From the Principal Team 

Introducing the 2023 Leaders!

Congratulations to all our Year 6 student leaders who were officially recognised at assembly last week. Michael Sukkar our federal member for Deakin, helped Mrs Rice and I present students with their badge, as well as attend a special morning tea with both students and their loved ones. I could not have been more impressed with the respectful behaviour of all the students at assembly, and received many compliments from both Michael and the parents that attended. 

To be selected by your peers and teachers to be a leader is a great achievement in itself. All leaders go about leading differently, but they all share qualities such as respect for all, honesty, trust, worthiness, kindness and passion for their cause. Congratulations to all our leaders who have most certainly demonstrated these qualities over their time at GRPS, as well as in their leadership speeches. 

We value student input and ideas at GRPS. It will be our new leaders job to act as the voice of the entire student population, to work with Mrs Rouda, Mrs Rice and myself to continue to improve our school to be a safe and supportive environment and the best it can be. I look forward to working with all of our fantastic leaders this year, to hear your ideas and watch you develop your skills in becoming confident and passionate leaders. 

As Mrs Rouda would say, go forth and shine 2023 leaders!

Bu Sia is officially an Aussie!

Congratulations to Bu Sia on receiving Australian Permanent Residency this week. We are thrilled to welcome her back to GRPS this year and even more excited to officially call her an Aussie. The Specialist team put on a very Aussie morning tea to celebrate on Tuesday, and inducted her into Aussie culture through a video clip of Aussie slang. There were lamingtons, fairy bread, pies, vegemite scrolls, mini pavs, vanilla slices and of course a snag in bread for her to try. I’m sure it won’t be long Bu Sia until we hear the Australian twang creep into your accent.

Flicker of Hope

I was privileged to attend a Fundraiser on Sunday for a truly inspirational student, Katie Jelo. Katie suffers from Neurofibromatosis (NF), which is a condition that causes tumours to develop anywhere on the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord and all nerve endings. 

Katie and her family are fundraising to hopefully one day find that elusive cure. The money raised will be donated to a charity called the Flicker of Hope Foundation, which was established in 2018 by a mother whose daughter also has NF, as there was nothing out there set up solely for research into this hideous condition. ALL money raised for Flicker of Hope goes directly into research projects. 

Katie’s father Vid will be swimming in the Port to Pub on the 18th March in Western Australia. It is a gruelling 25km ocean swim from Fremantle to Rottnest Island. His motivation of pushing himself so far is simple: “Katie faces challenges every day of her life, I will challenge myself by doing this for her”.

The money raised will get him over to WA, cover his entry fee into the swim and for his accompanying paddler and skipper on the safety boat. The remainder will be going to Flicker of Hope, who helps us cling to that hope of a brighter future for our Katie.

To support Katie and this foundation, please click on the link and help raise the last $2,000 needed to hit their fundraising goal. 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/flipper-of-hope

Best wishes,

Melissa Roberts

Assistant Principal