Principal's Message

Dear Parents, Carers and Students

It seems unbelievable that we are nearly at the mid-point of 2017! The first day of school seems like only yesterday! There has been a lot for us to be proud of in these first six months of school. I can easily start listing items – preps adjusting to school life, athletics day, social and emotional learning, reading and mathematical progress, assemblies, community events and improvements to our buildings and grounds, but that would be missing the most important thing – happy, well settled students who are thriving in their environment. Over the last week I have had the great pleasure of reading through the mid-year report of every child in the school. Our teachers have been working industriously over the last couple of weeks, ensuring that reports are reflective of each child's current level of learning and also ensuring that the descriptions provided give a clear picture of what that level looks like. The aim is a clear, concise snapshot outlining where your child is at, their next level of learning, supports in place at school and ways you can help at home.

As a school we believe strongly that a child’s report should not be a surprise. Your child's learning is best supported when there is an ongoing conversation between home and school with clarity around expectations. This partnership is demonstrated in many different ways, including the ‘Parents as Partners’ program, Facebook updates, our open door policy and our focus on clear learning intentions. We understand that you will always be your child's first teacher and therefore the lines of communication must remain open.

As I read your children's reports I gain an excellent insight into the learning going on in each classroom and a true reflection that at Diggers Rest Primary School individuals do matter. There is no point comparing students. Each is their own person and just like learning to walk – each will progress at their own rate. Inherent in this belief is that confidence, self-esteem and resilience are key components in your child’s learning journey. We are focused on the development of lifelong learners and these characteristics are difficult to capture in a school report card.

Next month we will be focused on the value ‘Be a Learner’. Our school learning protocols break this value down further with some strategies or life skills that support each of us to be learners:

• Be curious
• Be confident
• Be resilient
• Be reflective

We believe that if we work on these characteristics your child will not only make the next reading level…they will be equipped to be life-long learners.
When you are considering your child’s report card please also consider these characteristics and ask your child to reflect on them. As I said earlier, it's hard to capture these qualities in a test or with a when reporting against mandated standards, but that doesn't mean they are any less important. When you read your child's report, try and get a sense of their curiosity, confidence when trying new tasks, reflective capacity and resilience when making mistakes. These protocols form the basis for our programs and the decisions we make about learning. They are inherent in the learning design process and are the key goal when considering ways in which we are empowering our young people to excel. Student reports will be distributed on the last day of term. Parents are very welcome to make appointments with teachers should more discussion be required but otherwise, parent/teacher interviews will be held in term three.

135th Birthday Celebration
A big thank you to the staff and wider community members who have come together to create our 135th Birthday Celebration! We look forward to seeing you all at the event, which will take place tomorrow in the courtyard between 2 and 3. Fingers crossed for good weather!

Classroom visits- Child safe
This year we have invested heavily in a range of strategies aimed at ensuring your children remain safe and sound during the school day. We have implemented the Passtab system through the office for late arrivals/early departures, new visitor badges/lanyards and badges to clearly identify staff. We have also implemented new contractor induction and early departure processes. These strategies aim to ensure that adults are not wandering around the school and that all visitors are clearly accounted for through the school office. These processes ensure adherence to Child Safe legislation and also our school’s Visitor Policy. If you have something to drop off to your child, an early pick up, questions or issues during the school day, please direct your enquiries to the school office. It is against school rules for unaccounted parents or visitors to be wandering around during school hours.

Curriculum Day
Please note that the first day of term three (17th of July) will be a curriculum day. On this day staff will be updating their first aid,         anaphylaxis, CPR and asthma qualifications.

Another busy week as we quickly approach the end of term. I hope all families enjoy are restful weekend.

Rachelle Hedger
Principal