13-Oct-2023
Dear Families
“Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive good things and good people will be drawn to you.” – Mary Lou Retton
This week we had a visit from a few leaders at different schools who we engaged with to get feedback on some of our teaching practices. They were treated to some excellent lessons that saw teachers activating students’ prior knowledge through our Daily Review, moving at a fast pace, using different methods to check students’ understanding of concepts, asking questions and offering learning tasks that provide challenge and engagement.
Teaching remains a complex profession and we are fortunate to have an incredibly talented and professional team of educators in front of our students each and every day.
2024 Parent Payments.
Great News! Earlier this week our Finance Committee convened to consider our Parent payments for next year. We are delighted to let you know that our fees will remain the same again in 2024.
We understand the need to balance the rising cost of living with giving students the best possible opportunities for future success through quality education. We are confident of continuing academic growth into 2024 by maintaining the existing commitment from our families. Voluntary contributions have been invaluable in creating a successful, holistic education program – with demonstrated improvement in our school’s academic performance.
This decision will help to ensure quality learning and wellbeing programs can be provided for all students again next year. Schools provide students with free instruction to fulfil the standard Victorian curriculum and the ongoing support of our families ensures that our school can offer a great education and support for our students.
This support, whether through contributions, fundraising or volunteering, makes a significant difference to our school and the programs we can offer, and we sincerely extend our gratitude to you.
Funding for Schools
Recently there has been plenty of noise from other school leaders about 2024 funding and the struggle to afford all of the programs we all want to provide our students. We are not immune to this and I want to assure you that we are working hard in the background to make our DET funding stretch as far as we can make it go.
Our Tutor Learning Initiative (used for our READ and extension Maths programs) funding, for example will be 25% less next year.
Most of the funding we get (approx. 95%) gets spent on our most valuable and precious resource – our people. As well as our wonderful classroom and specialist teachers we have over a dozen talented Educational Support staff and 5 office and first aid staff who help us to support our students and families.
In 2024 we will be at full capacity (around 520 students) and we will have 24 classes. We have just enough teaching spaces for our proposed classes. In an anomaly of the system, schools are provided 1 classroom per 25 students and are required to have a Music Room as part of this. We have a modern Science room and a bright and open Art Studio already and next year our Performing Arts program will most likely have its own space too.
As you might notice below, we are committed to keeping our class sizes as low as we can and this means we have needed to be creative with our use of spaces and classrooms.
| Class | No. of Students approx | No. of Classes | Average Class size |
| Foundation | 75 | 4 | 19 |
| Year 1 | 80 | 4 | 20 |
| Year 2 | 75 | 4 | 19 |
| Year 3 | 90 | 4 | 22 |
| Year 4 | 72 | 3 | 24 |
| Year 5 | 78 | 3 | 26 |
| Year 6 | 50 | 2 | 25 |
This helps us keep our ratio in the lower year levels in line with the Victorian Government Schools Agreement (VGSA). It also means that we can continue to run 5 specialist sessions each week next year and fulfill the requirements of the VGSA to provide the necessary Non Face to Face Teaching Time to ALL of our teachers.
From the Victorian Government Schools Agreement “….. within the fixed resources provided to schools and the physical facilities schedule, class size should be planned on the minimum possible subjects….. Provided that class sizes should be planned on the following basis:
(a) P to 6 – an average of 26 provided that the average class size of 21 at P-2 is maintained;
Living Cultures
Over the next few weeks, in addition to our students learning from local Indigenous leaders, will be hosting two wonderful workshops for adults. These will be held at school on Wednesday 18th and Wednesday 25th October. A number of family members have already signed up to these presentations by using the links below – which we will keep open for a few more days.
These authentic presentations designed for parents and carers will give us an insight into the extensive knowledge of the history and culture of local Indigenous community. The workshops build on a whole school Incursion that our students will participate in to support their learning of Indigenous perspectives and history. The incursion will also support students learning of our Science topic for Term 4 which is Biology. Students will focus on local flora and fauna, Bush Tucker foods and medicine. If you are interested in attending one of the adult workshops, then please click the links below to RSVP. If you want to know more about the workshops, please contact Ashlee McCarthy in the Science Lab.
Wednesday 18th; Cultural Talks & Artefacts
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfs_O0R83pWi5kIyYxQoF5XV87inufPM8OobRxAaRC4KESpog/viewform
Wednesday 25th; Bush Tucker & Medicinal Herbs
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfXRSBMf2Bl8L_KG-JY1o1-m10Iw_QGcleo82l-yJNbv9Myeg/viewform
Key dates
- Wednesday 4,14,21,28 October – Indigenous Science Incursions
- Monday October 30 – Year 5 Camp
- Wednesday 1 November – Year 6 Camp
- Monday 6 November – STUDENT FREE DAY
- Tuesday 7 November – Melbourne Cup Day Public Holiday
- Tuesday 14 November ‘Wear it Blue’ World Diabetes day Free ‘BLUE’ dress day for students
- Tuesday 5 December -Thursday 7 December- Whole school transition for 2024
- Friday 8 December – Christmas Concert at school from 3:45pm
- Monday 11 December – ACTIVITIES WEEK
- Friday 15 December – Class Parties and Colour Fun Run
- Monday 18 December – Year 6 Graduation
- Tuesday 19 December – Students’ last day of the Year – Assembly from 1:30 pm
- Wednesday 20 December – Staff final day of Year – STUDENT FREE DAY
First Day of 2024 school year for our students will be Tuesday 30 January
James Whitla
I wish to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which this is being read – for most of us – the
Bunurong- members of the eastern Kulin Nations – and pay my respects to elders past present and emerging. I
wish to acknowledge our First Nations people and pay respects to them. I note further that these lands were
never ceded and are, and always will be, Aboriginal Lands.