3 November 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Message

The last fortnight has been a time for reflection, prompted of course by our school review. This event has given us the perfect opportunity to stop and take stock, allowing us to celebrate our successes while considering what we still need to achieve and how we will go about this. On many occasions, I have talked about our commitment at Mullaloo Heights to school improvement and the fact that we set targets and continually evaluate our progress in achieving these. The school review this week provided an independent assessment of this work. The visiting reviewers, Mr Keith Newton and Dr Lesley Payne, spent 2 days gaining information about our school in a thorough and organised manner. They met with school leaders, members of staff, the School Board, parents and students in order to gain a variety of perspectives regarding our school. At the end of their visit, they emphasised how grateful they were to be able to talk with such a wide range of people. To this end, I would like to thank those who gave up their time to take part in this process. It was very much appreciated. A full report will be written by our reviewers and this will be published on our school website as soon as it available which should be towards the end of the year. However, in the meantime, I would like to share with you how impressed they were by our students and, in particular, their manners and the calm and orderly way in which they conduct themselves. The commitment of the Board to school improvement and its support for school was also acknowledged and complimented. As a school, we found the process to be both positive and beneficial. Initial discussion has certainly corroborated our own conclusions regarding our strengths and weaknesses and the finalised report will be key in directing our next Business Plan.

Split Classes in 2018

Many parents have taken advantage of our invitation to put in requests for class placement in 2018 based on educational reasons. A concern expressed in a few emails is that teachers will not be able to accommodate the varying needs of each age group when children are placed in a split class. As a result, the belief is that a straight class comprising of one year group is better. For a small school like Mullaloo Heights, numbers do not allow for straight classes. However, this does not mean our students are disadvantaged. Split classes are based upon the theory of developmental learning. This main premise of this is that children develop at different rates and do not meet milestones at specific ages. In other words, there cannot be a ‘one size fits all’ approach to teaching and learning. For example, a year 1 class will include students with a wide range of abilities, academic, social and physical. An effective teacher will assess each student and ascertain the starting point for teaching. An appropriate program will then be developed for each student or group of students. In a split class, again there will be a variety of abilities for the teacher to address. In this cohort, there will be overlap in abilities, with younger children exceeding older children in some areas. This actually means that the spread of abilities will not necessarily be less than in a straight class. In both classes, the teacher will need to assess skills and deliver a program suited to the needs of their students. What will differ is that in the split classes ability groups will comprise of students of different ages. In both class structures, students will receive a teaching program based on their needs. Of course, the added benefit of split classes is they allow us to structure our classes into phase groups – Y1/2, Y3/4 and Y5/6 - which enable teachers to collaborate and provide consistency in teaching and learning across classes. In 2018, some of our students will be placed in a split class. If you are worried about this, I am happy to talk it through with you. Please drop into the office and have a chat with me or Mike Adlam, our deputy.

As you read this, many of our students are competing in the Interschool carnival. Apparently they are doing very well so far. We’ll give you the full story in our next newsletter.

Caroline Booth
Principal

Dates to remember

Planning for 2018

Our school is actively planning for the 2018 school year and to determine the staffing arrangements, we need to establish the number of students attending next year. If your children are not attending our school next year, please let us know as soon as possible. Your assistance with this matter is greatly appreciated.

Reading Club

Mathletics Gold

Merit Certificates

Room 11 Assembly

Room 11 presented an energetic assembly last week. They set themselves some rather grizzly challenges and proceeded to achieve them with the support of an enthusiastic audience. Despite the fun, we did remind our younger students not to try this at home!

Aussie of the Month

Noah is this month’s deserving Aussie

Noah is a kind and considerate student who is extremely helpful both in the classroom and out in the playground. He is always keen to offer his assistance to others and is an excellent role model to others.

Day For Daniel

Last Friday our school participated in ‘Day for Daniel’, a National Day of Action to raise awareness of child health and safety. Part of the theme of this day was to wear red. As always, our students and teachers fully embraced this and Mullaloo Heights was filled with even more red than normal. In keeping with the serious theme of the day, during class time children also were reminded how to access protective behaviours through the ‘recognise, react and respond’ approach.

Wearing red for child safety

French News

French Bonjour Festival

Parent Information

Triple P – Positive Parenting Program

City of Joondalup - Road Safety Reminder

Parking and overall traffic congestion around schools is an ongoing issue and is further exacerbated with vehicles parking in contradiction to parking signs, on footpaths or in dangerous locations such as on bends at intersections. So to minimise this issue below are a few suggestions to ease stress during these periods:

• Organise with your child to meet in a pre-arranged location away from the busier areas after school.
• Tell your child/ren that you will arrive a little bit later after the final bell and advise them to wait within the school grounds until you get there.
• Use the Kiss and Drive if there is one at the school and ensure you use it appropriately. This means if your child is not there, drive around until you see your child waiting.
• Park further away and walk to meet your child.

P& C News

Community News