Issue No: 13 21st May 2015

THE DORSET EDITION INSPIRE ACHIEVE SUCCEED

From the Principal’s Desk Rescorla Avenue, Croydon 3136 phone: 9725 5038 www.dorsetps.vic.edu.au dorset.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

Diary Dates May

Fri 22nd Grade 5/6 Interschool Sports

18th - 22nd Education Week

Thurs 21st Internet Safety Awareness Presentation 6.30pm Staffroom

Fri 22nd Leadership & Staff Photos

Mon 25th Principal’s Morning Tea

Tue 26th District Cross Country, Domeney Reserve, Park Orchard

Wed 27th 6.45 - 7.30pm Governance and Community & Development Meeting

7.30pm School Council Meeting

Thu 28th Online Interview Information Session 6.30pm Staff room

June

Tue 2nd Grade 1 & 2 Scienceworks Excursion

Wed 3rd Pizza Day

Mon 8th Queen’s Birthday (Public Holiday)

9th - 11th Revolution Week (French)

Wed 10th Revolution Dress Up Day

Fri 12th Reports to come home

Sun 14th 10am - 2pm Working Bee

15th - 19th Parent Teacher Interviews

Fri 19th Grade 3 & 4 Sovereign Hill Excursion

Fri 26th End of Term 2

Education Week On Wednesday 20th May we had our open afternoon. The school was an open and vibrant learning community with so many visitors to the school. It was wonderful to see so many parents and grandparents being involved in the Maths activities. A special thank you to Mrs Wilkins for organising Education Week and my school captains and house captains. These leaders were amazing showing parents and friends around our school and making them welcome. I was very proud of my school leaders!!

PD Steve & I attended a Professional Development session on school improvement. We were both pleased to be part of the day and believe we gained some great advice and ideas. I personally found the PD validating and reaffirming in terms of Dorset PS. Our school is always striving for greater learning outcomes and now I know we are definitely on the right track.

Production Braid Matthews is working hard on organising this year’s production. The children have been learning items and excitement is starting to build. Braid has placed some sample costumes in the staff room for parents to view. If you can assist Braid in making the costumes please let her know. It seems like it’s going to be a very colourful and vibrant production.

5/6D Michael Gibbs has been offered the position as 5/6D teacher until the end of the year. I’d like to welcome him back to our school and know the children are truly excited to have Mr. Gibbs in their grade. Michael is a valued member of staff and I’m sure will make a positive contribution to our school community.

Peer Effects and Achievement in Victorian Schools The Department funded the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research as part of their Research Partnership to analyse the effect of a child’s peers on their achievement. The research found positive and significant peer effects across all NAPLAN domains (reading, writing, numeracy, spelling, grammar and punctuation) in Years 3 and 5. That is, a child’s achievement is positively affected by higher average peer performance. The research analysed the effect of a child’s peers at school on their achievement using Victorian government school National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) data. Key Findings and Conclusions

The paper found positive and significant peer effects across all NAPLAN domains (reading, writing, numeracy, spelling, grammar and punctuation) in Years 3 and 5. That is, a child’s achievement is positively affected by higher average peer performance.

For example, in reading for both Years 3 and 5, a one point increase in peers’ average test scores is associated with between a 0.221 and 0.250 point increase in an individual child’s test score. This would mean that a one standard deviation increase in peers’ average test scores (about 30 NAPLAN points) leads to a 7 NAPLAN point increase in an individual child’s test score.

The estimated effects for Year 7 students were smaller than those of Years 3 and 5, and only significant for numeracy. Given that students undertake Year 7 NAPLAN in the first couple of months at a new school; this was explained as peers having had less opportunity to influence individual students than is the case in other year levels. The effects for Year 9 students were larger and significant for all NAPLAN domains.

There were stronger peer effects for boys than girls in Years 3 and 5 across all domains. Peer effects tended to be slightly smaller for high-SES students than for low-SES students in Years 3 and 5. Peer effects were also found to be similar in both small and large schools.

The paper concludes that variations in the backgrounds (low- or high-SES) or characteristics of peers are not important for an individual child’s achievement but that the performance of their peers is.

Project Background

Peer effects refer to the ways in which the actions or background characteristics of classroom peers affect an individual child’s behaviour or outcomes. Peer effects in educational achievement might work through a number of mechanisms: including direct learning between peers; competition between peers; classroom disruption; and the influence of peers on the pace and level at which the teacher can teach the class. Peer effects also operate via current peer behaviour or achievement (e.g. individuals study harder and/or perform better in tests if their peers study harder and/or perform better in tests).

Most of the economic literature on peer effects in

education has focused on exploring the influence of peer background characteristics (e.g. race, gender) on student achievement; however this paper focusses on the influence of peer achievement.

The paper asserts that this is the first such study of peer effects using Australian school achievement data in place of survey data allowing for greater reliability of findings.

Happy Reading Palma Coppa Principal

Chaplain’s Chat with Dave Can you hear me?

Like every relationship, great parenting is all about

communication. The great communicator’s goal isn’t to get ideas

out of their head, but to get their ideas into the heads of their

listener.

To get my idea into your head, in a way you understand, I need

you to actually hear me. And for that to happen, I need to speak

in your language, your world and your way. As a parent, this is

important.

Here are some practical steps:

1. Listen. What does your child love to talk about? When do they

talk most? Where do they like to be? How do they

communicate?

Examples: Imaginative play, drawing, TV shows, YouTube

channels, gaming, storytelling.

2. Reflect. Ask them about what you’ve seen. Verify your

observations.

Example: “You seem to have super-powers, what are they? What

is your super-hero name?”

3. Plan. Create an activity/story-time in their world heading

toward the point you want them to hear.

4. Speak. Tell a story or play along with them, integrating the

learning message.

Example: A message about cleaning your room while building a

house in Minecraft.

Example: A message about speaking kindly while playing super-

heroes.

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Menu

Salad of the Imagination

Garlic and Cheese Pizza

Brandy Snap Baskets

Chocolate Mousse

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Kitchen News

In recent weeks in the kitchen the students have really enjoyed the meals they have produced, cooking such dishes as polenta (which was a new experience and taste for some students) and rhubarb cordial using fresh rhubarb from our school garden as well as an eggplant dip and a roast capsicum hommus, which required the students to roast the capsicums themselves which was a good skill for them to learn, although it made the kitchen pretty smoky!

The students have also prepared Garlic & Cheese Pizza and a mixed Salad of the imagination which incorporated many different harvested items from the school garden including radishes, beetroot, beetroot leaves, roquette, lettuce, peas and beans. The pizza and the salad were very popular with the students.

The upcoming weeks in the kitchen will feature menus of a Japanese flavour and to recognise French week, students will be completing a variety of French themed dishes for the fortnightly menu.

We have had excellent support from parents and grandparents this year volunteering their time to assist in kitchen sessions, but there are some kitchen sessions where we need some more assistance.

If any parents and grandparents are available Tuesday’s between 9.30am and 11.00am or Wednesday’s & Thursday’s 9.30am-11.00am/12.00pm-1.30pm your help will be greatly appreciated.

Gregg Hansford

Uniform Shop School uniforms can be purchased from our PSW Uniform Shop located near the Prep rooms. It is open: Every Wednesday from 2.45pm to 3.45pm

Grade 6 Transition Forms

Grade 6 parents don’t forget that your child’s transition

form must be returned to school this Friday 22nd May if it hasn’t already been returned.

Canteen Soup is now available every Tuesday from the canteen!! Canteen Hours are: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9.00 - 11.30am & 1.00 - 2.30pm

Birthdays

Sophie Wells Harrison Painter Jacoby Blair Hasan Merchant Janani Manikandan Jayavandhana Manikandan Rhys Richardson Harvey Freemantle Tayla Barker Parneet Badwal Aidan Fox Wright Chris Hyun Noah Piez Lara Dibble

Entertainment Books It’s not too late to get your new Entertainment Book before your old one finishes on June 1st. Order forms can be collected from the office or you can order direct from their website.

Pauline Keogh

Chocolate Drive The chocolates are selling well, with many families still requesting more. Thank you to the families that are supporting this major fundraiser. If you would like another box of chocolates to sell please see Cynthia or Nicole in the office.

Grade 5 & 6 Winter Interschool Sport

This week Dorset will be playing Sacred Heart GAMES AND VENUES: Football Benson Oval Soccer Dorset Open Softball Sacred Heart Girls Softball Sacred Heart Volleyball Sacred Heart Bat tennis Sacred Heart Girls Netball Dorset Open Netball Dorset

Keira Taylor Tyler Bowden Robert Thang Jaydeep Dugg Josh Lamanna Desy Kutasara Sophie Mees Tyson Giles Ave Perry-Pivac Thomas Keays Jasmine Earl Sophie Wallis Vivian Chen

Student of the Week

Taj Hurrell Lachie Jensz Taylor Viney Alex Painter Flynn Smith Patrick Archer Darcey Hawkins Jasmine Thivant Lincoln Skepper Cody McLennan Lachlan Shubart Gerby Dianon Tony Mo

PRODUCTION NIGHTS The 2015 Production: A Fairy Tale Ending will be held in the School Hall on Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th of September in the evening. Your child will be assigned ONE of these nights to perform. If you or your child has any extra curricular activities on one of these nights and would prefer the alternative night please put this in WRITING before Wednesday 3rd of June 2015. Send your requests to the office and I will do my best to accommodate wherever possible. I will not be able to change your child's performance night after this date. Your child will be sent home with a note informing you which night they are performing on before the end of term. Siblings will be grouped on the same night.

PRODUCTION COSTUMING All students in grades prep-4 will be provided with costumes and accessories. Parents will be required to provide their child with FULL LENGTH black pants or leggings (with no markings or logos) and plain black shoes with no colours on sides or soles. Grade 5-6 students will be advised if they require extra costume accessories. Many thanks, Braid Matthews Music Teacher

Dorset Primary School does not endorse the products or services of any private advertiser. No responsibility is accepted by the School for accuracy of information contained in advertisements or claims made by them. All advertisers must supply a WWC with their advertisement.

Apple Man The apple man will be delivering apples to the school on:

Friday 22nd May

He only has available at this early stage:

Granny Smiths $10.00 Pink Lady $10.00 Fuji $10.00

Please place orders with Cynthia in the office by Thursday morning!

Garage Sale Three Dorset families are having a cleanout!! H/hold items, manchester, furniture, beds, electrical items, games, books, kitchen items, toys, clothing. Come browse - you never know what treasures you may find!

Sat 23rd and Sun 24th May 31 Thurleigh Ave, Croydon South