Welcome to our new and returning students and families in 2023.
We have had a great start to the year and expect that there will be some very tired students by the end of the week. It is wonderful that this year we can start with families at school and in classrooms. There is a lovely ‘buzz’ about the place and I am hopeful that with the increase of parent/family engagement this will continue to grow.
I’d like to share some information and updates in my first blog post for 2023.
Staffing
We have all of our staff in place and they have hit the ground running. There are always changes as the year progresses when teachers have leave or, as in Mrs Chandler’s case, have a baby. I will make sure that I keep you informed.
Our staff list is as follows:
| Name | Role |
| Victoria Corbett | Student Wellbeing Leader |
| Joshua MacWilliams | Pedagogy Co-ord |
| Dana Lauck | Behaviour Practitioner |
| Vicki McCarthy | Business Manager |
| Amy Harris | Front Office Admin |
| Jason Stringer | Front Office Admin |
| Emily Tessari | Reception |
| Kim Gwatking | Reception |
| Tayla Bayly | Rec / Y1 |
| Anne-Marie Ehlers | Year 1/2 |
| Alana McMullan | Year 1/2 |
| Danielle Butcher | Year 1/2 |
| Bianca Vandenberg | Year 2/3 |
| Desma McMillan | Year 3/4 |
| Shona Thompson | Year 3/4 |
| Chantelle Parkes | Year 3/4 |
| Kris Sander | Year 4/5 |
| Sebastian Braim | Year 4/5 |
| Brett Horsfall | Year 5/6 |
| Anya Badu | Year 5/6 |
| Shannon Clarke | Year 5/6 |
| Jo Eldridge | Year 5/6 |
| Sarah Smale | Reception and Year 5/6 |
| Susie Chandler | Performing Arts |
| Mike Woolford | PE/Health |
| Danni Baumann | Visual/Media Arts |
| Eilis Quinn | HASS |
| Allana Wait | Health/Dig Tech |
| Jacqui Vanderkley | Intervention |
| Lisa Jauncey | Speech |
| Tina Jackson | Library |
| Anji Solomann | ACEO |
| Julian Smith | Grounds |
| Sienna Shaw | Early Years support |
| Jayne Jeffries | Class support / finance |
| Ally Miller | Class & Choir support |
| Shannyn Stewart | Class support |
| Loretta McDonald | Class support |
| Rachel Redden | Class support |
| Wanna Bamroongkool | Class support |
| Daniel Vogt | Class support |
| Deonne Milton | Canteen Manager |
| Belinda Harriss | OSHC Director |
LINK: Curriculum and Staffing
Governing Council
Our AGM is held on Tuesday 7th February at 5:00pm in the library. All are welcome to attend this meeting and you don’t have to join the Governing Council if you come to the AGM. I share our 2022 draft Annual Report at the meeting and we elect office holders and committee members. It’s another good opportunity to meet other parents and some of our staff members.
LINK: Role of the Governing Council (PDF download)
School Uniform
We are already seeing students who are wearing a variety of outfits to school that don’t match the dress code. Please ensure that your child is wearing navy blue and yellow clothes (minimum) to school. All students need a broad brimmed hat with the school logo.
Please make sure every piece of clothing is named as the amount of lost property we accumulate at Porties is excessive. We will have the lost property available for you to sort through at the Sneak Peek and Picnic on Wednesday the 15th February.
LINK: School uniform information webpage
Whole School Events
We have already pencilled in some key dates for the year for events and special days. These will be shared on the school website events calendar and on Class Dojo. We are working on the hard copy Term Calendar to send home and you should see it next week.
LINK: Term Planner (Events) webpage
Resources
We have started the year with every child in our school having access to either an iPad or a Chromebook. However, these will not be an all-day attachment to the children and their learning.
We will continue to provide a range of learning opportunities that don’t require these tools. Handwriting, reading from ‘actual’ books and play based learning continue to be vital parts of our learning programs.
Grounds
We have had Climbing Tree Creations meet with us and they are putting together some plans for the bare area between the Memorial Garden and the Health/HASS rooms. We have outlined our desire for the space to be adaptable and a space where our students can continue to build their creative and critical thinking.
A part of the ‘forest/nature play’ area will not be redeveloped to allow the students to continue to build and play with natural and found materials. This is an important part of learning and supports the development of risk taking, planning, task initiation and flexibility.
We are waiting on our annual playground inspection before ordering replacement parts and sending pieces of the playground off-site for powder coating. This will happen very soon and will mean that the playground will be out of action on occasion. This minor inconvenience will be worth it for the end result.
Language Learning
At the end of 2022 Madame Thorburn decided to take leave in 2023. We will be entering into a consultative process with families, staff and students to determine the language that will be taught and learnt at Port Noarlunga Primary School from 2024. Thus there will be no language other than English taught at Porties this year. We are allowed to have one year without a language to consult and ensure that we have the best possible outcome for our students.
I will put together a survey for families to complete which will provide you all with an opportunity to have a say. Once I have gathered all of the information from families, staff and students, I will take a proposal to Governing Council for their consideration and decision making.
Interviews
We have changed our interview schedule this year so that these can have a greater impact on learning. Our first round of interviews are in Weeks 2 to 4 this term and will assist in building relationships, setting expectations and sharing important information. Click here for more information on booking an interview.
The second round of interviews will be held at the start of Term 3. This is an opportunity to discuss the school reports sent home at the end of Term 2, to revisit goals and expectations, and make plans for the remainder of the year.
LINK: Term 1 Interviews
Reports
This year we will be presenting our school reports in a different format. We are working on a portfolio report that will have greater student and family involvement. Staff have spent the break working on the pages for each subject and year level to ensure that the language is ‘family friendly’ and we have removed the jargon.
We are excited about this new, more detailed way of reporting learning.
Outdoor Education
This programme is a wonderful addition to our school and one that we are looking forward to working within. You will receive more information in the next week about the first activity and an invoice will be sent for the cost of the programme for the year.
Please keep an ear out for volunteering opportunities as part of this programme this year.
LINK: Outdoor Education webpage
LINK: Volunteers information and form submission
That is enough from me for now.
Thank you for all that you do.
Take care
Marie
