Tuesday 31st May 2022
Hello everyone,
I’m sorry for my late report. The last two days I have been at the State Principal’s Conference in Melbourne, which is held annually. All principals are asked to attend. This is the first time in almost three years that this conference has been held. The theme this year was “Stronger Together. Every Student. Every School”.
We talked about inclusive practices and the need to ensure that our students are ‘Courageous, Curious and Collaborative’. It was acknowledged that all schools are not yet back in the “normal routine” of schooling due to ongoing virulent illnesses that are impacting the operations of all schools; but that we are all working hard to make a difference to all children. It was an inspiring couple of days that gave me a chance to take a breath and focus on the future. I have come back with some exciting new ideas for our school.
We have a new website up and running. We are still tweaking it and adding to it, and I would value any ideas for other areas that we could add to keep everyone informed about the school. Last week I sent home a communication diagram to help you understand the processes in the school that will keep you informed. I have already had some feedback about a parent Facebook page which I will raise with the School Council.
Thank you to those parents who came to Open Day today. It was great to have you wander through the classrooms to see what is happening. We will be holding another Open Day early in term three to share with you again.
I know that I upset some people last week with my decision to cancel the disco, but I was really in a “No Win” situation. If I had allowed the disco to go ahead and our children became ill, then I would have been negligent in my duty of care. It upset me greatly to make the decision but given the number of absences at school today, it is very clear that we still have a significant amount of illness around us. Neon Disco will be rescheduled ASAP. There is a FOS meeting tonight and it will be discussed then.
Next week our senior students head off on camp. Our grade 4 students will be asked to step into leadership roles. I hope that our Grade 5/6 students have the best time. I know that they are excited. I also know that we will be handing them back to you on Friday afternoon exhausted (sorry!!), as it is an amazing, busy few days.
I was so proud of two of our Grade 6 students who organised a petition with the other campers because they wanted something about the camp changed. We work hard to encourage our students to have a voice and to also act on their beliefs. These two students embodied our ethos here at the school. We discussed their issue as a group and made a compromise plan to allow the students to have what they wanted.
This Friday is apparently International Donut Day. Who knew??? When Lucy D made her speech to be elected as school Captain, one of her promises was to organise a whole school Donut Day. She has done this, with the help of the Junior School Council, and it will be on this Friday. Lucy is asking for a gold coin donation for a donut. The money raised will go to the Gisborne Foodbank. Congratulations to Lucy for following through on her election promises!!
Today we had two different families come into the Grade 1 class to talk about their family celebrations. Sue (from the Katsavos family) came in and baked Greek Easter biscuits. After lunch Emma Keating came in and the children learnt all about St Patrick’s Day. They played trivia, watched a PowerPoint, and made leprechaun hats. Tomorrow, Saadia Elder is coming in to share her Fijian traditions with the class. We are so lucky to have parents and grandparents willing to come in to teach the children about their culture. There will be lots of lovely photos in next week’s newsletter.
There is a FOS meeting tonight in the school library at 7.30pm. We would love to see you there.
Have a lovely week.
Trish
