Newsletter

Dear Families, 

As those beautiful autumn leaves around our school drop and the cooler weather sets in we are reminded of the importance of our seasonal calendar and how it enhances learning experiences. The cooler weather also provides us with a reminder in terms of keeping well over the winter months, as we have had a number of children and staff that have been unwell over the past week. At this time of year it is important for us all to follow safe hygiene practices and in line with current COVID guidelines. If your child is unwell, please keep them home so they can recover as quickly as possible. We have also had a confirmed case of chicken pox this week, so please make yourself familiar with the associated symptoms and timeframes to return to school as emailed out to all families. Another respectful request this week relates to student safety at the pick up and drop off zone. Please ensure all students are safely secured in their car seats for younger students or for older students have their seatbelt fastened before moving off in your vehicle. Their safety is really important to us and we have noticed a number of unrestrained children as cars move through the pick up zone to the waiting tree area. 

On a positive note it has been a really busy week for our teaching and learning with all year 3, 5 and 7 students undertaking NAPLAN testing. Students have worked hard, persisted with challenging tasks and given their best throughout the week.  Thank you for your support in assisting children in managing this week, it provides a useful snapshot of student achievement across literacy and numeracy domains to inform next steps in teaching and learning. 

We are also really fortunate this week to have Tom Waldon our Chinese Teacher and his wife Nono prepare amazing produce so we could all learn how to make dumplings. The children really enjoyed this valuable cultural food experience and I must say we made quite a number to enjoy on a cold weather day. It was certainly a mid-week highlight and something I am now keen to try at home!

This week we also welcomed a range of pre-service teachers into our classes. Their energy and enthusiasm is most appreciated and our school community provides them with a valuable platform to learn about the multifaceted aspects of teaching and learning and also being part of a professional learning community. As teachers, we value lifelong learning and model this for our students through reflective practices, deep questioning, being curious and creative and engaging with research. We look forward to developing further relationships with our visiting pre-service teachers over the coming term.

Thank you to those parents that attended the governing council meeting this week. A range of committees have been formed as part of our ongoing commitment to school improvement. If you would like to participate in a committee please make contact with the school office and we will add names to the respective committee lists and advise of upcoming meetings, events and initiatives. At this stage we have: Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) committee, Grounds committee, Promotions and Fundraising committee and a group that will assist with the Consultation Process and Timeline for strategic vision 2022 and beyond. Many thanks to those governing council members that have agreed to help coordinate these groups and I look forward to working with you all for the remainder of the year.

This week I have also been fortunate enough to visit Uraidla Kindy and to work with their leadership team to discuss early years initiatives, play based learning, transition arrangements and early literacy and numeracy development. Developing strong relationships and maintaining positive dialogue with our feeder kindergartens is important and I look forward to the continuous connection throughout the year as we start to welcome a new cohort of students to our wonderful school. Have a wonderful week everyone.

Kind Regards, Sybila.