Principals Report

HAVE INPUT INTO OUR SCHOOL…SCHOOL COUNCIL NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN

We know that one of our school’s key strengths is our strong parent input and involvement. Our School Council is one the main forums in which parents and staff work together for the benefit of all our students. At the beginning of each school year, we have a number of vacancies for School Council. If you are interested in nominating, please collect a form from the school office or download one of the forms that is attached. An outline of the process including the timeline is also attached.

Please contact me if you would like more information about being a parent on our School Council: robyn.owens@education.vic.gov.au 

WELCOME PICNIC A reminder that we have our annual Welcome Picnic & Pre-loved Uniform Stall TONIGHT 5-7PM. It's a great opportunity for a relaxed catch up with old friends or making new connections if you’ve just joined the school. 

Many thanks to Jeni & Meg who have organised this annual event.

SCHOOL HOURS 8.45AM – 3.45PM

I need to remind parents and carers that our official school opening hours are from 8.45am through until 3.45pm each day. Our Duty of Care (which we take very seriously) commences at 8.45am in the morning through to 3.45pm after school. Your Duty of Care is the time up until 8.45am and after 3.45pm. At times we have students who arrive well before this time and some who stay in the school grounds after that time. There is no adult or teacher supervision of students outside of these times and I request that you make the appropriate arrangements to ensure the safety and well- being of your child. 

We are fortunate to have Theircare available to provide before and after school care for those families that need it. 

SOFT START

The school day for our students starts at 8:55am when the music starts, signalling that it's time to go into classrooms to get organised and ready to learn. The music over the PA sound system needed to be turned down as it was too loud, and not conducive to a calm start to the day. Turning the music down has also meant that you can barely hear  it when the music starts in the yard..

Because of this we have decided to stop the music and have a bell at 8:55am. This will be a clear signal to students that it’s time to go to class, to get organised as the goal is for all students to be seated, ready for learning by the second bell at 9:00am.

Teachers have discussed this with their classes today, so students are aware for Monday morning.

RIDING BIKES TO SCHOOL 

As more students are riding to and from School we would like to remind everyone to make safety a priority. 

We have had reports about students riding around the streets near school in an unsafe manner so would like to remind all students to ride responsibly, follow road rules, and avoid riding around nearby streets before and after school. 

Please ensure that helmets are worn at all times when riding, as this is both a legal requirement and an important way to prevent serious injury. 

We ask families to reinforce these expectations at home so that all students can travel safely and help maintain a safe environment for our local community.

NATIONAL ASSESSMENT PROGRAM - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)

NAPLAN is a literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake.

NAPLAN tests assess student knowledge and skills in writing, reading, language conventions and numeracy. Even though this test provides you with a written report of your child’s results, this does not directly determine their individual school report and it is not the only resource used for our reporting purposes, however it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ educational progress. The data collected from NAPLAN also gives schools an opportunity to identify their strengths and areas for improvement on a school-based level.

The NAPLAN testing window for 2026 is between March 11th and Monday 23rd March. More information will be distributed to our Grade 3 and Grade 5 families shortly.