Principal's News

Dear Clayton North Primary School Community

This is the final newsletter for this term. We are still waiting for some consistent warm weather to brighten our day and our mood!

Successful Community Grant

Last month, we were delighted to hear that Clayton North Primary School was successful in their application for a $15,000 community grant to support our efforts in building a cultural community garden and water conservation project. I want to acknowledge and thank Radhika for her submission, which paints an inspiring vision of an intergenerational gardening program, where we can involve our neighbouring residents from the Aged Care Centre, and a cultural garden that facilitates engagement with our families. We also aspire to educate our students on ways to conserve water and make efficient use of our existing water tanks.  

An official photoshoot to announce the successful grant recipients was conducted at the school on the 30th August. Key personnel from Yarra Valley Water and the Alexander Aged Care Centre were in attendance, along with our student representatives. Amora, Tristan, Nubaid, Keenan and Isaiah from Year 5/6 were excellent ambassadors for our school and presented themselves respectfully and attentively. The media release will be shared with the community when we receive it.

School Saving Bonus

Some great news to share - families with a child enrolled in a government school from Prep to Year 12 in 2025 will receive the one-off $400 School Saving Bonus. The $400 School Saving Bonus provides families with support for education-related costs, such as school activities and/or school uniforms and textbooks. The School Saving Bonus is not available for full-fee international students, home-schooled students, TAFE students and students attending kindergarten in 2025.    This bonus payment from the State Government is designed to assist families to alleviate some of the financial pressure by providing funds to support education. For example, some of the funding could be used to pay for our annual swimming program or to pay for your child to attend a school camp. Please find more information in the Office news section of this newsletter. 

Victorian State Schools Spectacular

A final plug and good luck to our students who have been rehearsing at the John Cain Arena over the last two days. We are looking forward to your two performances tomorrow. Thank you to Jenny and Kathie for investing their time and energy to prepare the children and for the opportunity to put our school forward as a participant in this statewide performing arts event. 

Tickets to the event can be purchased via the State Schools Spectacular website. If you don't get the chance to go to their official performances on Saturday, you may be in for a treat at next Tuesday's assembly! 

School Communication Platforms

As we head into the term holidays, I want to encourage all families to ensure that you are connected to the school via all three platforms that we use for communication - Compass, Seesaw and the newsletters. If you do not have access or are unable to access any one of the three platforms, please contact the office for assistance. Key information and messages go out to families on a regular basis, so it is important to have your notifications switched on for both Compass and Seesaw. 

Final student-free day, Term 4

We have one student-free day left for this year. Following careful consideration, we have scheduled this for Monday, 4th November, the day before the Melbourne Cup Day public holiday, and believe this will cause the least inconvenience to families. This was approved by school council last week, and the day will be used for writing of the semester reports.

Safe driving

We have been alerted to unsafe driving and dangerous parking practices while dropping children in the morning. Please note that the service road is a 40km/h zone. Young children are walking to the school gates, getting out cars, etc., so please be extra vigilant behind the wheel.

Have a safe and enjoyable holiday!

Sue Simadri