Message from the Principal 

Welcome to the last newsletter for this term!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION AND CONTRIBUTION TO YOUR CHILD’S EDUCATION

Looking back over the term really highlights the highly active participation and contribution of our parents, carers, grandparents and local school community members. At Greenhills, there are so many opportunities to be part of your child’s education and we really value your contribution and support. 

Thank you to everyone who has been involved across our school. This includes our classroom helpers, members of our Parent Association & School Council, excursion helpers, swimming program helpers and the list goes on! A special thank you to Mel Lucas & Pru Carr for organising our successful end of term BBQ last Friday and to all those who assisted on the day as well. 

LOST IN THE MOVIES

The excitement is building for our whole-school production, Lost in the Movies, written by our talented Performing Arts teacher, Ashley Dunne. Based on Monday’s dress rehearsals, we are in for a fantastic show and a wonderful celebration of the creativity, confidence and talent of our Greenhills students. We cannot wait to see them take to the stage!

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has contributed in some way, whether through rehearsals, costumes, sets, organisation or supporting our performers. A massive shout-out must go to Ashley for her creativity, dedication and extraordinary effort in bringing this production to life. It is going to be a truly G.R.E.A.T. celebration of our students and school community!

PARENT SURVEY THANK YOU

Thank you to all those families that have completed the 2026 DET Parent & Carer Opinion Survey. We have had 52 families complete the survey which represents 15% of our school population. This solid percentage of completion will enable the results of this survey to be very reliable and useful as we consider way to improve our school into next year and beyond. 

In general, our Parent & Carer Survey results are usually very positive, but we will always strive to improve. For example:

Last year, the 2025 survey results indicated an 

• 88% positive endorsement for “Parent Participation & Involvement” (up from 81% in 2024), 
• 82% positive for Managing Bullying (up from 80% in 2024)
• 90% positive for Respect for Diversity (up from 85% in 2024) 
• 86% positive for General School Improvement (up from 79% in 2024)
• 79% positive for Physical Environment (up from 54% in 2024)

TRANSITION INTO 2027

During the upcoming break we will be spending some time crunching the numbers and developing our school structure for next year. 

I will provide an update to families around what this all means for our school and our class structure for next year at the next Meet with the Principal Team Mid-Term 4 Webex event on Wednesday 18th November at 7.30pm.   

PARENT REQUESTS FOR 2027

As we begin the process of finalising our school structure for next year, considerations around the social, emotional, academic and physical needs of each of our students will form part of this process. Parents and caregivers can make requests for consideration when placing their child into their 2027 class. 

These requests will only be accepted in writing via email and must be received by me: james.penson@education.vic.gov.au by Friday 16th October. 

Please note that requests with respect to specific teachers will not be considered and note that in making a request, there are never any guarantees that these will be granted. 

I would also like to emphasise that it is not a requirement for parents to submit a request. As part of the process all students and staff will also provide information that become part of the class build process. It is also important to note the most effective way for us to manage our class builds is to only include a key separation or pairing and not an extensive list of student names for your child to be with. We are only able to enter one or two student names in relation to how we manage this using our class builder program.   

Our staff team under the guidance of Janine and Brad 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 2027. 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 on our first “Meet the Teacher” session between 9.15am and 10.45am on Thursday 3rd December. 

HILAT Focus: Pursuing Goals

Week 10 – Looking Ahead

What is your next learning goal, and what have you learned about yourself from working towards this one? 

THANK YOU FOR TERM THREE

Well, we made it – the end of Term 3 (well nearly….just a few of Lost in the Movies shows to go!) Thank you to all our students who have achieved so much learning this term. Our principal team is continually impressed each day with the work and learning that we see in all our classrooms. Thank you to our staff. This term has been a big term for all our staff, and as a result we have already achieved many of the goals we set for ourselves as part of our Annual Implementation Plan. Thank you also to all our families for your support and involvement in our school each day. One of the great things about Greenhills is our community! 

I hope everyone can enjoy a bit of a break and spend some family time together, especially with the long weekend in the middle of the break (Friday 25th September public holiday). These holidays are always a wonderful opportunity to catch up and then get ready for the rush to the end of the year. 

James Penson

Principal