4 April 2025

What’s Happening

Principal’s Report

Hello wonderful Southport community,

What a topsy turvey term this was at times!

As Term 1 draws to a close, I wish to extend my appreciation to our staff for a strong start to the school year overall. I also want to thank and acknowledge parents and caregivers for your work over the course of this term in ensuring your children are prepared for the start of each learning day.

Below are some points I’d like to share as a recap of our term. Sometimes, the breakneck speed of a thriving primary school can get in the way of a true reflection of our enormous efforts, so this attempts to summarise and is by no means an exhaustive list.

1. A Student Free 3 Day agenda which enabled staff to feel confident, planned and measured heading into 2025. Our staff are working heavily towards the effective teaching through structured literacy blocks, an approach grounded in the Science of Reading.
2. Our students continuing to focus on improving reading through paired reading, vocabulary, shared reading, our PLD structured synthetic phonics focus and Daily Reviews. Daily Reviews are a main focus to enable students to actively work to retrieve previously learnt information on a daily basis in order to increase automaticity.
3. A new and refined Behavioural System which has improved student behaviour and clarity of behavioural expectations for staff to deliver. There is still further work to be done in this area but it has been a big shift. Well done to everyone for supporting the vision and ensuring fidelity.
4. A Reflection Room established for consistent consequences and improved parent communication.
5. Our whole school data wall to dive into data at a deeper level and align to a key AIP focus – “Sharpening staff capability to ensure NCCD is reflective of reasonable adjustments.”
6. A new role of Teaching and Learning Mentor to support staff in delivering consistent classroom routines and Learning Walls for students to become more assessment literate.
7. NAPLAN Online being completed smoothly – thank you to all involved.
8. And who could forget Cyclone Alfred? As a leader, there were proud moments as we demonstrated resilience, dedication and support for one another and our students.

During the holiday break, reflect on what you have achieved within your role. The role of creating and maintaining the learning culture of our schools can only be achieved when parents, school leaders, teachers, Teacher Aides, Office Staff, Administrative Officers, cleaners, groundsman, OSHC staff and the P&C Executive Team work in unison.

Report Cards 2025

This year, the Department of Education is providing schools with the option of providing report cards with comments or report cards without comments. We would appreciate your feedback on the type of report card we provide.

 There are 3 options for the report cards:

1. No subject comment or student 'behaviour/overall' comment
2. No subject comment, but a personal 'behaviour/overall' comment
3. Generic subject comments and a personal 'behaviour/overall' comment.

 The benefits of each version:

A: Report cards withno subject comment or student 'behaviour/overall' comment

• Simplicity - allows parents and carers to focus on results without the need to interpret written feedback.
• Consistency - standardises report cards for all year levels.
• Efficiency - allows report cards to be read and understood quickly, which could be of benefit to families with multiple children. 

B: Report cards with no subject comment, but a personal 'behaviour/overall' comment

• Simplicity - allows parents and carers to focus on results, with written feedback focused on student learning outcomes and behaviours.
• Efficiency - allows report cards to be read and understood quickly, which could be of benefit to families with multiple children. Subject information will be shared throughout the year through Partnership of Learning conversations, Seesaw communication, newsletters, Facebook, etc. 

C: Report cards with generic subject comments and a personal 'behaviour/overall' comment.

• Informative - provides generic subject information and feedback focused on student learning outcomes and behaviours.

 Please provide your feedback by clicking on the link below by April 28 2025. 

Thank you for taking the time to express your opinion.

Easter Hat Parade

What an amazing morning. It was great to see so many special hat creations. I know that Skippa was excited to meet the Easter Bunny who also visited. Please see our Facebook Site for some pictures.

Anzac Day Ceremony – Week 1 Term 2

Please be advised that we will be hosting our ANZAC Day Ceremony on Wednesday 23^rd  April between 9.15 and 9.45. This is the second day back!

As this will take place in the outdoor ANZAC Amphitheatre, members of our community will be able to attend.

Our ceremony intends to build our students’ understandings about the traditions, facts and folklore of ANZAC Day, the many real-life stories of sacrifices and heroism of everyday Australians so that this will not be lost, but be handed down to future generations.

We will have special guests attending from the Southport Sub Branch RSL, National Servicemen’s Association, live bagpiper and bugler as well as the TSS Catafalque Party.

Stranger Danger over the break

As we approach the holiday break, we want to take a moment to remind everyone about the importance of staying safe. With children spending more time outdoors and in public spaces, it is crucial to reinforce the message of stranger danger and personal safety.

Safety Tips for Children:

• Stay with a trusted adult – Never wander off alone and always inform a parent or guardian of your whereabouts.
• Never talk to strangers – If someone you don’t know approaches you, do not engage in conversation. Instead, move away and seek help from a trusted adult.
• Do not accept gifts or rides – No matter how friendly a person may seem, never accept offers of gifts, treats, or transportation from strangers.
• Use the buddy system – When playing outside or visiting public places, always stay with a sibling or friend.
• Know emergency contacts – Teach children their full name, home address, and at least one trusted contact number in case of emergencies.

For Parents and Guardians:

• Supervise playtime – Ensure that young children are always accompanied by a responsible adult.
• Set boundaries – Make sure children understand where they are allowed to go and establish clear rules for their safety.
• Encourage open communication – Let your child know they can talk to you about anything that makes them uncomfortable or unsafe.
• Teach recognition of safe adults – Help children identify safe people they can approach in case of an emergency, such as police officers, teachers, or store employees.

By working together, we can ensure our children have a safe and enjoyable holiday break. Please take the time to discuss these safety tips with your child and encourage them to be cautious while enjoying their time off.

Wishing you all a happy and secure Easter holiday season! We will see you back at school on Tuesday 22^nd April 2025.

Literacy

Supporting Reading at Home - Online Reading Session for Parents

To support implementation of the updated curriculum, the Department of Education in collaboration with P&Cs Queensland have provided an online reading session for parents and carers to support reading at home. The session is aimed mainly at beginning readers and is approximately 16 minutes long. Please access the video by following this link.

Susan Mitchelmore

Student of the Week Award – Week 7 Term 1

Student of the Week Award – Week 8 Term 1

Student of the Week Award – Week 9 Term 1