Principal’s Update – Week 3, Term 1, 2023

Dear all,

We have had a busy start to the year with parent/teacher interviews across the school, Sneak Peek and Picnic and 52 new Reception students.

It has been awesome having families back in the school and being able to make new connections and build on existing relationships. The ‘vibe’ is still strong and getting stronger by the day.

Thank you to all of the families who have engaged in the interview process so far. These are important for your child, yourself and the teachers as we learn a lot from each other and can set the children up for a successful year at school.

Year 5/6 Forum

On Friday in Week 1 we held our first Year 5/6 Forum in the gym. It was a successful morning where we worked in groups to define what a leader is, what leadership opportunities there are for students at school, and what the data in the Wellbeing and Engagement Survey means.

The students had a number of ideas about leadership and the qualities of leaders. Our first shared definition of leadership is still to be refined but this is what we are starting with:

A strong leader is someone who is kind, caring, respects others and can be trusted. They support and encourage others and show sportsmanship. They listen, encourage and share ideas to make plans that work for the team.

Students made suggestions about different ways they could show leadership at schools which has led to the creation of a 3×3 lunchtime soccer tournament for Year 5/6 students initially, the students are planning to include the Year 3/4 students in the next rounds and then each take on a team of younger students and coach them in a tournament.

I am listening to student applications for School Tour Guide positions in Week 4. This is open to students in Years 4 to 6 and will mean that they can assist me when I have tours for new and prospective families. Having a student perspective and voice will lead to a more authentic and engaging tour.

There are other opportunities that will arise as the term progresses and it is exciting to see so many students wanting to take ownership and have a voice in the school.

Language Learning

At the end of 2022 our French Language teacher, Karen Thorburn, advised that she would be taking leave through 2023. This has prompted us to review the languages that we teach at Port Noarlunga Primary School.

This survey is part of the consultation process. Staff and Students will also be consulted in Term 1, 2023.

There is a limited number of languages that we can have at our school and there is no common language taught across Secondary schools that our students move to.

Please complete the survey by Friday, 10th March 2023.

Thanks for your help

Sneak Peek and Picnic

We had a positive turnout to our Sneak Peek and Picnic on Wednesday afternoon despite the hot conditions.

A massive thank you to:

• White Pointers Soccer organisers for running a sausage sizzle
• Aquatics staff for sharing what their program offers
• Fundraising committee for getting the raffle ready so quickly
• School staff who were on board with the opportunity to share their learning spaces and time
• Scott, our IT officer, who stayed back to ensure that we had a working PA and sound system
• Susie Chandler and Sarah Smale for pulling the whole event together!!!

It has been such a busy start to the year which makes everyone’s efforts even more impressive and appreciated.

Governing Council

Our Governing Council AGM was held on Tuesday 7th February in the library. We had a large number of parents and families attend. As a result we were able to form the largest Governing Council group that I have been a part of in my time at Porties with 18 members. We have 13 of the 15 classes represented by one or more parents. This is exceptional and means that more information can be shared more broadly from the Governing Council and to the Governing Council.

Our Governing Council for 2023 is:

Thank you to our Governing Council for their commitment and engagement at Porties.

I am very excited about how things are progressing so far this year. There are a number of initiatives underway and more opportunities for students to have an authentic voice in the school.

Watch this space…

Take care

Marie