Principals Report
Well here we are at the end of the busiest year I can remember. Nothing can compare to what people in general have gone through this year……….and when we compare it to experiences elsewhere we can count ourselves fortunate in comparison. This however does not detract from what we have been up against; a virus that takes lives and as a community and a state we have had to take action to address this that is justifiable. I want to thank all our staff, students and the school community for their efforts this year in these challenging times.
It has been a year with a focus in this area that has fluctuated and come back again at the end of the year. Our production of the Lion King and Presentation Night is an example of the changes we have had to make to how we do things. School closures, online learning from home and extensive hygiene practices at school have all been part of our new practices and I can’t see this changing for a while yet. On the other side of this we have learnt new modes of learning and interaction through Microsoft Teams in particular that give us a glimpse of what the future will be like.
So we come to the end of the year and I would like to say farewell and thanks to Jacqui Schulz, Malcolm Thompson and Harald Walther. Jacqui arrived at the start of term two, taking on Indonesian and Performing Arts. She has worked tirelessly in these areas developing contacts and resources as well as attending professional learning to build her knowledge. Malcolm came to the school again for five weeks in term four working in the Special Ed area and also doing some relief work at the same time. Harald came in for Amanda Hilder for term four, taking on the teaching of the Foundation to Year 2 class and has built excellent relationships with the kids. We wish them all the best for 2021.
Apart from this next year our staffing takes on a familiar feel. Ailsa Green will be Teacher Librarian and our AET, and teach Visual Arts and Digital Literacy. Sharon Bates will have the Secondary Home Group and will teach English, HASS, HPE, and Home Ec. Lidia Szlezak will also teach in the Secondary area in Science and Maths, and will also teach Polish across all three of our classes. Hayley Brown will return to a full time role as our Year 3-5 Home Group teacher with responsibilities in English, Maths, HASS, Science and HPE. Amanda Hilder will take on the new role of Special Education while keeping her responsibilities with our Read Write Inc program in addition to teaching Intervention. Penny McCulloch joins our team for next year as our Foundation to Year 2 teacher. Penny has an excellent background in the Junior Primary area, having taught at Leigh Creek, Marree, Port Augusta and Gladstone. Her experience and energy will be a real asset. Finally Travis McDonald will be back as a teacher in the Design and Technology area, teaching the Year 3-5 and 6-9 classes.
All of our Ancillary staff will also be back, Leonie McKenzie, Letisha McKenzie, Esther Eager, Joelle Sharples, Lauren Johnson, Rachel Sinkinson McInnis, Rosie Luckraft, Julieanne Ashenden, Steve Green, Lisa O’Neill, Paul Lowe and Tommy Crossman. They will be providing valuable support in a variety of areas through roles in Admin, Library, in class support, Speech, Read Write Inc, Students with Disabilities, Intervention, ICT, Grounds and the school bus.
School returns next year on January 27th for our students. Our administration returns the week before on Monday January 18th, with teachers and the rest of our Ancillary staff starting on Thursday January 21st. I would like to wish everyone in our school community a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.