Exciting News!!!

Welcome back, everyone! It's fantastic to see such a smooth start to the term. We hope you had a restful break and are ready for an exciting few months ahead.

We have some incredible news to share with you today. We are thrilled to announce that Herdsmans Cove Primary School has been awarded a grant of $400,000 from the Commonwealth Schools Upgrade Fund! This grant will be instrumental in the development of a nature-based play area at the front of our school. Not only will this enrich our learning environment, but it will also be a wonderful addition to the Herdsmans Cove community, especially benefiting our early learners. We can't wait to see the positive impact it will have on our students' experiences.

A big thank you to all the parents who have volunteered to be members of our school association. Your support is invaluable. As an association, we will be actively engaging with local, state, and federal governments to advocate for further upgrades for our school and the broader community. Together, we can make a real difference in providing the best possible facilities and resources for our children's education.

Building a national picture of child health – Prep families only

From May 2024, our school, along with thousands of others across the country, will participate in the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC).

The AEDC is a teacher-completed census (similar to a questionnaire) which provides a comprehensive picture of how children have developed by the time they start their first year of full-time school.

The AEDC is an Australian Government Initiative and is completed nationally every three years.

Children don’t miss any class time while the AEDC is completed, and parents/carers don’t need to supply schools with any new information.

The data collected through the AEDC is used by schools, communities and governments to better understand children and families’ needs, and identify the services, resources and support they need.

AEDC data is reported at a school, community, state/territory and national level. AEDC results for individual children are not reported and the AEDC is not used as an individual diagnostic tool.

Some teachers have found that completing the AEDC made them more aware of the needs of individual children and their class, and that the data was useful for planning for transitions to Year 1 and developing programs. 

Participation in the AEDC is voluntary, however the AEDC relies on all schools with children in their first year of full-time school participating in the collection. Parents/carers don’t need to take any action unless they choose not to include their children in the census.

To find out more about the AEDC and how it is being used to help children and families visit: www.aedc.gov.au.

Stay tuned for more updates and exciting developments throughout the term. Let's make Term 2 one to remember!

Warm regards,

Tobin McColl, Principal