From the Principal 

Dear Parents and Carers,

It is

 hard to believe we only have two weeks until the end of Term 1. Our students and teachers have worked incredibly hard this Term with lots of learning, making new friends and having lots of fun. It has been wonderful to have some whole school events following COVID, Assemblies, Badge Presentations, Colour Run and Cross Country to name a few. I would like to thank our Students, Teachers, FoSP and parents for all of their efforts with 

the Colour Run, it was an incredible success with around $14,000 dollars raised.  

Successful Greener Government Schools Grant Application

We are delighted to announce the Victorian Schools Building Authority has accepted our grant application and a solar power system will be installed at our school in the coming months.  The GGSB program was established to contribute to the Victorian Government’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050 by promoting environmental sustainability and the use 

of renewable energy in schools. 

Our purpose in applying for the grant was to demonstrate to our students our ongoing commitment to provide examples of real world practices that enable the reduction of our carbon footprint.  The Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) will manage this project for our school.  The installation of solar panels will further support the strong sustainability program at SPS.

Easter Raffle and Easter Bonnet Parade 1st April

Our collection of donated chocolate goodies is growing.  Thank you to our very generous students and their families for your contribution to our annual Easter Raffle. We will be drawing the raffle on the 1st of April. We are looking forward to our Students Easter Bonnet Parade on the 1st April  which we are delighted that Parents are now able to attend, simply scan in with the QR code located around the school. The Easter Bunny may make a special appearance on the day. 

Free Cyber Safety Webinar for Parents and Carers

The ESafety Commissioner is running free webinars throughout March (16th, 17th, 18th and 22nd)  for parents around cyber safety. This webinar will look at how parents and carers can support young people to have safe and respectful online relationships and what to do if things go wrong.

It will cover:

• starting conversations with your child about their online friendships and positive ways to deal with changing relationships
• understanding the rights, laws and community expectations that govern social media use
• where to seek help if your child is involved in a cyberbullying incident.
• The webinar will include case studies, research and targeted advice so you can support the young people in your life to have safe, enjoyable online experiences.

If you would like to attend, please register here: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars

Literacy Apps Offer

Nessy is an online program that supports children to learn the alphabet, phonics, sight words, syllable division and more. They are designed for primary school kids aged 3-8 years old. In celebration of DYS Aware week 2021, Nessy is giving away 3 educational apps for free over the next four weeks.

The apps that are available for free are:

Hairy Phonics 1! Free from 15-21st March

Hairy Words! Free from 22nd-28th March

Chimp Fu! Free from 15th March - 15th April

School Council 

We currently have a vacancy for Community Co-Opted Members. These positions are for 12 months and specifically have a focus for supporting a project or area of need the Council have outlined. If you have skills in Website Design, Landscape Design or Building Services, and would like to join School Council for 12 months, please contact me via the office. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

David Tapp

Acting Principal