May 2007
Well the first term has certainly flown by and Easter has been and gone.
There is no doubt that we are all under greater expectations and have significant challenges for our time. This is especially the case as our Parents & Citizens’ Associations are continuing to call for more volunteer assistance. All of the projects that schools have underway are there for the advantage and support of our students. A great many of these rely on the continued support of our volunteer base. This highlights the need for us all to remember that even the most dedicated volunteer needs to feel valued and should be rewarded through recognition. So thank a volunteer today, give them a smile, after all they are supporting our students in their special way.
We held our last bi-monthly State Executive meeting in Barcaldine and took full advantage of our time away by visiting local schools and meeting with local P & C’s and Education Qld Officers. A very busy weekend was complimented by terrific hospitality from the local communities. Our sincere thanks to all of those who catered for and supported us. It was very pleasing to see first hand some of the great initiatives that our rural somewhat remote communities are implementing to ensure their students are actively engaged and achieving great outcomes.
We discussed issues that they share due to their locations and the challenges they experience in supporting their students to access some of the many activities that students from regional and metropolitan areas sometimes take for granted. We will endeavour to direct questions to the departmental people who may be able to identify avenues of assistance to the remote communities of our large state.
Our Prep Year survey has been circulated to all State Primary Schools. If you have a Prep class at your school and have not received it, please contact us to ensure you get one. We encourage all P & C’s of schools with Prep classes to engage the Prep parents in discussion so the P & C can formulate their responses to our survey. The Minister and Education Queensland will be provided with the results of this and subsequent surveys, as the year unfolds.
We all want Prep to be a significant positive start to the early years of learning. The start to a process that we all know is vitally important in setting the scene for our students to achieve well and become productive adults through lifelong learning. If there are issues you believe need addressing and or ways to ensure Prep is the best start it can be, let us know. The good and the not so good news needs to be reported to ensure our youngest of students are getting the best on offer.
Also topical in early April was the reporting of the tables on school results in certain areas for OP Scores and Vocation Education Training. While it is healthy for school reports to be accessible, we as your advocate, would like to see not just the data produced but information that allows parents to interpret the data, to help form part of the information that you may use when choosing a school for your students. The current data is only a small window for anyone to see into a school and does not show how a school will support your student to successful outcomes. To do this, to really get a feel for the school community you need to visit the school and talk to people within. Principals should be your fist contact and we a sure that they will assist you in getting the feel for the school community and how your student could achieve there. to the best of their abilities. Wouldn’t it be nice for all individual successes to be given deserving recognition and celebration of the efforts that everyone puts in
I hope you all have a successful second term. Please, if there are issues that we can support your P & C with, contact us in the most convenient method available to you. We need your support to be able to support you.
