PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Principal Meetings

This week I attended two offsite forums for Victorian Government school principals. Key learnings included a focus on best practice emergency management procedures to keep our school community safe, implementation of the new teaching pedagogy and advice on working closely with disgruntled parents. 

Whilst I prefer to be onsite with our students at Plenty Parklands, these meetings are important to ensure we are on top of new initiatives and consistent with other schools. 

International Students

Our three international students on a study tour from China complete their three weeks stay with us today. The visitors placed in years two, four and five have enjoyed their stay and the experience has also been beneficial for their Australian classmates.

A special thank you goes to our new EAL teacher, Mrs. Petrovic who has watched over the students during their time at PPPS. 

Parent Payments

Each year, we ask families for a voluntary contribution, if possible, to support us to add and maintain the many extras we offer over to support your child’s education. 

Whilst the number of families able to support our school in this manner has dropped considerably in the past few years, we do appreciate that families pay this where they can. 

These voluntary contributions go towards the nine support programs we offer, the new facilities you have seen developed recently and to ensuring the upkeep of the laptops and iPads we provide for student learning to name a few. Thank you for your ongoing support.  

Landscaping

This week the landscaper has been in completing six small jobs around the school. These included planting out the prep gardens and clearing the area behind the Ruang and laying a Lilydale topping path for access to the library. 

He also upgraded the garden areas at the entrance to the school and created a new vegetable garden for school use. 

Family Fun Night

The Family Fun night is fast approaching and lots of work is going on behind the scenes in preparation for our whole school celebration. Please look out for ways that your family can support our team as we tick off a long list of jobs that need to be completed before the night. Mrs. Zurzolo in the office is seeking support both during weekly workshops held in the staffroom and also on the actual night. Please contact her if you can help.

New Playground

It is with great excitement that we opened our massive new playground this week. Students have enjoyed exploring this fantastic new play space. Students of all ages have access before and after school, whilst year 2 and 3 students use it at recess and lunchtime. 

Classroom teachers across the school also use it for a quick brain break during learning time when it is needed. This is our second playground renovation in the last 12 months, as we continue to strive to provide the best learning environment possible for your children. 

Chess Club

Due to popular demand, we have moved this year’s chess club to lunchtime to cater for more students. The first session was held today and will be on each Friday at 12:50pm. 

If your child is interested, get them to ask their classroom teacher to visit my office for more information. Last year we had fifteen regular students involved. We are aiming for thirty in 2026. 

Have a great weekend,

David Whewell | Principal