Principal's Report

Welcome to the beginning of the 2024 school year. I hope everyone had an enjoyable break. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of the new families who started at Preston Primary this year. Last week we welcomed 100 new Prep students, which was very exciting. 

Our Year One to Six students were happy to be back at school last week and were very excited to catch up with their friends. Many of them had lots of stories to share about their holiday adventures. 

Welcome to New Staff

This year we have employed four new staff members, Stav Velanis Grade 3, Claudia Caputo Grade 5, Sarina Marchant Grade 6 and Aimee Caputo support. Each of them have done extensive CRT work and short term contracts since they graduated, however they have now joined our staff on a permanent basis. We are very fortunate to have such great teachers join our staff. 

We also welcomed back Jason Sofra who has returned from 12 months leave, Rachael Srblin who has returned from Family Leave and Angela Perrone who took leave for all of semester 2 in 2023. 

Wellbeing Program

Last year we introduced Health and Wellbeing as out fifth specialist subject. The program proved to be very successful so we will continue to do it again this year. The program is being managed by Joe Greige who is our wellbeing coordinator. Joe and his team will keep parents updated on what they are doing through regular articles in the newsletter. 

3 Way Conferences

This term we will be having 3 Way Conferences on Tuesday February 20th. These conferences enable teachers and families to catch up early in the year to share relevant and important information. The purpose of the conference is to discuss;

• how your child has settled into their new year this year 
•  semester 1 goals for each student
• ways parents, children and teachers can work together to maximise the child’s learning potential in 2024.

If you haven’t already booked an appointment, please log on to Compass and do so as soon as possible. If you have more than one child in the school please ensure that you leave sufficient time between interviews to get to the second appointment. 

The conferences will be done on site, however if you would prefer to do it on WebEx, please contact your child’s teacher and they will send you the link.  

We are requesting that children do not attend school on Tuesday February 20th, however all children must participate in the conference as they play a vital role in the process. If you are unable to keep your child at home on the day we ask that you let their teacher know. 

School Uniform

Our school uniform is a colour-based uniform and as such the only requirement is that it is gold and royal blue. At Preston PS families can either purchase uniform through the school uniform shop or they can purchase items from stores such as Kmart or Target. The uniform does not need to have a school logo on it. 

Items that are not school uniform include: 

• coloured long sleeve tops worn under short sleeve polos 
• Coloured windcheaters. They must be royal blue and only have our school logo on them. No other logos. 
• Patterned tights or patterned knee length socks. 

Children are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes. We recommend they wear runners on days that they have sport or PE. No open toed shoes are permitted. 

All children, regardless of their gender, who have shoulder length hair or longer, must have it tied back. 

Second Hand Uniform

Thank you to all of the families who have donated uniform that they no longer require. If you have any uniform that is in good condition, please send it to school and we will endeavour to pass it on to other families. We always have families who are looking for second-hand uniform and it is greatly appreciated. 

I hope everyone has a great 2024 and remember if at any time you are unsure about something or have a concern about anything that is happening don’t hesitate to contact us. We are always happy to alleviate parents' concerns. 

Regards 

Janet Paterson