Assistant Principal Reports

Hello Everyone,

Happy New Year for 2025, the year of the Wood Snake, to all of our families and extended community! 

It was great to see so many happy students come through the school gates on the first day of this year. 

Attendance at School

Let’s get the new year off to a great start by remembering that everyday counts. It is important that your children attend school every day (of course with exception of illness and a few other reasons). Just missing one day a fortnight equals missing a year and a half over 13 years of schools. That’s a lot of missed learning opportunities!

It’s also important to try to be on time for each school day. Being only 10 minutes late to school every day, adds up to missing almost a week and half of school over a year. Try to make medical appointments for outside of school hours or at least after 3pm if and when possible. 

If your child is unwell or missing school for some other reason, please remember to log their absence on Compass or call the school to notify us. If your child is going to be absent for more than one day, please contact their teacher to see if there is any learning your child might be able to complete at home to reduce the likelihood of them missing out on important concepts.

2025 Canteen Service

We are pleased to announce that this year we will be using the lunchtime canteen service provided by Classroom Cuisine. The service will begin on Friday 31st January. You need to order by 8.30am the day of the service, and can order in advance (even a few days before).

The service will deliver only at lunch time. When you order the food, it will all be delivered at the same time, before 1.30pm on our designated days (Monday, Thursday & Friday). You will need to send your child to school with a snack for recess.

Should you wish to use this service, you will need to register to create your own account. For information about how to do this, please use this link: https://classroomcuisine.com.au/ and click on the Register button. Add your details, then the details of your child/ren and select their class. You will then be ready to order.

Please see the flyer in this newsletter for more details about the menu.

Pride and Integrity Raffle 

This raffle, recognizes all of the students who are attending school on time. This is to acknowledge the students demonstrating Pride and Integrity by being ready to learn each day.

Every student who is at school, and in their classroom, before the bell (9am) will have their name added to the class attendance box. So, if they are present on time, every day of the week, they will have 5 entries into the raffle. 

2025 Term 1 Challenge of the Week

Week 1– Alphabet Challenge - Reptiles 

This term, the challenge of the week will be an alphabet challenge. I will set a topic and you need to find a word related to that topic for each letter of the alphabet, or as many as you can. You can find more than one word for each letter.

You must collaborate with at least one other person (a friend, parent, classmate, etc) and no more than 3 other people. If you do not collaborate, you will not receive a PAC for Collaboration.

Please hand your answers to the office before 3.30pm on Wednesday 5th February.

Kind regards,

Deanne Scott

Assistant Principal 

Hello Deer Park West PS community!

My name is Joshua Fielding, and I am thrilled to introduce myself as the new Assistant Principal. I am excited to join this wonderful school and look forward to working with our students, staff, and families.

For the past two years, I have been the Numeracy Learning Specialist and Mental Health and Wellbeing Officer at Thomastown West PS. Before that, I spent 15 years as a classroom teacher at Cairnlea Park PS. I am passionate about creating a supportive and engaging learning environment where all students can thrive.

A little about me—I'm a local to the area, having grown up in St Albans. I played junior football at Albanvale FC and have enjoyed playing cricket for many years. I’m a big sports fan and love both watching and playing a variety of sports. These days, I love spending my weekends and holidays with my fiancée, Nikki, our two wonderful children, Jasmine (5) and Maxwell (3), and our energetic Border Collie, Nelly.

I’ve heard so many great things about the amazing students and community at Deer Park West PS, and I can’t wait to meet you all. I look forward to working together to make this a fantastic year!

Joshua Fielding

Assistant Principal