Hopefully everyone is managing the lead up to Christmas.  It seems to be approaching very quickly.  Last weekend I was at Marion and looking at gifts for my grandchildren.  It is a challenging task with so much on offer.  I am not sure we do well trying to guess what children might value as a gift in several months time.  All the best with that task.

School is a very busy place in term 4 and teachers are involved in the placement of all students into 2020 classes.  This is a process that takes quite some time and thought.  Parent input has closed and we are unable to take late requests. It is a time to trust teachers to make a sound decision about your child for 2020. This includes placing numerous children who will be new to our school in 2020. You will be informed about next years classes during the last week of school.

At this stage it looks like we will have 27 students take part in our 2020 MYOJO experience.  This is an opportunity offered to those who wish to take it up and is a valuable part of our many educational experiences possible at Woodend Primary School. Sarah Vinall is in Japan at present and taking time to meet with MYOJO staff to ensure another amazing experience for students next year.

Remembrance Day is next Monday and we will be holding a ceremony next to the flag poles at 10.45am. You are welcome to join us if you wish. It is important that children learn about what their forebears did to give them the amazing country that we have today. It also allows our children whose parents are currently serving in the armed forces to see that their parent(s) service is valued.  Remembrance is important.  Our year 6 and 7 students know this well after their visit to the War Memorial in Canberra.

Our last three days have been focussed on our whole school review.  Thank you to those parents who were able to be a part of that process and meet with the panel to share their understanding of our work to improve student learning and engagement. I know that it is time out of your busy day, but it is very much appreciated.  The Review Officer and Review Principal worked tirelessly over three days, meeting with a wide range of parents, teachers and students.

Ultimately they will provide directions for our school for the next 3 years. This document will be published on our school website prior to the end of the year. At this stage I can say that they were every impressed with the high standard of the school’s work in relation to learning, in particular the consistency in curriculum delivery R-7.

I am very proud of the passion that every staff member brings to their role at our school. The willingness to be a part of our improvement journey is evident in after school committee/meeting work, willingness to take on strategies that are evidenced and researched based, as well as having every individual child’s learning growth at the centre of what they do. During the year they have met with teachers across the Marion Coast Partnership schools to further learning design, moderation of work and the development of stretch tasks for students. We have seen a significant growth in NAPLAN results from year 3,5 and 7 over the last three years as a result.

The last week of school will also see our community event (fireworks night) take place on Monday 9th December. Further information will come out on the Newsblog prior to that week.  This is always a highlight on the calendar and is an enjoyable evening.  Given some feedback last year, we are sourcing quotes for an additional 2 toilets to be placed on site.  At this stage we are finding it to be quite a pricey exercise, so if anyone has any contacts, Kerri at the front desk would be pleased to have a chat on 83226422.

Kind regards,
Steve Freeman
Principal