From the Leadership Team
Dear GPS community,
A very warm welcome back to term three to all of our students and families. I offer a very special welcome to all of our new families and students who have begun their journey with our school community this term. I also extend a warm welcome to the thirty-six new Foundation students and their families as our inaugural mid-year group. I trust that your experiences so far at our school have been positive and welcoming and that you feel a part of our very strong and close-knit community.
The beginning of term three has also seen the official beginning of our new year 3/4 and 4/5 classes. It has been wonderful to see these fabulous kids settle in so well to their new learning environments and routines. Congratulations and again, I offer sincere gratitude to the GPS community for your unwavering support throughout this process.
We have also welcomed numerous new staff members to the GPS team in recent times and on behalf of the entire community I extend to you a very warm welcome to Greenwith Primary School.
Welcome to the following people:
Mark Collier
Mark commenced his role as teacher of the newly created year 4/5 class at the start of this term. Mark is an experienced educator, having served for many years at schools in the UK and internationally.
Amanda Cureton
Amanda joined our staff team at the beginning of term three and also has previous SSO experience and brings a versatile skill set with her.
Pamela Kelly
Pamela Kelly joined our staff team for terms three and four as Acting Deputy Principal.
Pamela is a long-serving teacher and leader at John Hartley B-6 school and has recently fulfilled the role of Wellbeing and Engagement Coordinator.
Josh King
Josh has been appointed into the Wellbeing Coordinator role at GPS. Josh joins us from Blair Athol North B-6 School where he has been a classroom teacher, Intensive English Language teacher and Wellbeing support / Leadership backfill for many years.
Amelia Lewis
Amelia teaches Sustainability on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. With a strong background in Environmental Science, Amelia is excited to take on the role in this exciting new learning area at GPS.
India-Rose Hutchinson
India has been a regular and important member of our vital group of relief teachers and has now also begun officially as a member of the GPS staff team in 306 on Fridays and various other roles throughout the school.
Taylor Roberts
Taylor has been appointed as ICT support from the beginning of term three to support Angelo Leombruno in the role as our school continues to grow. Taylor brings many years of experience as an ICT service technician.
Dani Seymour
Dani will teach Sustainability on Mondays and team teach with Amelia. Dani is currently a part-time PE teacher at Athelstone Primary School and well known and respected by the GPS community with sons Max and Riley (Kindy) already part of our school community.
Lauren Smith
Ex-GPS student Lauren also joined our team of SSO’s recently. Lauren is studying nursing and is enjoying being back at GPS.
Amie Smith
Amie has worked as an SSO at The Heights School and joined our GPS staff team at the beginning of term three. Amie and her family are well known amongst the GPS community with sons Levi, Rocco, Hudson, and Leo all current students at GPS.
Carla Witzman
We recently welcomed Carla to the GPS staff team as an SSO. Carla has previous SSO experience and has already begun supporting our learners.
Yours sincerely,
Darren
NAPLAN results
NAPLAN results will be sent home to students in years 3 and 5 on Friday, 2 August.
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual national assessment for all students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9, and is the only nationwide assessment that all Australian children undertake.
It’s a measure to see whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning, and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community. The results should be considered together with school-based assessments and reports.
Premier's Reading Challenge
The countdown is on! Reading concludes on the 6th of September.
Research confirms reading to children just 10 minutes each day strengthens literacy, models positive reading behaviour, and builds children’s self-esteem about reading (especially for boys).
It doesn’t stop there. You can show your children that you value reading by reading yourself. Having books in your house makes a big difference too. Either books you own or books you borrow from the library remind children of the importance and fun of reading.
The Premier’s Reading Challenge is most successful when parents show interest and support their children. Help your child read their 12 books for the year and you will be making a positive difference to their future.
Student reading records need to be handed to class teachers or the Resource Centre by Friday, 6 September (end of week 7). Happy reading!
School camp survey
As school staff, we see many benefits from participating in activities such as going on camp. This includes building social skills, problem-solving skills, independence and resilience, and students being exposed to opportunities and experiences that they may not otherwise engage in. We also thoroughly enjoy attending these activities with students, as they are a great opportunity to help strengthen relationships within our classes.
However, we understand with the current economic climate that extra-curricular activities such as camp are putting extra financial pressure on families. We are seeking some parent input as to how camp could look at Greenwith Primary School (GPS) in the future.
Please follow this link to complete a quick survey and share your thoughts with us.
Optional student progress conferences
Last week, your child should have brought a letter home from their class teacher informing you whether they request an interview or not. If your child is new to the school or placed in 409 or 410, we highly recommend making a time to meet with your child's teacher.
The optional student progress conferences will be held in weeks 5 & 6 of this term. To book, go to https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/xje26 before Monday, 12 August at 3pm.
School photos - Wednesday, 31 July
School photo day ran smoothly and family photos were captured for all who had ordered one. If your child was absent on Wednesday, 31 July, we have another opportunity to photograph them on Tuesday, 6 August.
If you are yet to place an order, please head over to www.theschoolphotographer.com.au and enter code X8066EC47G within the next couple of weeks to ensure your order is included with the school delivery.
School hats
As per our Sun Smart policy, school hats are back for terms 3 and 4. For further information, view the policy on the school website.