Dear Parents/Carers,

Just over a week ago I had one of our students tell me how proud he was of his work because he had made great achievements when completing his assessment tasks.  This was happening on the playground as I was out there observing the dynamics after an incident we had the previous day.  This particular student is the type of child who never wants a fuss made of him and prefers to just slip quietly under the radar.  However, it was obviously important to him to share his good news with me.  At the time I didn’t think too much about it, but now after time for reflection, I could have really made a mess of this!  Thank goodness I invited him to meet with me and bring his assessment tasks along so that he could share his good work with me. 

He dutifully came to the office and made an appointment to show me his work.  I talked up his achievements and again told him how proud I am, and his parents would be, about his work.  This particular student is not “sporty” but he sees learning incredibly important and his efforts, whilst not shared in public, needed to be acknowledged.  If I had been too busy to give him the time, this would have been a lost opportunity that I am sure, the child in question would remember.

After we met, I then put my dad hat on and remembered back to the times when my now 23 year old daughter was a toddler.  I never walked into the house during the week until about 7.00pm each night because of travel for work and the nature of my work responsibilities.  My daughter, most nights, as a two year old, would want to sit on my lap and would share my dinner with me.  At the time, I felt quite privileged that she did this and my wife and I would laugh at the fact that she would have two dinners most nights.  At the time it never occurred to me that what she really wanted was some time with her dad.  Unfortunately, the reality was that Monday to Friday, when my children were little, I just wasn’t there because of my work commitments.  Twenty-one years later, I see this as a missed opportunity and I have some personal regret about this.  However, this story has made me truly present to the children now, and I need to thank my daughter for this.  I am a better principal because of her behaviour when she was two years old.  

Maybe there might be just one parent who reads this and is given a timely reminder too.

I’ll leave you with this saying:

It is one of the most beautiful

compensations of this life

that we cannot sincerely

help another without

helping ourselves.

Thank you to the student who reminded me about how important being present is.

Finally, I wish the children and teachers a restful vacation where perhaps a sleep in or two may be possible.

Go gently,

Michael Reardon
Principal

Principal Awards

Congratulations to the following students who have recently received a Principal Award. 

Valentina Saliba, Daniel Vella, Leila Jarvis, Victoria Togias, Emaleigh Kelly, Daniel Ristevski, Kyah Graham, Lincoln Tulich, Lewis Danjoux, Ailyah Moon, Sofia Cocco, Ava Galea, Rocco Vecchio, Monique Spinks, Lucas Galic, Audrey Buda, Josephine Luck, Mason Alexoulis.

Please note: There will be no assembly on Monday, 18 July 2022. Any Principal awards scheduled to be presented that day will be moved to the following weeks assembly, Monday, 25 July 2022.

Parent/Teacher Interviews

The teachers are obviously finalising their parent/teacher interviews held via zoom.  We are keen to hear how this approach went.  We chose to go this way to test whether it gave greater flexibility to parents.  It was our hope that maybe some parents, if need be, could then zoom in from their workplace.  We are keen for any feedback, so please send through any suggestions and thoughts.  Please note, that if a face to face interview works best for you, the teachers would always accommodate your request.

2023 NAPLAN Test Window Dates

As of next year, NAPLAN will be held in Term 1 from Wednesday, 15 March to Monday, 27 March 2023. During Term 4, 2022, students in Year 2 and 4 will be taught how to navigate the online NAPLAN assessment platform.