Dear Families,

National Simultaneous Storytime

Last week our school participated in National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS). This event is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. The story for this year was: The Speedy Sloth, by Rebecca Young. Thank you to Mrs Bryce who organised for our teachers to access to this story and share with their classes. Thank you also to Mr Kleidon for his “live” reading of this story during break time.

This is a great opportunity to reflect on the importance of reading quality literature with our students. Research from the University of Melbourne has consistently found the following benefits of reading to children, especially in the early childhood years:

• Reading to children 3-5 days per week has the same effect on a Kindergarten child’s reading skills as being six months than their chronological age.
• Reading to children 6-7 days per week has the same effect as being almost 12 months older.
• Children who read more frequently at age five achieve higher scores on the NAPLAN test for both reading and numeracy in Year 3.

Reading is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to connect with and learn with each other.

School Review

Last week our school participated in our School Review, which takes place every four years for Qld State Schools. The review is an opportunity to reflect on and receive feedback about a range of areas including, school culture, teaching and learning practices, analysis of and use of data, and community partnerships. The review team consisted of 3 review members who spoke with a range of staff, parents and community representatives (in total over 160 people participated). The feedback our school received was outstanding and it will be no surprise to many of you that our staff, students and parents spoke with pride about the inclusive culture that has been created at Craigslea SS. The feedback that stood out most for me was the way our teachers spoke of their unwavering commitment to improve the learning outcomes for each and every student in our school. When we receive the final report, I will share the executive summary with our school community.

There has been a lot of illness throughout our school over the past few weeks. We recognise that maximising learning days is important however, it is ok for your child to stay home if they are unwell. Take care and stay safe.

Kind regards,

Nikki