Can’t believe we are heading towards the end of Term 1. We have already achieved so much in such a short time. It is so nice to see people gathering together at drop off and pick up, parents in to help reading in the junior school, indulging in cupcakes together after school, cutting up fruit for students, locating hidden children after school in the playground nooks and crannies.. I could go on. We have such a wonderful community and I feel privileged to be a part of it.

Annual Privacy Notice – please take the time to review our Privacy Collection Notice, discussing student information; what we collect, how it is used and stored. 

NAPLAN – we embarked on our NAPLAN journey this week with the Y3 and Y5 students completing three out of the four tests. And enjoying with faces full of food the yummy breakfast snacks! The students have worked so hard and done their very best during the tests: we are almost there. I would like to thank all the parents that gave up their time to chop fruit and bread for the students; they very much appreciated the food. Thanks also to Wendy and Iona for organising this.

Parent Teacher Interviews – are next week, March 21 and 22, and once again I encourage you to book an interview with your child’s class teacher. Parent Teacher Interviews are a great way to keep the lines of communication open between parents and teachers for the benefit of our children. Call in at the office if you would like some help.

Time in Lieu for Parent Teacher Interviews – You may remember during concert last year we had teachers out for part of their days to “pay back” the time they worked during the evening shows. This initiative honours the extra time that teachers always willingly give for those special events. Once again, we ask teachers to give extra time outside of hours for interviews, so, through our Consultative Committee, we have decided to have class teachers start at 10:30am on Wednesday 29 March to pay back the time. Specialist teachers, with support, will run a special STEAM challenge in Care Groups during this time, so there is no change for families.

School Council – we held a School Council meeting last night, both bidding farewell to members who are retiring and ushering and welcoming new members. Discussions were robust and centred around such topics as the upcoming principal appointment procedure, Parent Payments, Council Action Projects, building updates and Councillors reaching out to the community. I thank outgoing members Dan (who has agreed to stay in a consultative capacity), Wendy and Jay for their time on Council; and welcome new members Cam, Luke, Winston and Lih. Members of the community are encouraged to join any of our subcommittees if you would like to step up your involvement at school.

Transition – we begin our transition process for incoming Foundation students 2024 in a few weeks. Andrea will be visiting our local kinders to hold a STEAM session and we will also be holding an information session for interested families. If you know of any families that are curious, please pass along our information and encourage them to come along, we’d love to see new faces. Transition information for families with a Y6 child will be out early Term 2.

Building update – some movement in the hall with the walls being repaired, and still waiting to hear for an installation date for the handrail in the Foundation yard. 

Have a lovely weekend,

Michelle Smith

Acting Principal

michelle.smith@education.vic.gov.au