From the Office
News From the Principal
I wish to take this opportunity to inform our school community that I have been offered a role as the Acting Principal at Lockington Consolidated School for Term 1, 2025. I have only learned of this offer/position late this afternoon. Please be assured that even though this announcement has come at the end of the term and school year, that work is being done over the break to secure a person to fulfill the dual role of principal and teacher for Term 1. I will work during the break to ensure that everything is ready for the person who fulfills the acting role. The Department of Education has the responsibility for recruiting and appointing an Acting Principal for Raywood Primary School for Term 1, 2025. The successful candidate for the role will be announced to staff and school community as soon as the process is completed.
I know that the school is in excellent hands whilst I am away, as the processes are well established and the staff are the absolute best at what they do.
As this is our final newsletter for 2024, I wanted to take this opportunity to say a few thank yous.
Firstly, I would like to thank our wonderful students for a fantastic year of learning and fun at Raywood Primary School. Each of our students has their own special qualities that we recognise and celebrate. The way that all of our students help each other, play and learn together, ensures that we have a school that is thriving in terms of academics, student engagement and emotional wellbeing.
A special thank you to each of our Raywood Families, we are so grateful for your support throughout this year. Whether it be coming out to help in the yard, sending along food for special days, sourcing dress-ups and costumes for special events, lovely messages sent to say thank you or well done or helping your children with their reading or other homework- it all combines to make sure our students and staff feel supported. A special mention of our School Council Members is needed here- this group of parents (and one extra) come along each month to meetings and help make decisions to keep our school running smoothly, meet departmental compliance and shape the future direction of our school. So cheers to Jarrod, Julian, Lisa, Jess, Hayden, Bree and Marcus.
To the Raywood Staff, Hayden, Sarah, Bree, Sue and Seth, thank you for all of your hard work this year. It doesn't matter if you are here full time or only a few hours a week, your dedication to ensuring that our school is the best that it can be and that our students receive the highest levels of education and opportunities is always appreciated.
To Mez, our volunteer classroom helper. Thank you for everything that you do both within the classroom and beyond. You are happy to help out with tasks big and small (as well as treat the staff every so often with your baking), and for all of that we are truly grateful.
To our wonderful community members Mrs Audrey Felini and Mrs Kate Lowry- we say thank you for your continued support to our school programs and students. Both of you have been associated with our school for many years now and we really do feel grateful for everything you do for us, including promoting our school within the wider community.
A thank you to both Pam and Des who have been our bus drivers this year. I know first hand how noisy just a few students can be, so I can appreciate what a difficult job it must be some days.
To Marcus Uren, our local policeman and friend of our school, we want to say a huge thank you. Not only do you serve as a community member on School Council, but you also come along to support our special events and cheer on our students when you can; not to mention doing some additional checks on hour school over weekends and holiday breaks!
Whole School Excursion and Sleep Over
Last week we celebrated the end of year a little early by having our whole school excursion and (first ever) sleepover at school.
We began the day with morning tea in the park and were lucky enough to have s shady spot to enjoy our snacks. We then headed off to visit Sarah the Painter- every student created their own masterpiece on canvas and should be extremely proud of their efforts.
With our appetites worked up, we walked to KFC and enjoyed a scrumptious lunch. It was then off to the cinemas to watch Moana 2; we were not only gifted our tickets by the cinema manager but were also given a soft drink and large popcorn each to enjoy. Our plans to head to the Eaglehawk Playspace were dampened by the heavy rain, so we headed back to school.
Once we were back at school the excitement of setting up our beds began. We had a play inside before chowing down on some pizza (thank you to the Ashleys for the kind donation of a yummy tea). It was then time for some more indoor play before some dessert and a Christmas Movie- Elf. Once that was done it was sleep time (with most students in a deep sleep almost as soon as the lights went out).
In the morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast of pancakes, waffles and juice before packing up and heading home.
Graduation and End of Year Celebration
Last Thursday evening we held our annual graduation ceremony and end of year family gathering. Once again, it was so wonderful to see each of our families represented at the event. It was a wonderful way to celebrate our two Year Six Students, Lily and Kiara and to commemorate their years at Raywood Primary School.
A huge thank you to Mr Collins who made the graduates a slide show to commemorate their journey through the years. A thank you also to Mez, Mrs G and Ms R for your help throughout the day with setting up and for all of your hard work on the night.
A very special thank you to Bree who really had the perfect excuse to sit back and let others do the work, as she is the parent of a graduating student. But it true Bree fashion, she spent countless hours chasing up attendee numbers, organising decorations, making trips to town for supplies, setting up the hall and cleaning up afterwards as well as helping with the catering.
It was a special surprise for our students to have Santa visit our end of year celebration and bring each of the children a gift and some lollies. What a treat to see him arrive and leave on the Raywood Fire Truck driven by our School Council President!
With both of our Year Six Girls heading off to East Loddon next year, we say goodbye to Lily's family from our school. (The Blake Family still have two more years with us yet).
We will miss Lily and Kiara very much. Both of these girls are so responsible and are almost like having an extra staff member on hand to help out with the younger students or when tasks need to be done. We wish both girls every success in secondary school and know that they are capable of great things.
Important Dates
- Don't forget that our final day of term is Friday December 20th. Students will be dismissed at 1:20pm on this day (therefore the bus will run two hours ahead of schedule).
- The front page of this newsletter has Important Dates for 2025, including term dates for 2025, swimming dates and return to school dates.
A New Year of Learning
The Victorian Department of Education have created a New Year of Learning webpage to help families, and students of all year levels, prepare for the 2025 school year.
You will find:
- tips to help transition from early childhood education to Prep, and primary to secondary school
- what to expect at school
- where to find help with school costs and fees
- health and wellbeing guidance to support children’s mental health
- learning and disability supports.
This is the link to access the page which will have content added to it throughout the year. New year of learning
That's all for this week- Lisa Duffy
News from Bree in the office
Raywood Primary Mega Christmas Raffle
This was drawn yesterday at school. Thank you to everyone that bought and sold tickets. We are so grateful for your support.
Congratulations to all our lucky winners!
The Raffle Prize winners are
Scratchy Tree -Tracey Byrne
Kid's Hamper - Mez Kimberley
Candle Hamper- Lyn Mcloud
Book Pack-Levi
Peppermint Grove Candle- Kim Downward
Bunnings Voucher $100- Valma Ashley
Bunnings Voucher $50- George Thompsom
Blow up Boat-Liam
Versace Jeans Wallet- Helen.B
Pinot &Picasso Voucher -Bree Blake
Bendigo Pottery Class Voucher -Max
Bendigo Pottery Class Voucher - Gary Coyne
Bendigo Pottery Class Voucher -Sharyl McCullum
Bendigo Pottery Class Voucher -Nate
Cow Welcome Sign-Mark Farthing
Parent and carer School Saving Bonus
The School Saving Bonus has now been fully rolled out. Every family should have received their unique code via email to log into the portal. If you have not received this, please contact me as soon as possible.
I have sent home a step-by-step guide on how to log in, navigate the portal, and allocate your bonus toward either uniform purchases or school activities.
Our uniform supplier does not have an online shop and is based in Echuca. To make it easier for parents, the school will process your uniform orders for you. If you would like to order uniforms and use the bonus to pay for them, please ask me for an order form. Fill it out and clearly write your unique code at the top of the form. Instructions on how to obtain this code are included in the information I sent home. Alternatively, feel free to give me a call or come see me, and I can walk you through the process or i have attached a link to a step-by-step guide.
Thank you, Bree.
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