Just a reminder we have Coffee, Cake & Chat TOMORROW MORNING at 9am.

On Monday and Tuesday last week Kate, Sam, Sam and myself were fortunate enough to attend the Education State Schools Leadership Conference in Melbourne. The conference brought together over 1000 Principals, Assistant Principals, Learning Specialists and regional staff each day to hear from local and international speakers including Dr Russell Quaglia (Student Voice), Dr Peter DeWitt (Leadership Counts), Dr Debbie Pushor (Parent Voice) and Dr Simon Breakspear (Navigating complex change).

We were then able to spend Wednesday, Thursday & Friday last week in Sydney at the eduTECH international conference. It was a great opportunity to spend time hearing and working with some great speakers in the Technology and Educational area and networking with other teachers & school leaders. I found three presenters especially beneficial – Sir Ken Robinson (Elite thinker on Creativity & Innovation), Pasi Sahlberg (Gonski Institute for Education) & Dr Richard Harris (2019 Australian of the Year & hero from the Thai cave rescue).

We found the workshops and sessions interesting, engaging and provided us some practical ideas for implementation at our school. The conferences also highlighted that we are on the right path at Glengala Primary School and in areas are leading the way with our approach to and the individualisation of learning for our students. I’m really looking forward to sharing my learning with staff and students over the coming weeks and continuing to make Glengala Primary School the best school, providing the best opportunities and best outcome for our kids!

Thank you to Josie who was the Acting Principal while we attended these conferences. Thanks also to all the staff who supported Josie during this time. It is the collective professionalism and ‘can do’ attitude of our staff that makes everything we do possible. #GlengalaPROUD.

Congratulations ~ Cross Country

Congratulations to Tandah Bourke & Akot Majak for the terrific job they did representing themselves and Glengala at Maribyrnong Division Cross Country at Brimbank Park on Wednesday last week. From all reports they tried their absolute best and made us all #GlengalaPROUD.

Student Reports & 3 Way Conferences

Semester 1 Reports Student achievement reports will be released via COMPASS on Tuesday 26th June. If you prefer a hard copy printed report, families are to request this from the office by next Wednesday 20th June, to allow time for printing. Hard copies will be handed out at 3 Way Conferences on Thursday 27th June.

This year Parent Teacher Interviews will take the form of a 3 Way Conference on Thursday 27th of June. These are sometimes referred to as Student Led Conferences or Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences. Next week information will be made available to you on what these will look like and how they differ to the traditional interviews. The basis of these interviews is to allow students to share their learning with their families, in particular around student reading goals and how they have worked towards them.

Today, we open bookings via COMPASS, and Interpreter bookings for families who require them.  Families will be able to book a session with their child’s homeroom teacher. You will also have the option to book a session with myself or any of our Specialist teachers Diana (Performing Arts), Geraldine (Health & PE), Haylie (STEM), Josie (R Triple R) and Kate (Library Literacy).

Please come to Coffee, Cake and Chat tomorrow if you would like some assistance in completing your bookings.

School Tours

Tours of our wonderful school for families interested in enrolling their child in 2020 have well and truly begun. Tours are conducted every Thursday morning at 9.15 until the end of the year or alternatively by appointment. If you would like a tour, have friends or neighbours who would like a tour, please contact the school on 9311 7810 or glengala.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au to book a place.

Planning Week

Teachers have been allocated one day to plan for Term 3 in their teams in the last week of term. As a result the regular specialist timetable will be suspended and altered to accommodate the planning week arrangements. Research shows the importance of providing Professional Learning Teams with the opportunities to meet and plan a viable and consistent curriculum. We have observed the value in supporting teachers with this valuable time to meet as a team and develop curriculum plans that fit the needs of our students and the curriculum.

 Coffee, Cake & Chat – TOMORROW    

Our next Coffee, Cake & Chat is scheduled tomorrow morning at 9am in the LLC. Our catch ups are open to any family and community members who want to come together and have an informal chat and support our school. If you’re planning on coming along we ask you bring a friend to grow our group of connected families and community members. I look forward to seeing you there.  Parents and caregivers are very powerful figures in influencing the behaviours and attitudes of their children. If you have questions, feedback or are experiencing any difficulties please don’t hesitate to give myself, Sam or Sam a call, send an email or come and have a chat.

Kris White

Principal

white.kris.k@edumail.vic.gov.au