Principal Newsletter
Remembrance Day – thank you to the parents and community members who joined us for our special assembly on Friday to commemorate Remembrance Day. It was fantastic to have our students respectfully participate in the service and to lay wreaths in honour of those who have served our country. Remembrance Day this year had a special significance as Sunday, 11 November 2018, marked the 100th anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War (1914–18).
Camp Week – All of our senior students are involved in their annual camp this week, with the Grade Six classes all attending the Canberra Camp, and the Grade Five classes going to Camp Howqua. This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to explore learning opportunities that transcend the classroom and to get to know their peers and teachers in a different setting. Thank you to all the staff who have given up their time to attend camp, and for all their hard work in preparation for the week away.
Student Learning – In primary school we often talk about students developing basic literacy and numeracy skills. But how does this differ from the subject areas of mathematics and English? Essentially numeracy refers to the basic skills and competencies required to deal with mathematical concepts in everyday living, and literacy refers to the ability to read, write and talk in our first language, which in most instances in Australia is English. An example that illuminates the difference between a language and literacy, in some countries many people might know how to speak a language, but might not know how to read and write in it. (This means that they know the language but still have low literacy levels.) At Torquay College we emphasize both literacy and numeracy as core components of our teaching and are also central elements of our timetable.
Student health and fitness – In addition to our formal PE program, I’m always proud to see so many of our students being active in the local community. Besides our kids participating in formal sports, I regularly ‘bump’ into students on the cycle and walking tracks, the skate parks, as well as down at the beach enjoying water sports. We are very lucky to live in an area with so many recreational activities to offer, and as parents we are spoilt for choices to engage our kids in a healthy lifestyle. At school we further promote this by offering Community Sports, and a big thank you to Mr Herbert for all his efforts in ensuring our Grade Five and Six kids experience alternative sporting experiences through this program.
We are now half way through the final term of the year and we are in the process of finalizing staffing and learning spaces for next year. At this stage it seems none of the proposed capital works project will impact on our spaces for next year, but we hope to find out more next week when we meet with the architects and representatives from DET. As soon as we know more, I’ll pass the news on to the community. Enjoy these few warm days before we plunge back into a wintry blast!
Adrian Waters