From the Principal Team

Building Connections

At Great Ryrie we are committed to developing strong partnerships with our parents and carers. Strong links between home and school provide good opportunities for teachers to understand children's attitudes to learning, their rate of progress and level of attainment. 

There have been some great opportunities to connect with school over the last few weeks and we are hoping to meet with you the old-fashioned way, in person as soon as possible. 

Getting to know you interviews

Thank-you to our  families for tuning in to share important details about their children with the classroom teachers. The extra information enables the teachers to plan their programs to tailor more effectively to individual needs. 

Parent Information Sessions

The parent information sessions were highly successful. Teachers shared the curriculum content with families for particular year levels and also tried to eliminate the smaller details that can sometimes be worrying like- how much food to put in a lunch box? 

Thank-you to the teachers who put in many additional hours to ensure they could go ahead on-line away from their own lives. 

Fundraising Committee

Melissa ran the first Fundraising Committee meeting for the year. Make sure you look at the Fundraising page to find out how you can support our Term 1 events and join the next meeting.  

Mask Wearing Years 3-6 

Year 3 - 6 Students - Mask Wearing

It still remains a requirement for our 3-6 students to wear a face mask, (unless an exemption applies), when indoors on the school site. For students in F-2 mask wearing is not mandatory and remains a parent or student choice. 

We have noticed that many students are forgetting to bring their face masks to school. We do have a small supply of masks at the office, however nowhere near enough to handout to all the students in year 3-6 each day. If parents could please assist with sending a face mask to school where applicable. A plastic resealable bag is also helpful to store the mask in their schoolbags when going outside at recess and lunch.   

Please note that students with a physical or intellectual disability are not required to wear a face mask where their disability means it would not be suitable. 

Talking with children about face masks can help them cope and explore their feelings. Here are some suggestions to talk with your children about masks from the 

Raising Children Network.

For older children, you can work through the steps below.

1.  Make time to talk about face masks. The best time to talk about face masks is when you can give your child your full attention.  This could be at dinner, bath time, or bedtime.  If you can, have a mask ready to show your child.

2.  Use a calm, reassuring and positive tone.  If you sound calm and reassuring when you talk with your child about face masks, your child is more likely to feel safe and secure.

3.  Find out what your child knows.  Start by asking your child what they know about face masks, whether they’ve seen people wearing face masks and whether they have any questions.  

4.  Explain face masks in a way your child understands.  This is about sticking to the facts and focusing on the positives.  For example:

• ‘When we talk, breathe, cough and sneeze, snot and saliva can come out of our nose and mouth.  Face masks can stop the snot and saliva getting on other people. It’s best to keep snot and saliva to ourselves!’
• ‘Healthy people wear face masks.  Lots of people, like doctors, nurses and teachers, wear face masks to do their jobs.  Wearing masks is one way we can help to keep everyone safe from COVID-19.

5.  Tune into your child’s feelings about face masks.  Ask your child how they’re feeling and listen to what your child says.  Let your child know that their feelings are OK.  You can also ask your child what they need to feel better.  It might reassure your child if you share your own feelings and let your child know what you’re doing to cope.

Have a wonderful weekend 

Karen Rouda 

Spotlight on Staff

Melissa Roberts: Assistant Principal

I am entering my seventh year as Assistant Principal at GRPS and feel incredibly grateful to be part of such a wonderful community. When I left my previous school after 12 years, I didn't think it possible to feel so connected and love another school so much! I particularly enjoy all the ridiculous things Mrs Rouda makes me do....

I'm incredibly proud of the work the staff, students and parents have done throughout my time at GRPS, to encourage and promote such an inclusive environment. I love my role as AP because I get to know so many different students and families, and help support students to achieve their best. Working alongside the teachers to ensure we offer engaging curriculum is also a favourite part of my job, as well as handing out value cards and awarding 'Bucket Filler' certificates.

Now for a bit about me: I live in Cheltenham which is very close to the beach, but quite far from GRPS. My favourite things to do are to walk along the beach and spend the summer reading on the sand and going for swims. On the weekends you will find me catching up with friends and family, especially my two cheeky nephews. Last year I celebrated a special birthday for an entire week with lots of friends and family. I'm very lucky to have such wonderful friends and family. I do love travelling and have visited 12 countries. 

Now, Mrs Rouda has led you all astray in her spotlight section in the last newsletter and I need to set you straight. Essendon, is by far the more superior AFL team and we have the staff representation to prove it. Mrs Rouda and I get along famously and love working together, but I'm not going to lie, our love for Essendon and Richmond can get in the way. 

Go bombers!