Sincere thanks to our wonderful mums who helped our children select some precious gifts for Mothers’ Day.  The irony of Mothers helping young children select gifts for Mothers was noted.  I would like to wish all our Pullenvale Mothers all the very best.  May your day be filled with love and pampering and your breakfast in bed be free of crumbs and spills!

This coming Monday is our monthly P&C meeting commencing at 7:00pm in the library.  I will be addressing some details around A to E reporting at this meeting.  Thanks once again to the executive members who strive to support our school and their wonderful helpers who model the importance we place in education.

Special congratulations to our cross country runners who competed at the recent regional trials.  As a school Pullenvale finished 4^th out of eleven schools.  Given our relatively small enrolment this is an outstanding achievement.  I would wish to not only express my pride in the students for their efforts, but also to recognise the time and dedication shown by Mrs Roach and Mrs Austin in being available for the students’ training.

Next week our students in Years 3, 5 and 7 will undertake NAPLAN Testing.  I would like to thank the wonderful support we have had from parents in preparing our students for this testing process.  Congratulations also to the children and their teachers for the work they have done in attending to identified areas for improvement.  I am confident of achieving outstanding results.

Please be aware Mr Willis will be absent from the school both tomorrow and next Friday.  I would like to thank Mrs Fanshawe for acting as School Principal in my absence.

Bulk Billing Process

This evening, parents who have indicated e-mail as a preferred method of correspondence will receive an invoice for your child’s recent activities at school.

This change is reflective of our recent roll over to the One School management system.  Should you wish not to receive invoices and correspondence in this way please advise our wonderful administrative officers Lowanna and Maree.

Sincere thanks to Mrs Flux (P&C Fundraising coordinator) and her band of helpers for their efforts with cake stalls at our recent elections.  Thanks also to the wonderful members of the school community who donated home baking and ingredients to make both of these fund raising activities a success.  Well done!

On Friday I had the opportunity to spend time with our Regional Director (Mr Chris Rider) and principals from two other metropolitan schools as we undertook visits of Springfield Lakes SS and Goodna SS.  Specifically Mr Rider visits schools with principals to share best practice in the teaching of reading – a major focus for improvement within our region.  What I saw was both inspirational and very reassuring.

Inspirational, as it is always exciting as an educator to go into schools where teachers are passionate about their art and the learning of all children regardless of their personal background.  Reassuring, as what I saw (best practice in the chosen schools) is what I can see when I walk into any classroom here at Pullenvale.  I am confident I could put forward teachers from Pullenvale as showcasing best practice in the teaching of reading, and other principals will get the same thrill out of their visit here as I got on Friday.

Finally I would like to recognise those students who marched last Wednesday.  It was wonderful to see students in Pullenvale uniform marching proudly on what is such an important day on the Australian calendar.  I also would like to recognise those students who marched with other community groups including scouts and guides.   

Mr Willis

On behalf of the Pullenvale School Staff I would like to extend all the very best of wishes to our school families over the Easter break.  Most importantly I wish you all a safe and enjoyable time with family and friends. 

Thanks to all those wonderful parents who took the time to invest in their children’s education at parent / teacher interviews on Wednesday night.  The feedback from parents was very positive and it appears the format suited the majority of families exceptionally well.  The one night concept certainly seemed to be a real winner!  At times we could have been accused of spending too much time speaking about our kids, but I am sure there would be no apologies for being so interested.

Suggestions to increase the time to 15 minutes have been taken on board, and I must weigh this up with the increased time requirements of staff.  An extra five minutes per interview equates to an additional 115 minutes!

The key point of the interviews is to receive specific feedback about our children’s performance, particularly in the key areas of English and maths, with attention given to socialisation and well-being as required.  In short communication is such an important aspect of a child’s schooling and a common understanding of targeted learning goals in the areas of English and math is so important.

It certainly was a long day given the cross country being held that morning, and again, what a great turn out of parental and family support.  I mentioned on afternoon parade the highlight for me (as an old PE teacher) is the participation of children.  I can honestly say I have never seen a school of this size have a 100% participation rate.  And what about the participation of the preppies – those little legs seem to go so fast!

Finally I would like to thank the parent body.  I am overwhelmed by the genuine support and interest in both myself and my family.  The inquiries as to “How have you settled in?” just keep coming and it is greatly appreciated.  So too is the positive and honest feedback re the school and key issues that are impacting on families and individual students.  It is clear that Pullenvale provides wonderful experiences to our children and I must thank staff (past and present) for all they have done in creating such a magnificent school.

Moving forward there are issues which remain and need to be addressed.  The implementation of the National Curriculum will remain our core focus and for that I offer no apologies.  We get one chance to get a learning opportunity right and as professionals, teachers dearly want to deliver quality learning experiences. 

The school will over the Easter break experience the roll over to One School finance and management procedures.  My goal is for families and teaching staff to experience no additional burdens as a result of this change.  Unfortunately I cannot protect admin staff from this and I appreciate the patience I know community members will extend to our office ladies as they become familiar with the new systems of operation.  There will be an impact on general school operations as we aim to meet Education Queensland policy requirements for procedures and operating systems.

Once again I extend best wishes for the upcoming holidays and look forward to seeing you all for the commencement of Term 2! 

 

Happy Easter,

Evan Willis

Congratulations to our Year 7s on the arrival of their outstanding senior shirts for 2012 – they look fantastic!  I couldn’t agree more with the Year 4 student who indicated to me, “Mr Williams, they would be awesome as our next uniform!”

I was most impressed with our Year 5 students who were all business as they prepared for departure on their camp this morning.  The opportunity for staff and students to interact in a different environment allows for a greater appreciation of both adults and children.  I cannot express my thanks enough to the teachers who agree to undertake these extra curricula activities for no additional pay or reward – other than the enjoyment your children will experience.  I know the Year 5 parents (particularly those who cheered as the bus pulled out) will join me in thanking them all upon their return.  We also need to recognise the parent helpers who raised their hands to attend – I know you will gain an even greater appreciation for the work our teachers do!

Finally our thoughts are with members of our community this weekend who will join together to commemorate a very special person in their lives.  I know I speak on behalf of the school community in wishing them peace and our dearest thoughts at this time.

Sincerely yours,

Evan Willis

We have reached the end of our first Unit of the Australian Curriculum with many students now having completed their first round of assessment.  Students are now engaging in Unit 2 and as a school and as individual teachers we are better prepared to engage with the National Curriculum.

Teachers will work together to moderate student work, and will then plan for individual student learning needs in response to the assessment findings.  It is through this process (hand in hand with daily observations) that teachers identify the individual learning needs and subsequent goals for all children.

Term 1 assessment and reporting will culminate in the Parent – Teacher interview process.  The afternoon and evening of Wednesday 28^th March, has been set aside for this process.   In short parents will be afforded the opportunity to identify a time frame for a short, 10 minute interview with your child/ren’s teachers.  Every attempt will be made to accommodate time requests and to coordinate interviews for parents with more than one child at the school.

The intent of these interviews is to inform parents of student progress and key areas for advancement in English and mathematics specifically. 

A reminder to all school community members that the P&C AGM will take place this coming Monday 12^th of March from 7:00pm in the school library.  I would like to take the opportunity to thank all P&C executive and general members for the work they have done over the last 12 months to enhance the appearance, facilities and reputation of Pullenvale State School.  Similarly I would like to extend congratulations to our incoming executive members and wish them all the very best in their roles for 2012.

Finally may I take the opportunity to once again commend the teaching staff for their efforts in enacting the new curriculum.  In short we are continuing our learning journey and redefining many of the practices we have engaged with over many years.  What is pleasing to know is that quality teaching remains the ‘how’ and in many respects this has not changed.  We are becoming more familiar with the ‘what’ being the National Curriculum and we are working towards an education framework of the highest quality for Pullenvale State School.

Yours in education,

Evan Willis

Principal