Principal's Report

ANZAC Day

Congratulations to the Year 6 students and their teachers for the extremely moving Anzac Day ceremony held at the front of the school on Wednesday, 27 April. It is always wonderful having our special guest Mr Grant Coultman Smith at our school service.

Grant remained after the service and conducted a “Q and A” aspect for the Year 6 students. I would like to congratulate the students for their excellent questions throughout this time.

Please take a look at the Year 6 page in this newsletter for more photos of the ANZAC Ceremony.

Our Swimming Star from Year 4 - Xavier Wells

Congratulations to Xavier Wells from Year 4 who completed in the Victorian State swimming Finals on Friday 29 April at MSAC.

Xavier won a gold medal in the 10 year old breaststroke and a silver medal in the 10 year old backstroke event. We are all extremely proud of your swimming achievements Xavier- few people can achieve what you have.

A Special Visitor in Year 2-Bumbles the baby lamb

Last week the students in Year 2 had the opportunity to experience firsthand what it is like to be a parent. Bumbles the 10 day old lamb spent the day in the Year 2 classroom.

The children took turns in bottle feeding the lamb every two hours. Mr Bray got the job of changing the pull-up nappy on a regular basis. Bumbles slept much of the day in-between a regular feed routine and a small amount of awake time. Bumbles was abandoned by his mother and Mr Bray and his daughters found her on the side of the road in a very poor state.

Doug and his family have been caring for Bumbles 24/7 and thankfully she is now beginning to put on weight and also to be more steady on her feet.

Therapy Dogs-Welcome Wally who passed with flying colours!

Wally our new therapy dog has also started at school which is extremely exciting.

Frankie our other therapy dog goes for her final exam next Friday so hopefully both Wally and Frankie will be at school on a very regular basis. Good luck for your final exam Frankie!

Term 2

Term 2 is an extremely busy term for our staff and students in Years 5 and 6.

We not only have our winter sports program but also the Cross Country Program. The winter sports program includes: AFL- with Mr Ross and Mr Farmer, Handball- with Mrs Gill, Hockey with Mr Rounsley, Netball with Mrs Hall, Soccer with Mr Arnold and Ms Lowers, Softball with Mr Marashli, Hot Shots with Ms Carter and Recreation with Mrs Diggins.

Our students have sports practice every Wednesday afternoon and compete against our network schools each Friday.

House Cross Country Event

Last Friday our house cross country was held at Balcombe Park Reserve. All students from Years 3-6 participated in this event. It was wonderful watching our students support each other as they completed the event.

Please take a look at the Physical Education page in this newsletter for lots of photos of all the children on the day.

The top 10 students in each age group will now complete at the district Cross country that will be held at Dendy Park today.

Good luck to every member of our school cross country team.

Butterfly Foundation Body Image Presentation

Year 5 and 6

On Thursday 28 April our Year 5 and 6 students participated in a presentation delivered by Melissa from The Butterfly Foundation titled - “Let’s Talk Body Image”. This session was funded by School Focused Youth Services (Family Life).

During the presentation, the students had the opportunity to further develop their body confidence, build resilience and understand the way media and social media presents body images ideals and messages. Students learnt more about protective factors, such as the role of peers and the importance of healthy relationships with their body, eating and physical activity and respecting diversity.

As a result of the Pandemic, we are aware that there has been an increase in eating disorders amongst children. Paediatric psychologist, Parker L Huston states “In general, eating disorders are seen as a maladaptive way of establishing control in one’s life. With so much out of control, many of us turn to things we can control, like our eating and exercise habits”. Eating Disorders in Children Increased During the Pandemic (verywellmind.com)

It is important to us that our students feel healthy and positive about themselves.

2023 Prep Transition Program

Our 2023 Transition Program as now commenced. It is wonderful knowing that the last two years are behind us as we can now welcome new families into our school. I would like to thank our school leaders for welcoming our visitors and assisting the young parents with their prams and strollers.

The Open Mornings held this week were extremely well attended. Our Prep Information Evening will be held next Wednesday 11 May in the Prep Learning Centre.

Maintenance Tasks completed during the Holidays

During the holidays we had base boards installed around each of the portable buildings in the music rooms and OSHC buildings.

We also had 11 air conditioners replaced throughout the school. I would like to thank Nat Northey and the Parents’ Club for their willingness to provide funding for half of these new air conditioners.

Sherril Duffy

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