It’s hard to believe that we have already been back at school for nearly 3 weeks. It was wonderful to welcome all our new reception students, at our weekly assembly where they were acknowledged and presented with a schultüte cone as they begin their learning journey here at Coro.

We also extend a warm welcome to our new students and their families and hope that everyone has settled quickly into our fantastic Coro community.

Student Free Day – Playberry Laser Literacy

Our Professional Development day on Monday of last week resulted in excitement, deep thinking and reflection from our staff about our Tier 1, 2 and 3 Literacy programs. Tier 1 teaching occurs in the classroom, with the whole group. Tier 2 includes small group intervention, either in or out of the classroom (MiniLit is an example of this) and Tier 3 teaching involves 1 or a maximum of two students working with an educator in or out of the classroom.

All classroom staff (teachers and SSOs) were trained in the Playberry Laser Literacy system. This included a placement test that all students undertook last year (new students have completed it this year). All teachers have analysed this data, and, using the scope and sequence, decided on the best starting point to suit their cohort’s needs. For most classes, the class teacher will be delivering the program to their own class group. For some year levels and classes, the best way to accommodate students’ needs is to group them differently, so the program may be delivered by another teacher in the team.

Our expectation is that the Playberry spelling and reading program will be delivered daily and will take about an hour, at first. As teachers and students become more familiar with the routine, this time will decrease. Teachers will take an EDI (explicit direct instruction) approach, with an expectation that all students will participate. The multisensory program has built in revision lessons as well as new teaching points, and teachers will be undertaking regular progress checks. Students will use individual whiteboards, allowing teachers to check for and correct understanding while delivering the program. Handwriting, letter formation, sounding out using pure sounds, blending, reading and learning spelling rules are all incorporated into the program delivery.

Three times a year, trained staff will test student knowledge and understanding using the DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment program. This is a one-minute fluency test, designed to regularly detect students at risk and monitor the progress of all students.

Staff are very excited about implementing this very explicit and proven program.

Acquaintance Night

It was wonderful to see such a great turnout at our annual Acquaintance Night on Tuesday evening. Acquaintance Night is a great opportunity for parents to visit learning spaces, hear from teachers about the upcoming year, and of course, meet teachers and other school staff. Thank you for your attendance.

Annual General Meeting

Thank you to all that attended our Governing Council Annual General Meeting this week The Governing Council, together with the Principal, is responsible for the shared governance of the school and takes an active role in developing and monitoring the school's strategic directions, and development and improvement of school grounds and facilities.

The Governing Council is made up of representatives of all the major stakeholders in the school. It comprises of the Principal, two staff reps and up to 16 parent representatives. Congratulations to the following parent representatives who are either continuing or who were elected this year.