This term has been fantastic so far, and I have loved seeing all of those students that have come to the office to show off their amazing work! This week, I have had lots of visitors from Year 1 showing off their reading and spelling skills, as well as lots of Year 3’s last week showing off their persasive and narrative writing tasks; they were great! 

It has also been great seeing so many people attending our assemblies, and around the school at the end of the day; as mentioned at this morning assembly, it was also incredible to see that amount of support that our P&C got last week to assist with running the colour run last week! I think that this event received the highest amount of support, and I’d like to thank those that assisted, as well as inviting anyone able and interested to join our hardworking P&C this year to keep being able to offer these fantastic opportunities to our students! 

Swimming Lessons  

Next week, notes will come regarding Swimming lessons. Whilst originally planned to be home already, we have been a little hesitant to do so to date. With these notes, you will notice some key information regarding permission notes and payment has changed since 2023 when we last did lessons. 

This primary revolves around us requesting permission notes returned ASAP, however we are asking that payment not be made until further notice, with this likely being the very start of Term 2. 

My reasoning around making this change is quite simple, we have every intent in taking part in DoE swimming lessons this year, and have completed planning around this taking place as per our allocation. At the back of my mind though is the information that some schools this term have had their allocations adjusted or changed significantly due to shortages of Swimming Instructors. Lessons times are usually confirmed 1-2 weeks before starting, so I’d prefer to hold off collecting money until closer the time, just in case we are impacted. 

Should you have any questions around this, please feel free to contact me. 

Parent use of toilets / Playgrounds before and after school  

Just a brief reminder that playgrounds around the school are out of bounds before and after school, as there is no supervision by staff at these times and they are covered under the agreement that we have with Atlantis as being available for their use at these times. 

Also, there have been a few instances of parents entering the student toilets before or after school. Can I please remind everyone that student toilets are not to be used by adults or entered by adults supporting younger children. If you need to take a younger child to the toilet, or use it yourself, the disabled toilet on the side of the library (next to grassed area) is available for your use. 

Year 3 and Year 5 NAPLAN Testing 

This week and next week, our Year 3 and Year 5 students are taking part in NAPLAN testing. The students have done really well with these this week, and tackled with a really positive mindset of ‘doing the best that they can’.  

As always, when the results of NAPLAN come back, please feel free to contact your child’s classroom teacher if you have any concerns. It has always been my position that NAPLAN is useful for giving a whole school snapshot of where we need to focus, but a true reflection of where your child is at is usually better reflected from the classroom work and assessments that teachers gather regularly and moderate with other teachers to ensure consistency. 

Results are usually available for families during Term 3. 

I hope that everyone has a great week, and I look forward to seeing everyone around the school over the next few weeks! 

The Diversity Wheel is adapted from Rebecca Burgess, 2019

The areas relate to each other and guide us when we are thinking about the strengths, support needs and levels of independence of young autistic people in different situations, like home, school and in the community.

The outer edge of the circle indicates a young person has strong levels of independence or is able to access supports that enable them to engage independently in that environment.

The inner section of the circle indicates that additional strategies and adjustments are needed to support that young person in that particular environment.

Understanding these key areas related to a student’s independence, strengths and support needs is important and helps us build a picture of how we can effectively support them in the classroom.

The level of support that students may require will depend on the different environments they encounter throughout the day. In some environments, students may be able to work with a high level of independence, while in others, they will need strategies and supports in place. Changes within environments will also impact on student needs, such as who they are with, what they are doing, what they are feeling and the time of day.

I hope you have a great weekend and do not hesitate to come and have a chat anytime.

Kind regards,