Dear Parents/Caregivers,
As the end of year draws closer students and parents are wondering about class placements and structures for 2012. While we have completed most of this process some adjustments are yet to be made as new families move into the CBD. There are some uncertainties about our teaching staff for next year as the Education Department is still confirming placement of permanent teachers and while we have excellent contract teachers, permanent staff have the highest priority for placement. We are very pleased to announce that Claire Wood will return as she has won the position of Deputy Principal.
We will commence the year with seven classes and another Reception class later in the year. We have been notified that the modification to the former library space will proceed and be funded through Asset Services. These works will allow for two Junior Primary classes in Room 3. Next year with the introduction of the Australian Curriculum and the Early Years Framework it will mean that our teachers in Preschool and Reception will be planning and working closely together.
Class structures and teachers.
Maxwell St:Jenny Harpas Preschool
Room 1: Kerri Southwell Reception
Room 3: Judy Crisp Year 1
Room 3a: Lyn Long Year 1/2
Room 4: To be advised Year 2/3
Room 5: To be advised Year 2
Room 7: Alanna Murphy Years 4/5
Room 8: Claire Wood Years 5/6/7
National School Student Welfare program
As the school continues to grow we are always looking for funding to support children and families. You may recall that earlier this year members of Governing Council, myself and Anne-Marie attended a meeting with the Hon Peter Garrett MP to discuss a number of issues. One was funding for the current School Chaplaincy Program which our school had opposed due to the cultural diversity of our community. As a result of these community consultations the Federal Govt has now introduced a National School Student Welfare program – a non-Christian based
pastoral care service through an approved provider. We are applying for funding over a 3 year period and I will keep you informed of the outcome. Further information can be found at this website http://www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/NSCWP/Pages?NSCSWP_Overview.aspx
Late for school
In our last newsletter we stated our concern about the number of students arriving late for school. It is pleasing to note that there has been improvement and we thank those families who have really made an effort to arrive before 8.55am. Figures to date (7 weeks) show 252 lates compared with 507 in Term 3 (10 weeks)
Site Improvement Plan
In Terms 1 & 3 Reading levels are assessed for every child in Year 1 and 2. This data helps us to identify children in need of further support and we can see how we are tracking against other schools. We are pleased to note that our school Running Records achievement data continues to be significantly above the State.
Next year we are introducing a Lexile framework for students in Years 3-7 to support the development of comprehension skills. Many of the texts in the library will be leveled so students may select books within their reading Lexile level and complete an on-line comprehension test when they finish the book.
To celebrate the end of term a whole school picnic will be held in the Princess Elizabeth Playground and South Parklands on Thursday 8th December. We will leave school at 9.30am, have a picnic lunch at 11am and return at 12noon. We invite all our parents to join in the day.
