We come to the end of a challenging term for parents, students and staff but do so looking forward to the plan for students to return to school in Term 4. Thank you for the work being put in to keep children learning and thank you to the supportive comments shared by so many families, particularly about the "fun' activities that have been inserted over the last couple of weeks.
I know that opinions on how we have organised the learning have been many and varied however we have tried to steer a middle road in providing structures, supporting high needs children and ensuring that children have been able to access the programs equally, either in learning packs or online. Just as it has been tough for many families to support learning from home, it has been equally challenging for the school to meet the various needs and situations remotely. I hope we can all be kind and acknowledge the limitations of the situation but appreciate that each of us is trying to do our best. Watching this little clip about the contagious nature of kindness may be good for your families to start the holidays: youtube kindness boomerang clip
Communities are doing well in being vaccinated to help our community open up and stay comparatively safe, so please keep this up for the good of your family and friends. One family in our community has already experienced a COVID infection and while thankfully they are improving, it has not been a pleasant experience. Fortunately they had no contact with school prior to or during the infectious period. We wish them well and a speedy recovery.
NAPLAN reports for Years 3 and 5 have now been received at the school. These will be sent home with children in attendance on Thursday or may be picked up from the office prior to the holidays or early next term. In accord with the state wide analysis, there has not been a significant decline in learning either at state level or the school level as a result of last year's lock down. Year 3 have shown excellent results and both years have improved in Writing on previous performance.
We also wish to congratulate Trent Gardiner who has gained the substantive position as Deputy Principal from his current relieving role. Trent has very quickly become an integral part of our school in the past 14 weeks. We also congratulate Alex Blake, Year 5 teacher, who has proceeded on maternity leave and welcome Connie Hallas, her replacement teacher. Finally we have farewelled our Instructional Leader, Annabel Hughes Clapp, who is also going on maternity leave and sadly for us moving with her family to set up home in Orange. Annabel has supported and provided challenging lessons for all children but especially for our high achieving students. Laura Mclean, a long time staff member and currently the part time Business Manager is also leaving us after 10 years, to move to the South Coast with her family. Best wishes to all of these staff members.
Finally please try to have a relaxing holiday and take advantage of the beautiful surroundings and open spaces to spend outdoors with your family.
Regards
Susan Allen, Principal
