helped make the event such a success.
We truly appreciate everyone who helped make this experience possible for our students - an amazing team effort!
Assessment and Reporting
Strengthening ways we partner with parents to support their child’s learning and growth is important to us. Earlier this year we held parent forums and sought feedback from our students and teachers to help us reimagine what Assessment and Reporting could look like. The information we gathered has helped us identify the aspects we will retain and some changes we will implement.
In 2023, our Assessment and Reporting will include -
- Progress Reports - these will be introduced at the end of Terms 1 and 3 for all students
- Individual Education Plans (IEPs) – these will be created for students who are supported through the SSG (Student Support Group) process
- Learning Snapshots – these will be regularly shared via Showbie to celebrate learning and student success
- Getting To Know You Interviews - these will continue to be held at the beginning of Term 1
- Student Reports - these will continue to be distributed at the end of Terms 2 and 4
- Student / Parent / Teacher conferences - these will continue to be held at mid-year
In preparation for 2023, we are hoping to trial sending some Learning Snapshots home via Showbie during the remainder of Term 4. The purpose of sharing learning snapshots is to support conversations between parents and their children about learning. Parent feedback will help us strengthen the process before it is launched across all levels in 2023.
Planning for 2023
Planning for next year is underway. Teachers will shortly begin the process of creating classes for next year. It is a complex task with teachers in each level balancing many factors including friendships, gender balance, student interests and academic, social and emotional needs. Please be reassured that teachers spend many hours on this task to ensure that the needs of every student are carefully considered. If parents have information about their child that they feel would be beneficial for the classroom teacher to be aware of when they are creating class groupings, could that please be provided, in writing, to me by Friday, November 18th. Please note that the information should have an educational basis and that multiple requests cannot be considered.
Building and Grounds News
You may have noticed a recent transformation around our school grounds. New softfall under the playgrounds, sandpits replenished, gardens weeded and mulched, paths cleaned, paving levelled, maintenance jobs completed. A huge thank you goes to an amazing team of seventy volunteers from the Life Ministry Church who worked through very challenging weather for an entire Saturday to complete a huge wishlist for us. We can't thank them enough, not only their generosity in terms of time but also in terms of providing all of the materials needed. I'm sure our school community joins me in thanking the church community for their support in making our grounds safe and attractive for our students, staff and families.
You may have noticed that fencing has been erected on the oval and around the art room. Some building works, including ramps, decking and the installation of automatic doors, are about to begin this week to ensure buildings are more accessible for all students.
We also expect that some new shade sails over the asphalt area (bound by the admin building, kids kitchen, prep building and the 1/2 building) will be installed in the coming weeks. This shaded area will be developed in the future as an outdoor learning and synthetic grass play space.
Term 4 is always an exciting time for learning and transitions. There are so many upcoming things our students are looking forward to over the coming weeks - Book Fair, Grade 3/4 Ceres Excursion Grade 5/6 camp, P-5 swimming program, Grade 5/6 Adolescent Health Program, Grade 6 Graduation, Prep Grandparents Morning, the transition program and the Christmas Concert. A busy time!
Happy reading!
Julie