Girls SAPSASA footy at Porties
Good News Story
SAPSASA has been an important part of primary school life for a very long time. I was never athletic or skilled enough to be an active participant in SAPSASA events but I certainly enjoyed the opportunity to cheer on my peers. I continue to be lucky enough to celebrate the skill, achievements and efforts of students who represent our school through SAPSASA events. We hosted two knock out competitions in Week 6 – netball and football. There were so many positives…
- Ruby fist pumping Leanne after a goal assist…great team play and recognition.
- Elise ‘everywhere’ McCourt and Georgia ‘goal sneak’ Moulds were outstanding and their skills on the footy field spoke louder than either of them do in class.
- Jason from the front office was the goal umpire or, as Saylah said, ‘the best flag dancer ever!’
- The netball team followed guidance, played cohesively and fairly. Their team chant was pretty impressive too!
- 5 students went to State Cross Country Day on Thursday and represented the school proudly.
Principal’s Update
Welcome to our Blog.
Week 7 has been a busy week with students visiting the office to share their reading growth. We have a data wall for each year level that gives us a visual representation of where every student in the school is situated in reading.
Each student has a card with their picture, year level, first reading level of the year, a mid-year goal and an end of year goal. When a student improves their reading level, they come up to the office, we celebrate their growth and move their ‘face’ up to the new level.
There have been students from each year level visit this week to move up and there are many that have had to re-set their mid-year and end of year goals. This is a really positive experience and exciting for anyone who is in the hallway when a new level is reached. One of the most heart-warming aspects is the support and recognition that students get from their peers. There is no competition and no teasing for students who are not at the same level. Everyone is working towards their own goals and we all want to support them.
This is just one aspect that is supporting reading improvement at Porties. Reading their readers and sight words at home, reading them with a buddy and reading them to an adult at school supports the continuous improvement of reading. We provide opportunities for buddy reading at school with most classes having 2 sessions with a buddy each week.
Teachers use a variety of assessments to determine the reading needs of students including assessing phonics, sight words, reading fluency and comprehension. We appreciate the efforts of families who support the reading process by reading at home.
We understand that sometimes it can be a challenge to get the reading done every day at home. Reading can happen to a teddy, sibling or in the car travelling to and from school, grandparents can listen over a phone call and students can even read to themselves in the mirror. I am yet to meet a 5 year old who doesn’t love looking in a mirror. Word and letter recognition games can be played when travelling in the car or when taking the dog for a work. Street signs are great for something simple as “I can see a ‘b’. What can you see?” This can be extended by coming up with words with the ‘b’ sound at the start or end, rhyming words, making up a sentence or story with words using the sound. It can be as simple or as challenging as you need and can be done anywhere. The rewards for your child are great as they are spending time with you and having fun while learning.
Family Challenges
We are mindful of the diversity in and among families who have children attending our school. There are numerous pressures on parents, carers and families on an ongoing basis and we know that things don’t always run smoothly. At times, relationships break down and there are issues surrounding the ongoing care and custody of the children.
It is not appropriate to expect the school staff to take on the role of peace keeper, judge or police officer.
Our role in the school is to remain impartial and ensure that we continue to provide the best education we can. Unless we are provided with custody papers or other relevant court documents, we must follow that both the children’s biological parents retain parental responsibility for the children.
We are educators and want to be able to focus on that. My staff want the best for your children but will not engage in discussions regarding family disputes. They are more than willing to support your children during tough emotional times. We can make referrals to agencies who provide support for families at these times.
Take care,
Marie
