Thank you all for the warm welcome I have received from parents and children around the school today. I will apologise now if I forget your name but I am looking forward to meeting you all in the coming weeks. I am very excited to be here as a part of this wonderful learning community and look forward to working with your children. 

I wanted to give a brief introduction so that you know a bit about who I am. I have a lot of experience with primary school children: partially with my own four children aged 9 and under and then also through working at a number of primary schools around South Australia as a classroom teacher and as a leader of teaching and learning. My wife, Lexi, and I share a love of music, whether it’s attending concerts or encouraging our children to practice their own instruments. I am also an avid sport watcher, particularly the AFL and English soccer. When it comes to school, I am passionate about helping children to grow in confidence as learners. I always aim to ensure children have opportunities to be independent and develop skills that will help them throughout their lives, not just at school. 

Week 1 is a really important part of our children’s learning journey. This is a really significant period where children will learn things like: how their classroom is set up; what their classmates are like; what feelings they are experiencing in a new year level; and what responsibilities they will have at school this year. There can sometimes be a temptation to rush into thinking about Mathematics and English learning or units of inquiry but I’ll take this opportunity to encourage you to try to hold off on this thinking for now. Instead, ask your child about what routines they have like morning set up, or what is something new they have learnt about a classmate. This will help them focus on settling into St Paul for 2024 and learning general skills and information that will help set them up for success this year.

In 2024, our teachers are implementing the updated Australian Curriculum: Version 9. This curriculum has been rewritten to reflect current research and better align with children’s developmental needs. As always, our inquiry learning approach ensures that this curriculum is taught in an empowering way that fosters a greater sense of ownership over their learning in our children and allows them to act and respond in thoughtful and meaningful ways.

 I wish you every blessing for 2024 and hope that you will come up and say hi when you see me around the school this term.