Swimming week is certainly an exciting and tiring week for all involved. From remembering to pack swimming gear (and to dry it out each night), to catching a bus each day and the fun of doing this all with your class mates makes for an exhausting week. It was great to see so many of our students attempting new activities, and hearing them speak excitedly about their achievements. Swimming week is a BIG week for all involved, and we thank you for your support.
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I attended two state wide Professional Development days. Monday was our Leaders Day, where we heard from our chief executive Martin Westwell regarding the new strategy for public education. We heard from school leaders from different sectors about their experiences and also from international speakers on current educational research. The department has been working with students, staff and families across the state to develop the strategy with the themes of Thrive and Prosper and Learn and Achieve. More information on the strategy for public education in South Australia at the below link. Our strategy for public education in South Australia
On Tuesday, both Kym and I attended the Department for Education Numeracy Summit. The Numeracy Summit was attended by more than 1500 leaders and teachers from across the state, and we heard from researchers and well renowned speakers from Australia and overseas. Kym and I will be sharing this learning with staff as the term goes on.
As you would have read on Audiri, we held our 2024 Dernancourt School Governing Council AGM last week. The AGM was well attended, and we successfully elected 8 new members to the Governing Council. We are very excited to have them as part of our team and look forward to our first meeting in Week 8. At the AGM, we also farewelled Michelle Flannigan from the Governing Council, and from her role as chairperson. Michelle has supported Dernancourt School for many years on the Governing Council, and we thanked her for her support and time. You will still see Michelle in our uniform shop and she will continue to support in other volunteer roles.
Jodie Dorsey, our Parent Association Convenor has also made the decision to step down from this role after many years. Jodie joined parent association in 2006 and has volunteered her time to this committee since then. Jodie has been an integral part of the success of Parent Association, and we thank her for her many years and hours of voluntary service.
It is hard to believe that we are now passed the halfway point of our term. Please make sure you keep an eye on our dates to remember section of the newsletter for information on our pupil free days and other whole school events.
I hope you are all able to enjoy some family time over the long weekend, and make the most of the warmer weather.
Julie
Road Safety
At Dernancourt school, we are very lucky to have a supervised school crossing before and after school each day to support safety. It has been great to see many new families using our crossing each day. The crossing volunteers and staff very much enjoy saying hello 😊
Over the last two weeks, all classes have worked with the RAA street smart program, which focusses on road safety, including pedestrian safety. If you ask your child about the session, I am sure they will be able to share a road safety tip with you.
As a school, we have received parent concerns regarding the safety of students who choose to cross Parsons Road directly across from the early years gate, and also regarding driver behaviour in the Kiss and Drop zone.
If you are using the Kiss and Drop Zone on Parsons Road, can I please remind you of the following:
- 2 minute parking only
- Driver must remain with the vehicle
- As there is a solid white line in the middle of Parsons Road directly outside of the school, U-turns are not permitted in this area
Thank you for working together to ensure the safety of our students at school.
