Message from the Principal 

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

DJILA DJERRING IN ACTION

It is a very special experience walking through these entry doors and into this amazing space. Our new Djila Djerring Gym building is really starting to make its mark at our school. At our last assembly we finished with a whole school “Cha Cha Slide” featuring our large LED screen. Check the video out on our official school Facebook page!

Then on Friday night we had our first Parent Association organised disco in over 6 years. It was awesome to see so many students attending, dressed up and having such fun. A very big shout out to Craig Powell and an army of parent, carer and teacher helpers for providing such a special event for our kids.

Then on Saturday last week we had the very first official competition basketball games from 8am through to 6pm. The Djila Djerring is being hired out to the Diamond Valley Basketball Association each Saturday. Not only does this provide revenue for the school which will enable us to complete some projects around the school and keep the building in first class condition, it also means that those students that play in the competition, particularly those playing for Greenhills Basketball Club can enjoy games in such a first-class facility so close to home.

We also welcome back Greenhills Basketball Club who will use the Djila Djerring as a training venue during the week from 5.45pm – 9.30pm.

We have waited a very long time for this and now we can all really enjoy one of the very best facilities in a primary school…..any school….anywhere! 

CHA CHA SLIDE

PREP ZOO

Excursions and incursions offer special experiences for our students. They help grow our student’s curiosity and connections. A G.R.E.A.T example of this was our Prep excursion to the Zoo this week. Thank-you to our Prep team and all our parent helpers on the day.

Whilst these experiences are such fun and engaging for our students, we are also very mindful of the additional costs to families. We will keep monitoring and tracking these costs throughout each year and provide as much notice as possible around these costs each term. Our parent contributions letters for 2025 include an overall estimate of these costs for next year and we will also include the costs for each upcoming term in our communications sent out by our teaching teams. 

As always, if you are experiencing any financial hardship, please let us know as we have a Family Support Fund set up to ensure all students can attend all events such as excursions and incursions. 

james.penson@education.vic.gov.au 

PARENT & CARER SURVEY RESULTS – Part #3

POSITIVE TRANSITIONS

As you can see by the data tables below, the work and focus we have been placing on ensuring a positive transition for all students is really paying off. Whilst seeing the percentage of positive responses increase each year is important, our real focus is ensuring that every child feels more confident about next year by removing some of the unknowns before the end of this year!

Our Transition program includes our Year 6 High School Experience Day on Thursday 11th November. This is a day of role play where they will experience different subjects and teaching styles, moving to different areas of the school for lessons as they start to get a feel for what next year might have in stall!   

Our 2025 Prep Transition Program also continues following on from our very successful “Experience Greenhills” sessions.These commence on Monday 11th November, continue over 4 weeks and will be run by our Prep 2025 team. 

At 6.00pm on Tuesday the 26th of November, we are hosting a “Step into 2025 Family Education Night”. The focus will be on students attending sessions set up for the following school year level. For example, our Prep students and families will experience what it will be like in our Year 1 classrooms. 

On 5th and 10th of December between 9.15am and 10.45am we will have our “Meet the Teacher” whole school transition sessions. This is where we turn the whole school into 2025.

 (*Please note that our Preps for 2025 will only attend the first “Meet the Teacher” session on 5th December between 9.30am and 10.30am).

As you can see, there has been lots of thought and time put into developing a very comprehensive transition program across the whole school. We believe this is important, especially given the rise on anxiety levels that schools are experiencing.  The more students can experience and understand what the future looks like at our school, the more prepared and ready they will be. 

MID-TERM 4 MEET PRIN FORUM

Wednesday 13th November from 7.30pm via Webex. Our focus for this session will include information about school structure, classes, class size and other organisation for 2025.

WEARING OUR SCHOOL UNIFORM WITH PRIDE!

I love the way that our school has so many uniform options for our students and when we are all decked out in accordance with our Uniform Policy, our school looks magnificent. This is friendly reminder that all students must be dressed in line with our policy each day. At times, we notice a variety of other items being worn, for example outside of school local football club hoodies or even items that are not our school colours. We have also noticed a number of students wearing black pants or black shorts. These are not part of our school uniform options. 

If any student needs to wear an item that is not part of our school uniform, a letter from a parent or carer must be provided to the teacher outlining the reason for this. If you are having any difficulty in organising school uniform items for your child, please contact the office or myself. For me, wearing full school uniform is all about pride in our school and being part of our GREAT team. Over the next few weeks, we will be having a big push on this, and we appreciate your support in following all the expectations of our Uniform Policy. 

SCHOOL COUNCIL CANTEEN SURVEY

Our School Council is currently reviewing our Canteen service with a focus on usage levels and patterns, menu range options and choices, price, value and convenience. Your input is important to us so that we can make an informed decision moving into 2025 and beyond.

Here is the link to our survey which will run from 30th October through to 15th November.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XW3PWY7

Good luck to our Year 4 Campers!

James Penson,

Principal.