I hope everyone has had a great last couple of weeks and you are staying dry and warm – winter has certainly arrived! As always, there’s been a number of highlights since our last newsletter so I wanted to fill you in on what’s been happening at school.
Senior Girls Football
A real highlight for me was going to King’s Park in Upper Ferntree Gully to watch the senior girls football team play in their round-robin tournament. When I arrived at the ground, I had trouble finding the girls, but when I finally found where they were, they looked unrecognisable. Every one of them were covered head to toe in mud and were having an absolute ball! The team spirit the girls showed was remarkable. Of the 14 teams who competed on the day, our girls finished sixth which is a terrific effort. Congratulations to all players, coaches and parents who supported them on this day.
In the last newsletter I shared an update about the playground renewal projects that are planned around the school. I am pleased to say that the designs for the Year 1/2 and 3/4 playgrounds have been finalised, with play pieces and colours chosen by the children. The company who are building the playgrounds, Safe Play Australia, have given us an anticipated construction date of the September school holidays. By the time the kids return for Term 4, there should be two new playgrounds for them to enjoy.
Here are some images of the designs:
Take part in a survey to help shape the future of education in Australia
Parents and guardians are invited to take part in a survey to help inform the Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System.
The online survey is an opportunity to help shape the future of education in Australia. It closes on Friday 23 June 2023.
The survey is open to anyone who cares for a school-aged child and makes decisions about their education. Students aged under 18 years can also take part, but require consent from a parent or guardian to do so.
The expert panel for the review will use the results to inform recommendations for the final report to all education ministers, by 31 October 2023. The final report will advise education ministers on what targets and reforms should be included in the next National School Reform Agreement.
The Social Research Centre is conducting the survey.
For more information on the survey, refer to parents/guardians survey on the Australian Government Department of Education website.
Semester 1 reports
Semester 1 reports will be available to parents on Compass on Thursday 22nd June. Parents who may be new to the school’s reporting system may be unsure what all the “dots” mean when you read your child’s reports, so I thought it might be worthwhile giving you a brief explanation.
Schools are required to report to parents at least twice a year, however we also provide additional information to you as part of our continuous reporting cycles, which means you receive relevant and timely updates about you child’s progress. Within the report document, you will see sections that have black dots located on a grid. These dots represent the achievement your child is making according to the Victorian Curriculum. The levels are indicative of your child’s year level. For example, if your child is in Year 3 and the dot is in the middle of the Level 3 box, it means they are at the expected level. If the dot was at the edges of the Level 3 box, they are either 6 months ahead/below the expected level according to where the dot was placed.
You may also see a white open dot which indicates your child’s previous result according to their last school report, followed by a dashed line and a black dot indicating their current progress. If your child is also in, for example, Year 3 and you don’t see a white dot and dashes, it can indicate a few things. Either, your child is new to the school and the system doesn’t know the previous score, or your child may not have made sufficient progress to place them at the next level yet. If this is the case, it doesn’t mean your child has not made any progress. It may be that your child’s teacher has assessed their skills but cannot definitively say they are meeting the standards at the next level at this point in time.
If you have any questions about your child’s report, please speak to their teacher and I’m sure they can help answer your questions.
End of term
With Term 2 finishing on Friday 23rd June, I hope everyone has a safe and happy school holiday period. Just a reminder that we finish at 2:30pm next Friday, with Term 3 beginning on Monday 10th July.
Take care!
Mat Anderton
Acting Principal