Acting Principal's Report

Hello DPW Community,

I am grateful for all the amazing weather we have at the moment, even though a little chilly today, and really hope that it continues for a little while longer, especially for next week when our Year 5 students go off to camp.

It has been a busy couple of weeks. I’d like to formally extend my thanks to Mrs McLeod for organising and leading, along with our School Captains, our ANZAC Commemorative Assembly on the 24th April. I am very proud of the way all students demonstrated our school values, in particular respect, throughout the assembly. 

Victoria University Secondary College Celebration

Last Wednesday night I had the privilege of attending Victoria University Secondary College (VUSC) as they celebrated being chosen as one of only two AVID Demonstration Schools in Victoria. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination and is a highly successful teaching program that teaches students organisational habits and skills, critical writing and reading skills, inquiry and collaborative skills.

A past student spoke about how all the skills they learnt at VUSC supported them enormously when they went to university. A current student spoke about how what he is learning now is helping him to develop strong study habits and organisational skills. Two parents spoke about the changes they saw in their children, from struggling to study and complete tasks to becoming organised, more efficient and effective writers, and more engaged in their learning. 

As a majority of students at DPW transition to VUSC, we are exploring strategies to better support them in preparation for this next step. If you have a child in year 6, you may hear them speaking about Cornell Notes, which are a key part of the AVID program. By building this knowledge in our students now, we anticipate that this will give them a strong head start when they begin their secondary journey at VUSC.

Bicycle and Scooter Safety 

We are very pleased to see an increase in the number of students riding their bikes and scooters to school. It’s a fantastic way to travel and a great way to stay active. However, we are concerned about the number of children riding without a helmet. Helmets significantly reduce the risk of serious head injury, and I have seen first‑hand how important they are in an accident. Our students are incredibly important to us, and we want them to grow and thrive — protecting their brain is a vital part of that.

All people who ride a bicycle or scooter are required by law to wear a helmet. 

If your child rides their bike or scooter to school without an appropriate helmet, we will not allow them to ride it home without one. They will need to bring a helmet to school the following day, or an adult will need to come to collect their bike/scooter.

Reminders:

Enrolments for Foundation 2027 are now open. 

For any families wishing to get to know our school a little before making the decision to enrol, we have some dates available for a tour:

Tuesday 26th May – 2:30pm

Wednesday 10th June – 12pm

Should you wish to attend one of the school tours, please contact the office on 9363 3519, to reserve a place.

The next Volunteer Induction session will be held tomorrow 8th May at 9:15am. If you interested in attending, please register at the office and pick up your information pack. Please note that you require a current Working with Children Check.

We will be making a change to the frequency of our school newsletter this term. Newsletters will now be shared every fortnight, on odd‑numbered weeks. This means that during the term, you will receive the school newsletter on odd weeks, and on even weeks we will be hosting our school assembly.

Kindest Regards,

Deanne Scott

Acting Principal