Message from the Principal 

WELCOME TO THE LAST NEWSLETTER FOR THIS TERM! 

What an action packed and engaging term it has been. We started back on the 11th July and since then we have squeezed in District Girls AFL Gala Day, Michael Ymer Maths Night, 100 days of Prep, Bunnings BBQ,  Experience Greenhills sessions for our future preps, ICAS Testing, JSC Winter Wonderland, Bookweek Dress Up Parade, Year 6 Reunion’s, Recital Choir performances, Father’s & Special Person’s Day Breakfast, Year 3/4 Netball and Year 3/4 Hooptime, District Athletics, Student Agency Conferences, excursions and yes, our whole production and even more! Most importantly though our classroom programs went from strength to strength and I witnessed many examples of very effective and powerful teaching and learning.

CONGRATULATIONS VICTORIA HARRIS

We have some very exciting news to share….Victoria Harris has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Outstanding Business Manager Awards as part of the 2022 Victorian Education Excellence Awards.

I know how much our whole school community appreciates how lucky we are to have Victoria at Greenhills. This award nomination and shortlisting is a celebration and recognition of everything Victoria does to support all of us – staff, students and families.

Congratulations Victoria!    

The winners for all award categories are announced at a special gala awards dinner on Friday 21st October at the Plaza Ballroom at the Regent Theatre. 

2022 Victorian Education Excellence Awards finalists | Victorian Government (www.vic.gov.au)

PETER PAN – WHOLE SCHOOL PRODUCTION

Wow – four GREAT shows! I'm sure that everyone who attended would agree that our students were absolute stars! They all rose to the challenge and they should all be extremely proud of their effort and performances.

I hope that every student enjoyed the opportunity to be a part of the show as much as we all enjoyed watching it. I also know that the positive experience of learning the dances, working together in rehearsal and being part of a larger team that brings all the different elements of a production like this together is one that will stay with them for some time and will be a real highlight of their time at Greenhills.

As I mentioned after the shows, there is so much work that goes into putting on such an amazing event, script editing, technical direction, transport and logistics, cast auditions and rehearsals, prop and costume making, make-up, lighting, choreography, sound editing and the list goes on and on.

Thank you to our entire staff team for their work and commitment to make this opportunity possible for our students. It is impossible to single out any individual staff members or even teams of staff because I would have to list so many people. This was truly a whole staff effort. What I can say is that a significant amount of this work was done well outside of regular school paid hours and so on behalf of our school community I wish to acknowledge and thank every staff member who helped in some way.

When I became principal at Greenhills, I introduced the idea of using a picture story book as a theme for the school year. A few years ago, this was “Tigers Roar” by Alex Rance. There is a quote in the book which is also on display on our Community Arts mural outside the staffroom wall at school “If we all use our special talents and work as a team – we can climb the tree together”. Congratulations Greenhills team of 2022, you certainly climbed to the highest point of that tree with this production of Peter Pan!

COMPASS TERM 4 CALENDAR

Don’t forget, you can keep up with all of the important dates coming up for Term 4 via our Compass calendar. 

TRANSITION INTO 2023

During the upcoming break I will be spending some time crunching the numbers and developing our school structure for next year. Government schools received some GREAT news this week with the confirmation of continued funding of the Tutor Learning Initiative, additional staffing funding related to the new teacher workplace Agreement and funds to support student mental health. 

I will provide an update to families around what this all means for our school and our class structure for next year at the next Meet with the Principal Team Mid-Term Webex event on Wednesday 9th November at 7.30pm.   

PARENT REQUESTS FOR 2023

As we begin the process of finalising our school structure for next year, considerations around the social, emotional, academic and physical needs of each of our students will form part of this process. Parents and caregivers are able to make requests for consideration when placing their child into their 2023 class. These requests will only be accepted in writing via email and must be received by me by Friday 21st October. Please note that requests with respect to specific teachers will not be considered. 

Our staff will use this information as part of all the different considerations taken when building our grades. These factors include the social, emotional, physical and academic needs of all students. It is a complex and time-consuming task as we try to ensure that we set up the best possible structure for a successful 2023. During this entire process our decisions are always guided by one major factor and that is the best interests of our students. Details relating to the school organisation, classes of children and the allocation of teachers will be released to students on our first “Meet the Teacher” session between 9.30am and 10.30am on Thursday 8th December. 

THANK YOU FOR TERM THREE

Well we made it – the end of Term 3! Thank you to all our students who have achieved so much learning this term. I am continually impressed each day with the work and learning that I see in all of our classrooms. Thank you to our staff. This term has been a big term for all of our staff, and as a result we have already achieved many of the goals we set for ourselves as part of our Annual Implementation Plan. Thank you also to all our families for your support and involvement in our school each day. One of the great things about Greenhills is our community! 

I hope everyone is able to enjoy a bit of a break and spend some family time together, especially with the long weekend in the middle of the break. These holidays are always a great opportunity to catch up and then get ready for the rush to the end of the year. 

James Penson

Principal