Principal's Report

Dear Members of the Glen Waverley Primary School Community,

I trust all is well with you and your family and welcome to this fortnight’s newsletter where so much is shared about our wonderful school.

As per usual, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to see me at school or contact me on 9802 9938 or via email at frank.catalano@education.vic.gov.au 

Chess Team Update 

As you may be aware, our school chess teams continue to achieve extraordinary feats. Since our last newsletter, they have participated in the following events:

Chess Victoria State Finals:

• Open Team: Our Open Team performed exceptionally well, and I am absolutely thrilled to announce that they were crowned State Champions, placing 1st in Victoria! 

• Congratulations to Amaya, Samuel, Naveen, Aadyah and Jaden on this outstanding achievement. What makes this success even more remarkable is that this is the third consecutive year that our students have claimed first place in the state, an extraordinary accomplishment that reflects their talent, dedication, teamwork and commitment to excellence. 

As a result of this incredible achievement, the team will now have the honour of representing Victoria at the National School Team Event on 5 and 6 December. We wish them every success as they take this next exciting step and look forward to sharing further updates on their journey.

Northern Star Finals

• Our school Open team also competed in this event, and I am absolutely thrilled to announce that they also placed 1st, for the 4th Year in a row – wow, what an incredible achievement!

Congratulations to the following children who qualified for an individual prize:

• Jaden (Year 6) – Year 5/6 Silver medal
• Jahnavi (Year 5) – Year 5/6 Bronze medal

Also congratulations to the following children who placed in the top 15:

• Jaden
• Jahnavi
• Amaya
• Naveen 
• Manish 

A sincere thank you to all of the children who represented our school and thank you to their parents the way they have supported the children as well.

• Also congratulations to Tanisha and Sihara who participated in the Northern Star Junior chess championships. 
• Tanisha and was awarded the gold medallion for her age group. What makes this so special is that it is Tanisha’s first medallion. Well done and congratulations Tanisha!

• Sihara also received her first chess certificate and prize, which made the experience even more special for her. In Sihara’s own words:"I was so happy and excited after the tournament! I tried my best and had lots of fun. I want to play in more chess tournaments!"

Once again, congratulations and well done to all the children that represented our school as you should all be incredibly proud and I look forward to providing more chess news soon. 

Congratulations to the following children for their outstanding achievements

Australian Junior Mathematics Olympiad

Samuel (Year 5) recently participated in the 2026 Australian Junior Mathematics Olympiad (AJMO), and I am absolutely thrilled to report that he achieved a Distinction Award!

The AJMO is a new Olympiad-style mathematics competition introduced this year, designed for students up to Year 8. Samuel’s outstanding achievement is particularly noteworthy, as his result is assessed within a combined cohort of students up to Year 8.

Congratulations Samuel on this wonderful accomplishment! Your hard work, mathematical talent and dedication are truly commendable, and we are incredibly proud of your success.

State Athletics Championships

Lincoln (Year 5) has had an outstanding year in athletics, and we are delighted to celebrate his wonderful achievement in qualifying for the 2026 State Athletics Championships!

Lincoln progressed through the various levels of competition to earn his place among Victoria’s best young athletes. Competing in the Shot Put, Lincoln achieved an impressive throw of 10.34 metres, placing him 10th overall in a highly competitive field. The winning athlete recorded a throw of 12.66 metres, highlighting the exceptional standard of competition.

Qualifying for the State Championships is a remarkable accomplishment, and Lincoln you should be incredibly proud of your determination, commitment and perseverance throughout the season. Congratulate, well done and thank you Lincoln – I look forward to seeing you continue to flourish in athletics!

ICAS Assessments 

We are incredibly proud to celebrate the outstanding achievements of two of our students in the 2026 ICAS assessments!

Hansen (Year 5) has achieved an exceptional result in the ICAS Spelling assessment, receiving a medal as the equal highest-scoring student in this category. This is a remarkable accomplishment and a wonderful recognition of Hansen’s spelling ability, dedication and commitment to learning.

We are equally delighted to congratulate Lesara (Year 6), who achieved the extraordinary distinction of being equal highest in the state in both the ICAS English and Writing assessments. This outstanding achievement reflects Lesara’s exceptional literacy skills, creativity and ability to communicate ideas with clarity and sophistication.

These results are a wonderful testament to the hard work and dedication of Hansen and Lesara. Please join me in congratulating the children on their remarkable achievements and are incredibly proud to see their talents recognised at a state level. Well done!

iSTEP campaign 

Congratulations to Aneel and Thesara (both in Year 5) for their monumental effort! On the weekend of October 17–18, Aneel and Thesara tackled a massive endurance milestone as they walked 38 kilometres in a single day! The children, with the help of their family and friends, walked from St Kilda Pier all the way to Frankston Pier along the Port Phillip Bay Trail to raise funds for the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation. 

I am thrilled to report that the children not only successfully finished the charity walk, but they also managed to raise a very impressive $6,700 for the hospital! 

Well done and congratulations Aneel and Thesara as this is a phenomenal achievement and something that you should be incredibly proud of! I’m sure our entire school community (including me) are very, very proud of you! 

Attached are some pictures and a short video of the girl’s iSTEP campaign. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dK8hPUdEXzTHj85krMGxSH4avI9_S0R_/view?usp=sharing

Gymnastics

Shenelle (Year 4) is an avid gymnast and regularly competes in rhythmic gymnastics.

Last month, Shenelle participated in the Junior Victorian State Gymnastics Championships, organised by Gymnastics Victoria, where she competed in the High Performance Category for the 8–10 age group in Rhythmic Gymnastics.

I am delighted to share that Shenelle won gold medals in all three of her routines, earning the title of All-Round Victorian State Champion 2026 in the Development Level!

Wow, Shenelle what an amazing achievement - well done, congratulations and keep up the fabulous commitment as all your hard work is coming to fruition! We are all extremely proud of you!

2027 Student Leadership Team

I would like to wish all our Year 5 students the very best as they embark on the exciting journey of being considered for a position on our 2027 Student Leadership Team.

It has been wonderful to see such enthusiasm, commitment and a genuine desire to make a positive contribution to our school community. This year, we received an impressive 87 applications for the role of School Captain. Following a thorough selection process, 20 students were shortlisted for an interview, and ten students are now preparing their speeches as they progress to the next stage of the process.

Applications for Curriculum and House Captain positions closed on Wednesday 11 November, and teachers will commence interviewing students shortly. We look forward to seeing our Year 5 students demonstrate their leadership qualities, share their ideas and reflect on how they can contribute to the continued success of our school.

Regardless of the outcome, we encourage every student to embrace this experience as a valuable opportunity for personal growth, self-reflection and the development of important leadership skills.

We wish all our applicants the very best and look forward to proudly announcing the 2027 Student Leadership Team on Monday 7 December!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED A PRINCIPAL’S AWARD RECENTLY: 

Prep

• Rehansa, Shlok, Quinny, Rysha, Maddie and Kyra for making the time and for being very thoughtful in providing beautiful cards for my office 
• Joshil for making excellent progress with his writing 
• Imaya for working very hard to practice her speech for the Prep Prom
• Selene and Shlok for being incredibly creative as they created a shaker using cardboard, rice and balloons 

Year 1

• Sohum, Aekish, Cathira and Ramin for being very thoughtful in ensuring our school yard is neat and tidy 
• Thank you to Kriyansh, Viraaj, Aekarsh, Ramin, Sohum (Year 1) and Agam (Year 4) for building more Lego cars for our school display cabinet. 

Year 2

• Arvin and Taksh for thoughtfully sharing what they learnt and experienced during their excursion to Scienceworks 
• Ashley and Sohana for learning all about data and graphs 
• Foram, Shakya, Aadit, Eknoor, Shenara and Anaira for writing excellent recounts about their excursion to Scienceworks 
• Lyon and Savini for completing outstanding home learning 

Year 4

• Vivienne, Ayaan, Ameliya, Max, Maya and Ella for writing excellent reflections about the Year 4 camp as featured in the Kids Corner section of the newsletter 

Year 5

• Eli for making outstanding progress with his Maths skills and understanding 

Wishing everyone a safe and happy fortnight, 

Frank Catalano

Principal