Message from the Principal 

GREENHILLS MUSIC FESTIVAL

We were treated to a wonderful range of performances at our 29th Annual Greenhills Music Festival. The bar is always set very high at this event and last week was no exception.

Our vision at Greenhills is for our students to be curious, connected, open to challenge and have a positive impact on our community. We call them our 3 x C’s and events like this really showcases all three in action and if you were lucky enough to be in the audience, you were certainly positively impacted! 

I would like to thank everyone who attended. Our young musicians really appreciate opportunities to perform and be heard. Having such a supportive audience really makes events like this so special. 

Well done to all of our performers. It was a real treat to hear our Recital Choir, Training Choir, Year 3 Choir and so many other ensembles and solo performances.

Thank you to the whole team who deliver and drive our Performing Arts program. This includes Bec Zappia, Gemma Correzzola, Steve Dowell, Danielle Faour, Jamie Kim, Karl Waywehk, Jacqueline Pace and of course the rest of our whole staff team.

A special thank you and acknowledgement to Kate Stewart. We are all in awe of the enormous work, dedication and energy Kate puts into our school. Kate, we are so very grateful for all that you do at Greenhills. 

I am already looking forward to a very special 30th Anniversary Edition of our Music Festival next year! 

WORKING BEE

We had a small group of dedicated parents and students who worked very hard on Sunday morning to weed and mulch the garden bed along the pathways from Mine Street into the school. We filled lots of bags of weeds and moved 10m of bush mulch! Thank-you for helping to keep our school looking GREAT. 

THANK YOU PARENT ASSOCIATION

As the end of the school year is fast approaching I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank all members of our Parent Association this year.

Having enough parent and carer involvement in committees is a growing challenge for schools. Fortunately, our school has a strong culture of volunteering and our Parent Association is a GREAT example of this in action. 

You only have to look at the results of our community building and fundraising activities such as our recent Colour Run to see the impact this group of dedicated parents has had on our school. They have been instrumental in providing valuable funds and most importantly continuing to build and strengthen our connections and what it means to be a member of the Greenhills community. 

Funds raised this year have enabled our school to purchase new classroom furniture for the Year 3 classroom, sports equipment for all classrooms to use at recess and lunchtime, bike racks, some TV screens for classrooms to replace our older projectors and a significant investment in guided reading materials across the entire school.

Thank you to Josh & Melanie Lucas, Craig Powell, Melinda Smith, Hayley Ormandy, Alyshia Ninness, Melanie Mackertich, Emma Oliver, Donna Anderson, Jackie Lacey, Merike Bailey, Trudi Waterfall, Amy Sedgwick, Karen Daly, Sarah Gibson, Afshin Koohestani, Sarah Leach & Ros Mackie.

Special thanks to Josh for leading our PA and I think we are all set for a sensational 2024.

EXCITEMENT AROUND OUR TRANSITION PROGRAM

One of my favourite days of the school year is when our students attend the first transition session, so just like our students, I am very excited about tomorrow.

Our team is really looking forward to these transition sessions this Thursday and the following Tuesday. They provide our students with a great opportunity to feel more confident with what next year will look like for them. We can then all have a relaxing holiday with less worry about what school will be like next year.

At this stage, we do not usually make any more changes to the classes as much time and effort has been already spent on developing the best grade structure and student placement as possible. Part of this process did provide all parents with the opportunity to make requests based on educational grounds. These are just requests and whilst they are considered they are not always granted as there are several other factors that have a higher priority for us. 

It is important to become literate and numerate but just as important are the life skills of resilience and the ability to deal with situations when we do not get our own way. A big part of this is teaching our students to accept the umpire’s decision and focus back on going the best we can in the game. The best way to teach this is through modelling this behaviour ourselves. 

A really important part of this process is for our students to be supported by their parents so that the transition into a new class and year level can be positive. There might always be some hesitation, nervousness and apprehension, but our teachers will work very hard so that each and every child can achieve success. 

You can read more about the strategies that will support them in a GREAT transition to their new class in our Assistant Principal’s Wellbeing section of this newsletter.

ACTIVE TO SCHOOL PROGRAM & FUEL FREE FRIDAY

We had a very successful Fuel Free Friday & Pop-Up Engagement session run by Banyule City Council last Friday. The Pop Up provided that extra bit of excitement for everyone around our Fuel-Free Friday and we also gained some valuable insights from the activities and conversations with students and parents in the process.

NEXT WEEK

Don’t forget that our final school assembly will be held on Friday 15th December at 2.30pm. 

There is no school for students on Tuesday 19th December and then the last day of school is Wednesday 20th with a 1pm dismissal. 

START UP 2024 DATES & TIMES

School will begin for all students other than our Preps on Wednesday 31st January at 8.55am. 

Prep students will commence via a staggered start on either Wednesday 7th February or Thursday 8th February. They will then attend each school day as normal from Friday 9th February as we have combined all of our allocated prep entry assessment days into the first week of the school year.

James Penson

Principal