From the Principal
The Winter holidays are here and we have a chance to relax and rejuvenate with family and friends before we head into Term 3. Term 2 has been a busy couple of months of activity and learning, and the reports that have gone home today, reflect the great work your child/ward is doing at school to continually grow and develop.
I was overwhelmed and brought to tears recently.
- see the What's Happening section for the reason why.
I would like to explain a bit more about the industrial action that has been taken this term. All of our staff would prefer not to go down this path however the working conditions related to our profession continue to increase and put pressure on staff.
All of our students have personalised learning plans and at least one other plan that is developed by the teacher. Most students have 4-6 plans for health, therapy and/or behaviour needs. This is all in addition to academic programs, reporting, and assessments that are ongoing throughout the year. The increasing administration stress on staff is causing more and more people to walk away from teaching. This is an issue across the state whether in the city or the country.
We have not had a single day where we haven't had staff away due to sickness, including mental health stress and we have had to either collapse classes or call in one of our 2 casual staff - both retired staff who are doing a wonderful job to help us out. We are still 2 teaching staff down and as we are a specialist setting it is getting more difficult to attract people to the work.
We are fortunate to have a quality, experienced and dedicated staff but unfortunately, it is getting harder and harder to find people who are willing to work in our setting. I hope you understand and support us as we try and get the best for your child.
Our school continues to go from strength to strength and we have had many inquiries for enrolment in 2023. We have had to move the library into the hall as we have run out of class space on the main site. This new space will be a multi-purpose space for a library, small assemblies, and other activities that arise throughout the year such as dance for sport. The internal shelves and seating can easily be moved for larger events like our School Concert, Presentation Ceremony and discos.
Congratulations to the Boccia team who recently played in the regional finals with a chance to represent at a State level. Although unsuccessful this time, the team led by Mr Gross is continuing to practice hard ready for next year's competition.
We have entered a group of students into the Schools Spectacular and await to see if we are successful. This is a great opportunity for our students to show off their talent in the area of music and dance. We are also entered into the Orange Eisteddfod and will join with other local public schools for a Performing Arts Concert later in Term 3.
Art on Anson will be held in
the Trade Training Centre in Education Week from the 1st -5th August. This will be our first physical exhibition in 2 years due to COVID and all students have been working hard in class to organise their artworks for the display. Thank you once again to Mrs Huggett who works with each class and curates the exhibition. In the holidays you might want to have a look at the free "A City for Kids" exhibition in the Orange Regional Arts Gallery. This joyful art-making and environmental education project was developed through the SPARKe network of schools (all public primary schools in the Orange area including us).
During the holidays there will be a lot of construction and property works going on including a large shed constructed on the back oval; play equipment and sensory area finished on the back oval; interactive TVs replaced throughout the school; air-conditioning and solar panels installed for rooms 1 to 4 and the housing of the OOSH hub on the campus site. It will be a busy time for our general assistants who work incredibly hard, especially during this time when students are offsite.
There will be a few staffing changes for the first 6 weeks of Term 3 as Mrs Hodder takes long service leave and Mrs Mel Said takes the helm as the leader of Stage 6. We also have 4 new students starting so there will be changes to some primary classes to best suit the needs of students. Please see the note attached with reports if your child's class is changing. There will be a new primary class starting on the campus site with Mrs Jenny Rosser and Mrs Vicki Hill taking the class to start before a new teacher starts early in Term 3.
I wish everyone a wonderful break. With many cases of COVID and influenza over the past 2 weeks, I hope this time will also give our school community a chance to get well and break the cycle of illness occurring across the school. Happy holidays 😊
Melanie Meers
Principal
#proudtobepublic
Adjunct Lecturer CSU
DipArts (Music), GradDip (Education), GradCertEd (Pedagogy), MEd (Leadership & Management), GradCertEd (Learning Support), ProfCert (Positive Education)
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