Preparation for 2023

As 2022 is winding down, we also finalising our preparations for 2023. Along with organising class groups and their configurations, we are very excited to welcome new teachers to the Campbell Community. Joining our team is, Esther Riebe, Sally Jones and Yani Wilson who all completed their internships at Campbell. We also welcome Max de Kievith, who is joining us from Margaret Hendry Primary School.

Our class structures will look as follows*:

 Our class configurations are carefully considered and factor in a range of things. We consider:

• the needs of the cohorts
• maximising the use of our contemporary learning areas
• the experience of the teachers and providing structures that allow for mentoring and coaching

*As families are aware, we can make every attempt to lay out the plans for 2023, however, we do have a rather transient community and may have an influx of students in January. If this is the case, and class configurations need to change, we will communicate those changes with families before returning to school in 2023.

During Week 10 students will participate in a transition visit, where they will spend some time with their 2023 classroom teacher (subject to availability) in their new learning areas. A welcome letter from their 2023 classroom teacher and a social story with photos of their new learning areas will be emailed out to families after that transition visit.  

The last three Terms in our new learning areas have certainly offered a steep learning curve for all of us. The students, staff and community been incredibly resilient and understanding. We are very excited to start next year, drawing from our experiences and building upon the ways we utilise our spaces with a focus on innovation and student-centred approaches.

On the note of staffing, I will take this opportunity to farewell four staff members. Rebecca Whalan has been at Campbell since 2014. During her time at Campbell, she has worked as a classroom teacher and in specialist teaching roles. Over the last couple of years, we have utilised Rebecca’s knowledge around students’ global/fine motor development and implemented adjustments and whole cohort programs. In her next adventure, Rebecca will continue to work supporting children with additional needs and their families.

Lauren Corcoran who is currently our physical education specialist in the year 3/4 team but has worked across the school in specialist teacher and classroom teacher roles has accepted a position in the public service. Lauren is very passionate about the physical needs and improvements of our students’ fundamental movement skills. I believe there are some photos of Lauren leading our students in a whole school aerobic fitness class on the old quadrangle. We wish Lauren the best of luck in her new adventure.

Flo Wellfair is leaving us as she is moving to Darwin. Flo has been working with the year 3/4 team and even though she has only been with us for two terms, we are certainly going to miss her. Flo inherited the 3/4C class and instantly built a safe and calm space with her students. We are so thankful for the short time we have had with her.

Angela Brown has officially retired! Angela has been a part of the Campbell Primary School Community since 2012. During her time, she has taught across the school and been an incredibly calm and caring teacher with has always been happy to share her wealth of experience. Not long ago, Angela visited the school and was inundated with cuddles and smiles from the students. They, just like the staff, have clearly missed her. We wish Angela a retirement full of adventure, travel, and time with her loved ones.

2022 Satisfaction Survey Data Results

The staff at Campbell has spent some time during a recent staff meeting to look at the results from our 2022 Satisfaction Survey. As mentioned in last newsletter, we had 129 students, 27 staff and 126 parent/carers complete the survey. Data from the survey helps us develop the school’s Annual Plans.

There was a significant drop in some of the student data. The teachers have spent time unpacking the results with the students, gathering ideas/reflections as we move forward. One question which was revisited and explored was ‘My teachers give useful feedback’, which received a 12% drop from our 2021 results. The students identified that there were some misconceptions to the difference between verbal and written feedback, that feedback wasn’t consistent from teacher to teacher and that sometimes feedback was hard to find. The teachers worked collaboratively to identify some actions to address these misconceptions when establishing their learning areas in 2023.  Teachers will:

• have a more consistent approach when providing verbal feedback, for example, referring to marking rubrics
• give feedback through rubrics
• explicitly teach students ways to implement feedback
• organise a booking system for students to access further unpacking of feedback
• provide students will lots of opportunities to practise reading and implementing feedback

We were very excited to read our Parent/Carer responses. Across the 25 questions, the percentage of families answering ‘Agree/Strongly Agree’ was above, across all questions, compared to other ACT Primary Schools. Please see the table below for some highlights:                       

 Thank you all who completed the survey.

 Take care

A/g Principal

Erin Minehan