From the Principal 

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had an excellent 2 weeks at Somerville Primary. Over the last two weeks we have had high numbers of absences for various reasons, but mainly due to students showing flu like symptoms and some cases of gastro. Whilst we want our students at school, we are indeed appreciative that parents and carers are keeping their children at home if they are unwell. Thank you; our goal is to keep everyone safe and healthy. We have also received our additional air purifiers, which have been rolled out into every classroom within the school. School Council has 2 Parent Member vacancies. If you are interested in joining School Council please contact the office. School Council is an excellent opportunity to work together with a group of parents and staff. 

Next week is Education Week, we have our open afternoon to welcome grandparents and special friends. The theme for Education Week this year is ‘150 Years of Public Education’ it commemorates the past, celebrates the present and imagines the future of education in Victoria. This year, Somerville Primary School is 137 years old. I know in 2020 there were plans to celebrate the 135 years of Somerville Primary School. We are looking forward to 2025 when we will celebrate 140 years. Somerville Primary opened on the 1st of January in 1885 with 33 students. The school was located on the north west corner of Lower Somerville Road and Eramosa Road on a one acre site. Our school has many multigenerational families, some of our current students have had their parents, grandparents and great grandparents attend the school. A history we are extremely proud of!

Our Grade 3 and 5 students have completed NAPLAN, all of our students did an outstanding job, and we look forward to the results being released in September. This year marked the first time all students have completed the NAPLAN online in Australia. Our Students in Grades 4-6 are currently completing the Attitudes to School Survey, this data is also released later in the year. 

Student Voice and Agency is a phrase that is commonly used in education, our school prides itself on having authentic Voice and Agency opportunities throughout the school. An example of this is each fortnight our Student Leaders, plan, write and practice each assembly. They coordinate House Points, Awards, special presentations and make sure it runs smoothly. Their responsible for organising the whole event, which includes giving up lunchtime to setup before assembly and make sure everything is ready to go. Our students will be adding in some more segments throughout the term, I look forward to watching them flourish and the assemblies continue to grow. 

Last week Mornington Shire were looking at our Kiss and Go zone, they are also looking at the traffic in Roslyn Street. Somerville Police are also monitoring Eramosa Road closely during drop off and pick up times. We know it is a busy time around 8:30-10:00am and again from 2:30-3:30pm; we just want to remind all families please take your time around our streets to keep our students safe. 

Please come and vote at Somerville Primary, have a democracy sausage to support our Somerville Slammers and have a great weekend,

David Tapp

Principal