Dear Parents and Carers,

We are now past the halfway mark for this term, with a lot still to occur.

Reconciliation Week: Yesterday marked the end of Reconciliation Week for 2027, with June 3rd being Mabo Day. Mabo Day commemorates Eddie Koiki Mabo (1936–1992) a Torres Strait Islander whose campaign for Indigenous land rights led to a landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that on 3 June 1992, overturned the legal fiction of terra nullius which had characterised Australian law with regards to land and title since the voyage of James Cook in 1770. We celebrated with an afternoon tea for all our Koori family and students. Thank you to Mr Proctor, who leads Koori Club for your organisation and Effie, one of our Teacher Admin Assistant, who set up a beautiful display.

Curriculum Day: The next Curriculum Day is scheduled for tomorrow Friday 5th June, to coincide with the King’s Birthday Holiday on Monday the 8th June. Students are not required at school on this day. However, staff will be present to moderate assessments, ensuring consistency across all classes. We are also revisiting our school values and how they align with the Educations Department’s Values, as well as learning about the communication tool used by some students across the school . Teachers will also spend ½ day on Report writing.

Student Academic Reports Semester 1: We will be providing student achievement reports for Semester 1 this year as usual. The reports will be distributed on Monday 22nd June. The reports will continue to provide important details about student learning attainment, but full descriptive comments may not be included as a result of industrial action taken earlier this term by the Australian Education Union. We will of course be pleased to discuss with you your child’s progress at our next parent-teacher interviews scheduled for Thursday 25th June or, as always, you can contact the office on 9743 5818 to arrange a meeting with your child’s teacher. If an additional report is required due to separated families, please contact the office or your child’s teacher and we can arrange for it to posted or email to you.

Parent Teacher Interviews: An opportunity to speak to your child’s teacher about their progress will be at the June Parent Teacher Interviews scheduled for Thursday 25th June from 2.00 – 6.30 pm. Information about booking a time will be available today, so please keep an eye out for this.

Prep Enrolments 2026 Open: If you or somebody you know has a child turning 5 before 30th April 2027, they are eligible to attend school in 2027. All children have a guaranteed place in their local school, and some schools, like ours, can accept enrolments outside their designated area. If you feel your child is ready to start school next year and would like to find out more about what we have to offer, please call the office to join one of our small group tours. These are fortnightly on a Thursday from 9.30am or monthly in the evening at 6.00pm. To help with organising staff and preparing for an effective transition program, enrolments should be received by the end of July 2026.

Year 7 Enrolments: Next week, secondary schools are letting us know which applications have not been accepted by them. We then forward the application to the 2nd, then 3rd preference. Secondary schools need to know how many students they are expecting in 2027 so they can plan for staffing, subjects they offer and individual support for transition as required. Notification to parents about which school your child has been given a place for will be provided to parents/carers on WEDNESDAY 24th June 2026. If you do not get your preferred school, you can put in an appeal in writing to the school you prefer by Friday 17th July 2026, with notification of the outcome sent back to the parents by Tuesday 4th August. If your appeal to the school is unsuccessful, you can then appeal to the Region by Tuesday 18th August. You will be notified of a final outcome of the appeal by 16th October 2024. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns, and if you have not returned your form PLEASE ensure it is retuned as soon as possible.

Smoking and Vaping Ban: Parents, carers, schools, and community all play an important role in protecting children and young people from, and educating them about, the harmful effects of smoking and vaping. Research from the Royal Children’s Hospital shows many parents and carers are not aware of the harmful effects or how their views about smoking and vaping can impact the likelihood of a young person taking up smoking or vaping. The Department of Education has developed resources to help you learn more about the health risks of smoking and vaping. The resources include advice about how to talk to children and young people about vaping, and where to get support. To access the resources, go to https://www.vic.gov.au/smoking-and-vaping-advice-parents You can also view this video on smoking and vaping from experts at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne for health advice and tips for starting a conversation with young people.

High Levels of Learning for All

Michelle CostaPrincipal

High Levels of Learning for All

Michelle Costa

Principal

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