Building Works Commencing at the Senior Campus

We are excited to inform our community that the major building works at the Senior Campus will officially commence this Thursday.

To ensure the safety of our students, staff, and visitors, a secure fence will be erected around the carpark and the main building. The only area not included within the fenced construction zone will be the four classrooms located at the northern end of the building. These classrooms will remain in use during this stage of the project and are scheduled to be renovated during Stage 2 of the Building Project.

As a reminder, the Senior Campus Office has now relocated to the MPC. All parents and visitors must report directly to the office including if:

Bringing a child to school late, or
Collecting a child for early departure.

We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we begin this exciting new chapter for our School. Further updates will be shared as the project progresses.

Leadership Badge Presentation

Our Year 6 Leadership Badge Presentation took place yesterday morning under the COLA at the Senior Campus. We are very grateful to our guest speaker, Tim Wilson (the Federal member for Goldstein) for his time and thoughtful words. We also thank The Jets for their inspiring singing of ‘I Used to Rule the World’ at this special assembly.

A big congratulations to Frankie B for receiving this year’s Goldstein Award. This award recognises a Year 6 student for their accomplishments in their previous year of schooling and contribution to the school. Frankie we are very proud of you – you are a most worthy winner!

School Council

Gardenvale Primary School is supported by the governance and direction of our School Council. This group meets twice per term (or as required) and is made up of staff and parents. The current School Council consists of 15 members (9 parent, 1 community and 5 staff) and has sub committees that look at Education, Finance, Buildings and Grounds, Communications, Out of School Hours Care.

Below is a timetable for the upcoming elections for the 2026 Council and we are seeking to fill 5 parent vacancies. Please consider nominating for a role or call the office to discuss any queries regarding this upcoming election process. Nomination forms are available now from the Senior Campus office.

SCHOOL COUNCIL ELECTION PROCESS AND TIMETABLE - 2026
GARDENVALE PRIMARY SCHOOL
EVENT		DATE
a)	Notice of election and call for nominations	Newsletter on Tuesday 17th and Compass message on Tuesday 24th February 2026
b)	Closing date for nominations	Tuesday 3rd March 2026
c)	Date by which the list of candidates and nominators will be posted	Tuesday 10th March 2026
d)	Date by which ballot papers will be prepared and distributed	Thursday 12th March 2026
e)	Close of ballot	Friday 20th March 2026 at 3.00pm
f)	Vote count	Friday 20th March 2026 at 3.15pm
g)	Declaration of poll	Monday 23rd March 2026
h)	First council meeting to elect office bearers (the principal will reside)	Tuesday 24th March at 7.00pm 2026

Working Bees

Maintaining and improving our school grounds is an important and ongoing issue. We are so grateful and proud of the support we always receive from our School Community for our Working Bees. The dates for this year’s working bees are as follows: -

Term 1	Years 2 and 6 (Both Campuses)	Sunday 15th March
Term 2	Years 1 and 5 (Both Campuses)	Sunday 24th May
Term 3	Prep and Year 4 (Both Campuses)	Sunday 9th August
Term 4	Year 3 and Junior Campus	Sunday 18th October

Parents are most welcome to attend any Working Bee not just the one designated to their child/children’s year level.

District Swimming

This Thursday, 19th February, 32 of Year 4 to 6 students will represent our school at the District Swimming Carnival at the GSAC complex. We wish them well and am sure they will swim their best for themselves and the school.

Student Medical Conditions

To all parents who have a child with a medical condition (anaphylaxis, asthma, or allergies), could you please ensure you have emailed an updated Action Plan to gardenvale.ps@education.vic.gov.au. (Recommended to be updated every 12-18 months.) For students with asthma, a clearly labelled reliever, spacer and copy of their Action Plan must be kept in their school bag. Importantly, these must also be taken by students to any excursion or sporting event. Required medication - must also be provided clearly labelled with dosages and handed to the relevant office, and a Medication Authority Form completed and signed. Thank you for your assistance in helping us to ensure the wellbeing of your child.

Have you paid your School Contributions for 2026?

Parent Payment Arrangements for 2026 School Year are now due; we are so grateful to those families that have already paid their contributions. These payments are crucial and enable us to purchase resources and equipment for our high-quality and highly regarded learning environment including our specialist programs. Here are just a few examples of how some of the money we receive through our parent payments is utilized:

to purchase new and important equipment for our classroom and specialist programs,
to continue to refurbish learning spaces with new carpet, blinds, painting and furniture,
to purchase classroom ICT resources ( including interactive touch screen TVs).

We value your support; it allows us to provide the highest quality education to our students and to create a more enriching experience for our entire school community. We extend our heartfelt thanks for your ongoing support.

Have a great week,

Janine Hall

Team Kids