This year, we welcome four new parents to School Council as well as the appointment of a new President, Louise Martin. Here is a little bit about each of our Councillors so you can get to know them better. They are your voice to the school leadership, so always feel free to chat to them about ideas you have to make our school even better.

Louise Martin

Hi DPS community, I'm Lou Martin and this year I’m very excited to be President of the Donvale Primary School Council.

A little about me and my family.

We have been part of the DPS community since 2014. Our first daughter, Charlotte is now in Year 10 at Catholic Ladies College and still pops into the school to say hi to the teachers, which says a lot about how impactful DPS was to her early learning years. And we have Lucy in Grade 6 and is the loud, excitable School Captain.

Tim, my husband is the one helping on the BBQ’s at the events, “ only for a while” he says…………. 4 hours later!

We are mad Collingwood supporters, love a laugh and enjoy being around friends and family.

I’m very honoured to be school President in my last year here at DPS. I welcome all feedback and would like to ensure I am, as all the School councillors are, a voice for our community and without you, we wouldn’t have such a great bunch here at DPS.

If you see me, feel free to stop me and say hi!

See you all around the grounds

Lou

Sam Chun

Hi! I am Sam and excited to be part of the DPS School Council for the first time this year and looking forward to connecting with as many parents and families at DPS to work together and collectively continuously improve our lovely school!

Shorts about us!

- Julianne and I have two daughters, Alannah loving life in Foundation and Adelene creating mayhem in childcare

- I work in Education Management and Julianne works in Taxation and Finance

- We love our Donvale area and living here since 2010

Please feel free to reach out to Julianne and myself for any positive and constructive feedback that I can present to the School Council. Of course, as parents we should talk to our Teachers directly as much as we can and if there are any items that we can fundamentally improve, we are all ears!

We are looking forward to all DPS community events this year and we hope to see you all there too!

Leah Martini

Hi, I’m Leah Martini and this year is my first year on the School Council.

I have two kids at DPS, Campbell in 1/2R and Samantha in 3/4P. For us our start to school in 2020 was a bit rocky as Sammy’s first few years of school were affected by Covid lockdowns. Thankfully Campbell had a much smoother start to school last year and we are now fully settled into our routine with both kids at the one school.

My husband Chris and I have our own business, I’m a Photographer and he is a Media Producer. We largely work from home so we are lucky to often have the flexibility to help out at things like canteen, BBQ’s and athletic carnivals. I’m really looking forward to learning more about how the School is run and I hope to be able to pass on any thoughts or feedback that any of you may have. I’m normally on the junior tiger turf for drop off/pick up so please come say hi anytime!

Andrew Hurley

Hi everyone my name is Andrew Hurley and I have two children attending Donvale Primary School, Cienna who is in grade 5 and Jack in grade 2.

I run a small accountancy practice that keeps me busy outside of school drop off and the countless kids’ activities.

Outside of work I enjoy spending time with the family, particularly when we get away exploring different caravan parks. I am sports mad, basically follow any sport that has a ball in it! We have a new edition to our family, a pup called Lola, so if you see me around school with an energetic puppy, please feel free to say hi!

Danielle Svede

I'm Danielle Svede and pleased to be part of the DPS School Council for the first time.

My husband Michael and I have 2 children and this is our third year as members of the DPS community. Our son William is in Grade 2 at DPS and is lucky to have an amazing, caring teacher in Miss Farrington. Next year our daughter Anna will be following in her brother’s footsteps in starting Prep. We chose DPS for our children because we value being part of a close knit community.

I work part time as a criminal lawyer representing children and young people across Gippsland but when I’m not working I like to make it to school pick up so I can catch up with other families. For me I absolutely love seeing all of the happy faces of the kids as they run out of class at the end of the day. For our 2yr old Golden Retriever, Sunny, it’s all about the pats from the kids and carers who are willing to indulge her! Both of us would love to meet you.

I’m really keen to meet other carers and hear from anyone who has views about how we can continue to keep our DPS community thriving and a safe and enjoyable place for all.

As a parent of a neurodiverse child I have a particular interest in ensuring inclusion and support for neurodivergent children and their families in our community. To this end, if you have any ideas on how we can further this, or are interested in joining a DPS parent support group for carers please get in touch!

Amelia Davatzis

My name is Amelia Davatzis and I am excited to be a first-time member of the school council this year. I’ve been an active member of the school community for the past four years as part of the parents association and my husband Emmanuel and I enjoy volunteering wherever we can.

We are the proud parents of Emily who excitedly started prep and is in class FT and Harvey who is in grade 4 with 3/4P.

I hope my time on the school council deepens my understanding about how Donvale Primary School runs and operates and I look forward to having direct input into the future needs of the school. My subcommittee role this year is with building and grounds and I trust my 12 years in the real estate industry will help guide me along the way.

Donvale Primary School has such a joyful community spirit and being enthusiastically involved has expanded this feeling, forming many great friendships along the way. We love it here and wish nothing but the best for this school and our children which is why we are so passionate about giving back.

From the Art Room...

Ms De Stefanis

Community Art Project