Hi Solway Community,

Book Week

It was wonderful to celebrate Book Week with our Book Parade on Friday. Our students put so much thought and creativity into their costumes, and it was great to see them proudly sharing their favourite characters with their friends and teachers. Thank you to our parents and families for supporting the students and helping bring the parade to life. I would also like to thank Mr Tongue and Mrs Watkins for their organisation of the Book Week activities. The addition of the Masked Reader was a great part of the celebrations, and I suspect it may become another Solway tradition.

School Production

Our school production is now just around the corner, with the students and staff working hard in preparation for the performance. Tickets are still available for families who would like to join us and support our students.

Purchase production tickets here: https://compasstix.com/event/84e1ef0c-a5e3-4060-b21a-cf1ed332ec4c

Wear It Purple Day

This Friday, 28 August, we will acknowledge Wear It Purple Day. The day provides an opportunity to celebrate diversity and remind young people that they are valued, respected and supported for who they are. The 2026 theme, Colours of Courage, recognises the courage shown by LGBTQIA+ young people, allies and communities in creating safer and more inclusive spaces. This connects strongly with our commitment to creating an inclusive community where every student feels safe, connected and able to be themselves. Our staff will be wearing purple on Friday as a visible sign of our support for inclusion, respect and belonging.

Hockey

It was great to see our school hockey teams competing at the Regional Hockey Tournament last week. One of our teams finished second, to Yarra Valley Grammar, which I think gives me reasonable grounds to claim that we have the best public school hockey program in the Eastern Metro Region. As someone who has a long standing love of hockey, it was especially great to see so many students pick up a hockey stick for the first time and have a go at the sport. The opportunity to try something new, work as a team and represent our school is an important part of school life. Thank you to Deb and Hamish for coaching our teams and to the parents who came along to support the students. Your involvement makes these opportunities possible.

Parent Carer Opinion Survey

Our annual Parent Carer Opinion Survey is now open, and I would really value seeing more of our families share their views about our school. The survey is provided by the Department of Education and seeks feedback about families' perceptions of school climate, student behaviour and student engagement. Your feedback helps us identify areas for improvement and professional learning and informs our school planning and improvement work. The survey is completed online and takes approximately 20 minutes. It will remain open until Friday 18 September 2026. An invitation and details about how to access the survey have been shared through Compass. If you cannot find your invitation, please contact the school office. Your feedback is important to us. We want to continue to listen to our community and use your feedback to help make Solway an even better place for our students and families.

Thank you for your continued support and let's all strive to be “our best always”.

David Rosser