Principal's Report

School Breakfast Clubs Program 

I’m very pleased to advise that the School Breakfast Clubs Program is coming to our school soon! We will begin running our School Breakfast Club on Monday 3rd March between 8:15am and 8:45am. The program is delivered by the Victorian Government in partnership with Foodbank Victoria, the program provides healthy meals to help students focus better and participate fully in their education.

Breakfast Club will begin by offering a simple menu featuring toast, fruit, and milk. As the program progresses, we plan to expand the options to include a wider variety of breakfast choices. We also plan to offer the breakfast more often once it is established and running smoothly.

Start Up Performance

Thanks to the many families that came along this morning for our Start Up Performance. It's a simple formula, but one that has all students enjoying the great start they have made to the new school year.

Thanks also to our staff for supporting the students. Special thanks to DJ Parkes and Patchings for supplying the music!

Smoking Ceremony & Welcome to Country

We will be conducting a Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country TOMORROW at 9.00am in The Hub. This event will also be used to officially open the Mosaic Wall that all students have contributed to (please see the 'Specialist News' for more details).

School community members are most welcome to attend.

School Council Election Results 

The School Council elections have concluded. The following members will make up our new team at the conclusion of the AGM on March 17: 

Parent Members:

Mr Ronnie Lowe, Mr Stuart Freemantle, Mrs Allison Patrick, Mrs Sarah Schoots, Mr Phil Garner, Mrs Genevieve Fells and Ms Sandy Hopfner.

DET members:

Mr Francis Trezise (Executive Officer), Mr Brett Parkes,  Mrs Lauren Schulz and Mrs Natalie Todeschini

Thanks and congratulations to our two newest members, Ms Sandy Hopfner and Mrs Todeschini. I would also like to acknowledge our three returning members, Mrs Sarah Schoots, Mr Phil Garner and Mrs Genevieve Fells.

I would like to thank our ‘retiring’ school council members, Mrs Bronte Spicer and Mr Chris McClellan, for their significant and important contributions to the school community. I have really enjoyed having you both on School Council. Thanks very much for volunteering your valuable time to help and support our school.

The Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday, 17th March at 6.00pm followed by a School Council General Meeting at 6.30pm. 

Parent Club AGM

Parent Club will be holding their Annual General Meeting TOMORROW at 2:00pm in the administration building. 

Parent Club is open to any parents or carers. One of the main things that happen at this meeting is the election of Office Bearers i.e. President, Secretary and Treasurer. All Office Bearer positions will be declared vacant at the AGM and are open to any Registered Member of Parent Club. Office Bearers will be elected to office for a period of 12 months i.e. until the next AGM.

School Council Summary

Our February School Council meeting was held recently. Many items were discussed and/or ratified, including:

School Council Elections 2025

The outcome of the School Council election was announced - see details above.

2024 Annual Report 

The Annual Report was discussed and will be available at the AGM in March. The purpose of the annual report to the school community is to inform parents and the wider school community of the school's performance outcomes and its efforts to progress improved student achievement, and to meet legislative and regulatory requirements under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 and the National Education Agreement 2008.

Enrolments

We currently have 427 students enrolled at our school. We will have more Grade 6 children exiting (approx. 68, 60, 69) over the next three years than Prep children entering (approx. 57 each year), so we will deliberately reduce our numbers over this period.

Staffing News

Mr. Chris McClellan had back surgery on Monday morning. Chris is feeling positive that the surgery has been successful at this early stage. We wish Chris a speedy recovery.

Mrs. Natalie Todeschini has begun her new role as our Mental Health Leader (0.6), while continuing her role as our Inclusion Coordinator. Nat, Brett and Katie (Social Worker) will participate in DETs training for this new role on March 6 and 7.

Different Journeys

Different Journeys has been funded by the Diverse Learners Hub in the Education Department to work with schools and parents/carers in an empowerment model. We were fortunate to be invited to be part of this initiative. Different Journeys pilot regional community carers consultation and support forums in Bendigo and surrounds. We will provide further details of their involvement with our school soon.