Dear Parents/Carers and Guests,

Welcome to Term 2 and another exciting period in the development of Riverside Education Support Centre. As we commence the term, we look forward to the continued development of positive relationships with you and your child(ren).

Highlights for Term 1 included swimming lessons, a swimming carnival and a beach carnival. Students were able to build their water skills and confidence, while also practicing their skills of social interaction and self awareness.

This year will see the school progress toward implementation of operations as an independent school in 2013, enabling decision-making on how best to cater for the unique requirements of our students.

From Term 3 2012 the national curriculum will be introduced to our school. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is the independent authority responsible for the development of a national curriculum, a national assessment program and a national data collection and reporting program that supports 21st century learning for all Australian students. Our staff have attended a professional development workshop and have already integrated the requirements into our program.

Term 2 commences with five classes and 48 enrolments, the highest in the school’s history. If 2012 is anything like 2011 we will see enrolment numbers climb through 50 during the year.

Our teachers for 2012 are Louise Filer in Rm 31, Emily Brown in Rm 32, Deb Wiseman (4 days) and Gaylia Mitcham (1) in Rm 33, Bev Mattin (4) and Ros Blythe (1) in Rm 34 and Tara Macukat in Rm 35. Teaching support will be provided by Rebecca Whitely, Ailsa Williams and Diana Edwards.

Mrs Filer (Rm 31) will be away on long service leave for the whole of term 2. Mrs Bamford and Mrs Mitcham will share the teaching responsibilities for this class in her absence.

Our website continues to develop as an excellent resource for the school and broader community. If you have suggestions about inclusion of information that will benefit our learning community send an email to riverside.esc@det.wa.edu.au, or drop a note marked "Website Suggestions" into the office. All contributions are welcomed.

Finally, thank you all for your ongoing support of our school, staff and the programs we run, including our behavioural processes. Please feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions.

Jennifer Crake, Principal