Welcome to our Week 3 News!
Our staff all had a very busy day last Friday reviewing our strategic improvement agenda and setting directions for 2023. We celebrated many achievements and identified some divergent paths we have travelled down this year in response to various circumstances such as COVID. For 2023 we are planning to steady the directions again with a clear, explicit focus on the following:
- A consistent clear approach to the teaching of English [Connecting Reading, Writing and Oral Language]
- 21st Century teaching and learning through an inquiry based approach for HASS and Science and the continued focus on the ALLE learner dispositions [Reflect, Problem, Solve, Persist, Communicate and Collaborate]
- Quality Curriculum through the implementation of the latest release of the Australian Curriculum.
World Teachers Day
Australia will celebrate the teaching profession on World Teachers’ Day on Friday 28 October 2022. Our teachers have shown great resilience during challenging times, all so they can give Australian students the best future possible.
Hats off to teachers this World Teachers’ Day!
Share your “hats off” selfie to celebrate teachers and tell us what they mean to you.
We are encouraging students, their families and the community to celebrate teachers. What do teachers mean to you?
On Friday 28 October, you can show your appreciation to teachers by posting a “hats off” selfie on social media, either on your own or with family or friends. Use these tags: #WTD2022 @aitsl
Parent and Student Perception Survey
As you can see in the snapshot below I have started sharing responses from the surveys undertaken back in August. It was terrific to note the Year 5 and 6 students all agreed teachers expect them to do their best - maintaining a high standard through the school. They also all felt the teacher supports them in their learning which is a credit to the quality teaching team at the school.
We will be unpacking / discussing with students their perceptions about how behaviour is managed to listen to their thoughtsabout how this could improved. We will also ensure they are aware and have ready access to avenues for support if they have concerns.
Parents were generally very positive in their responses about the school appearance and maintenance and also in how they believe their child feels safe and has a range of opportunities available.
Not all parents feel they have the opportunity to have a say in the direction of the school - as always we share our directions through the School Council and seek feedback and through the newsletter. You are always welcome to come along to Council or come and have a chat with me. The next Council meeting is Monday 28th November where we will present our draft plan for 2023 and seek feedback.
As with the last 3 years the two lowest rating items from your feedback were about children managing their emotions and staying safe online.
- We have had an explicit focus this year again on Cybersafety through all classrooms and have shared readings, resources and tips for parents in the newsletter. We ask that parents also make this a priority at home as this is when the children are mainly accessing devices and the internet unsupervised.
- From Preschool to Year 3 we have implemented and developed an understanding of the Zones of Regulation to help children manage their emotions. We will also continue to share ideas for families through the newsletter and Facebook. Our data at the school does show improvement in this area and quite a few children have this as a goal in their Education Adjustment plans. Parents can also accfess fantastic resources online such as Mind Ninja which is promoted as 'The Perfect Solution To Having Your Child Manage Their Own Emotions, Even If You’ve Tried Everything Before"
Mind Ninja! (lifelessonsglobal.com)
Have a fantastic week and see you around the school
Sandy Cartwright [Principal]