Message from the Principal

2026 Staffing and Classes

Last week, our students in Year 1-6 started in their 2026 class. They are meeting their teachers, making new friends, and learning new routines.   

Our school currently has 662 students enrolled. We have formed 29 classes.   

Transitioning to a new class can be both exciting and challenging for students, and your support plays a crucial role in ensuring a smooth and positive experience. Encourage your child to share their thoughts and feelings about the new class. Listen attentively and address any concerns they may have. I encourage you to talk to your child’s teacher if you have any questions or concerns. We are committed to providing a supportive and enriching learning environment for your child.   

Below is a list of our classes and their teachers.    

Specialist Staff Organisation 

Release from face-to-face (RFF)  

Library: Ms L Grassi, Mrs K Tortura, Mrs Bohosian 

Science: Ms L Trinh, Miss J Fong, Ms C Graby 

Physical Education: Mr B Cummins, Mr C Babaian 

Learning and Support team 

Learning and Support Teachers (LaST): Mrs A Crawford, Mrs R Spence 

English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EALD): Mr J McCarthy, Ms K Zhang, Mr M Fenech, Ms M Emeleus, Mr L Johnston, Mrs W Alam, Mr B Train 

New Arrivals Program (NAP): Mrs W Alam 

School Learning Support Officers (SLSOs)  

Mrs S Evans, Mrs N Siwik, Ms Stevenson, Mrs N Tashjian, Miss A Lalor, Mrs C Haddad 

School Office Organisation 

School Administrative Staff  

School Administrative Manager (SAM): Mrs Alison Wheelhouse  

School Administrative Officers (SAO): Mrs Monique Provan and Mrs Liza Dukino 

General Assistant: Mr Geoff Muscat  

Executive Organisation 

Principal: Miss C Parada  

Deputy Principal: Ms L Imseih, Mrs A Crawford  

Assistant Principals: Ms M Emeleus, Mr M Fenech, Ms K Zhang, Mr L Johnston, Mr J McCarthy, Mr B Train, Ms J Coluccio   

Assistant Principal, Curriculum & Instruction: Mrs K Houghton  

Lead Teachers: Miss C Chung, Miss J Kilmore, Mrs S Rehman  

Stage leaders   

Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten): Mr J McCarthy, Ms K Zhang 

Stage 1 (Year 1/2): Mr M Fenech  

Stage 2 (Year 3/4): Ms M Emeleus  

Stage 3 (Year 5/6): Mr L Johnston  

Learning and Support and Support Unit: Mr B Train (M-Th) Ms Coluccio (F)  

As you can see, many new staff and staff returning from leave have joined our learning community for 2026. We are excited to introduce these new additions to our staff. These dedicated teachers and specialist staff bring a wealth of experience, enthusiasm, and fresh perspectives to our school community.   

Meet the teacher sessions

Building a strong partnership with your child's teacher is essential. The ‘Meet the teacher’ session is a formal opportunity to meet your child’s class teacher, learn about the class organisation and routines, and be informed of the year’s teaching and learning programs.    

The session will commence in the school hall with a 15 - 20-minute presentation, providing essential information about the upcoming school year. Following the presentation, parents will be invited to visit their child’s classroom, where they can meet the teacher, take a tour of the learning environment, and connect with other parents. 

Please note, this event is designed to share general information and build community; it is not intended for one-on-one discussions about individual students. If you wish to discuss your child’s progress or specific concerns, kindly arrange a separate meeting with the teacher. 

Wednesday 25 February 

Kindergarten:  5:00 – 5:30pm

Year 1 & 2: 5:30 – 6:00pm 

Thursday 26 February 

Year 3 & 4: 5:00 – 5:30pm 

Year 5 & 6: 5:30 – 6:10pm

Support Unit: 5:00pm

Our teachers are looking forward to meeting you and discussing all the exciting things we have lined up for the year.  

We kindly request that children do not attend the event, as their presence can create challenges with supervision and our duty of care responsibilities, as well as potentially disrupt the presentations. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. 

Parents & Citizens (P&C) – Next week

Our first P&C meeting for this year will be next week – Tuesday 17 February. The meeting is held at school in the staffroom and online via Teams starting at 7.30pm.  

The link to the meeting will be posted in next week’s newsletter. 

 All parents are welcome to attend. 

Sentral Student Academic Reports – Important Information

This year, our school will no longer be using the Sentral Parent Portal for Student Academic Reports. As a result, parents may lose access to historical student academic reports via Sentral.  

To ensure you retain a record of your child’s academic progress, we strongly advise you to download and save copies of all academic reports currently available on the Sentral Parent Portal before the end of Week 4, Monday 16 February. 

If you need any assistance with downloading your child’s reports, please do not hesitate to contact the school office. 

School Hats

We want all children to wear the school hat as part of their uniform every day. The school hat is not the same as a regular baseball cap. Generic caps are not part of the school uniform and should not be worn by students at school. 

If a student does not have a school hat, they must stay in the designated shaded area during breaks. This rule helps protect all students from the sun. 

The importance of reading to children

Reading to children allows them to experience the pleasures reading can bring, to learn vocabulary, sentence structures and the patterns of language and texts, and to see different purposes for reading, all without the cognitive overload of having to lift the words from the page themselves. They can focus on meaning, emotion and enjoyment. This remains just as important for older children. 

A child’s reading comprehension does not catch up with their listening comprehension until around the age of 12 or 13. Reading aloud to children and reading with them therefore continues to matter long after they can read independently, offering access to richer language and more complex texts than they might manage alone.