Message from the Principal 

WELCOME TO TERM 4

I hope that everyone was able to enjoy some quality time as a family during the break and that our students had the opportunity for some sleep ins, games, movies and all those activities that seem to relax us but also enable us to re-charge as well. 

Fourth term is always a very busy time for schools with end of year activities and also lots of planning and organisation for the next year happening as well. Looking at our school calendar over the next few weeks highlights this and demonstrates that we have hit the ground running. 

To help keep track of this I have attached an updated Community Term Calendar in this newsletter. Don’t forget that our Compass Calendar is now the main go to for making sure you are up to date with all the activities and events each school term. Also, keep your eyes out for our start of term email that is sent out by each of our teaching teams next week. This will contain all the individual details and dates for each level across the school.

BUILDINGS & GROUNDS UPDATE

During the school holidays there was a range of works completed as part of our Buildings and Grounds and our OH & S program. This included a new fence along the garden bed outside the prep and Year 1 classrooms, painting of 2 x Prep classrooms, fresh soft-fall across our playgrounds, sections of our gutters cleaned and bike racks installed. We also arranged some of the more disruptive works that are part of our capital building program to occur when our students were not here.

PRINCIPAL TEAM MATHS CHALLENGE

Don’t forget that we have our fifth Principal Team Maths Challenge up and running. This is a fun challenge with 3 different options all based on shapes. You can access the challenge through your child’s Seesaw account.

TRANSITION 2024

As we begin the term, I thought that I would outline more details about our Transition Program for 2024. The aim of this program is to ensure that every child feels more confident about next year by removing some of the unknowns before the end of this year!

Our Transition program includes our "Year 6 High School Experience Day" on Wednesday 25th October. This is a day of role play where they will experience different subjects and teaching styles, moving to different areas of the school for lessons as they start to get a feel for what next year might have in stall!   

Our 2024 Prep Transition Program also continues following on from our very successful “Experience Greenhills” sessions. These commence on Thursday 9th November, continue over 4 weeks and will be run by our Prep 2024 team. Note that this program has been extended by one week on previous years.

On 18th October we have our "Prep Information sessions for parents and carers." Overall this comprehensive and staged approach enables confidence and comfort to be developed whilst ensuring that our future students develop key school readiness skills. 

At 6.30pm on Tuesday the 21st November, we are hosting a “Step into 2024 Family Education Night”. The focus will be on students attending sessions set up for the following school year level. For example our Prep students and families will experience what it will be like in our Year 1 classrooms.   

On 7th and 12th of December, we will have our “Meet the Teacher” whole school transition sessions. This is where we turn the whole school into 2024. More details including the timings of these days will be outlined in future newsletters so keep your eye out. (*Please note that our Preps for 2024 will only attend the first “Meet the Teacher” session on 7th December).

As you can see, there has been lots of thought and time put into developing a very comprehensive transition program across the whole school. We believe this is really important, especially given the rise on anxiety levels that schools are experiencing.  The more students can experience and understand what the future looks like at our school, the more prepared and ready they will be. 

If you have any questions about our transition program please contact me at the school.

PARENT REQUEST PROCESS FOR TRANSITION INTO 2024

Our team have begun the process of finalising our school structure for 2024. Considerations around the social, emotional, academic and physical needs of each of our students will form part of this process. Parents are able to make requests for consideration when placing their child into their 2024 class. These requests will only be accepted via email and must be received by Friday 20th October: james.penson@education.vic.gov.au

Please note that requests with respect to specific teachers will not be considered. 

Our staff will use this information as part of all the different considerations taken when building our grades. These factors include the social, emotional, physical and academic needs of all students. It is a complex and time-consuming task as we try to ensure that we set up the best possible structure for a successful 2024. During this entire process our decisions are always guided by one major factor and that is the best interests of our students. Details relating to the school organisation, classes of children and the allocation of teachers will be released to students the morning of, just prior to our first “Meet the Teacher” whole school transition sessions on the 7th December and to parents and carers that afternoon.  

Cheers,

James Penson

Principal