Primary School

I would like to congratulate everyone for an incredibly smooth start to the 2024 academic school year. Feedback from staff, students and families certainly highlight the positive energy that was felt around the school grounds when students arrived for their first day. It was lovely to connect with families at the Parent Information Night on Thursday evening and I would like to thank the Primary Staff for the presentations they prepared to provide parents a snapshot of the year ahead. 

I would like to introduce two new teachers who have joined the Primary School at the start of this year. Vanessa Bush has joined the Primary team as a Year 6 teacher this year. She has made the move from the Secondary school, where she worked as the Head of English from 2018. Vanessa completed a Conversion to Primary degree, initially to develop intervention strategies to support student learning, but became interested in the opportunity to make a difference across the curriculum. “I am very excited about the opportunity to work alongside the two other passionate Year 6 teachers, Mrs Pascoe and Mr Gibbs, who have taught my own children!” Vanessa has four children of her own, Marco in Year 10, Matthew in Year 7, Ryan in Year 5 and Ali in Year 2. 

We also welcome Amy Wickham who is teaching Year 5 this year alongside Blythe Jennings. Amy has been living in Moama for the past 10 years and previously taught at St Mary’s in Echuca and at a local school in Creswick. Some of our community members may already know Amy through the many different communities groups that Amy has been involved in. Having five children, Amy can be found at many different clubs and events. “As I embark on this new chapter, I am truly excited to contribute to the nurturing and growth of our students.” Amy is looking forward to getting to know each and every member of our community.

I would like to thank the team from Edu Marking Australia for brightening up our playground over the summer holidays. The students have been enjoying games of Snakes and Ladders, What's the time Mr Wolf? and playing downball in the newly painted squares. The primary classes have also been making use of their learning potential with the clock face, compass and giant map of Australia. Thank you Edu Marking for making our playground even more fun and educational!

Message from the Office

Our lost property cupboard is well stocked with jumpers, jackets and many more uniform items looking for their rightful owner. Before we donate these items to the uniform shop, we encourage families to visit the Primary Office where our lost property items are stored.

I would like to thank those families who have completed and returned the Annual Consent form for their quick action. For those families who are yet to complete this important form, I would like to remind you to do this as soon as possible to ensure that your child is able to join into the many upcoming activities. If you are having difficulty completing this form, please contact the Primary Office. I thank you for your cooperation.

If you know of anyone who is currently considering their child’s education and they would like to find out more about our school, please feel free to share the flyer below. We are offering a 30-minute obligation free Zoom information session on Tuesday 19 March and Wednesday 1 May. Topics which will be discussed include; curriculum opportunities, co-curricular and extra-curricular programs, student wellbeing, enrolment process, fees, key dates and other general information. 

Academic Co-Curricular Program

Our Academic Co-Curricular programs continue to be offered for both English and Mathematics this year. In addition to the many extension programs and opportunities available for selected students, our comprehensive Literacy Intervention programs from Kindergarten to Year 6 will continue to be offered to identified students. Parents of students who will be selected to participate in these programs will receive a personalised invitation. 

Student Individual Learning Plan (ILP)

For those students on an ILP, the plans from 2023 will continue to be implemented to support the students settle into their new classrooms. If your child is new to the School, teachers will use the ILP from their previous school. Teachers are currently collecting baseline assessment data which they will use when reviewing your child’s ILP at the end of Term 1, ready for implementation in Term 2. Each ILP is reviewed again at the end of Term 3. 

Peer Support Training

All our Year 6 students were involved in a full day of Peer Support training on Friday 2 February. The Year 6 classroom teachers Mr Callum Gibbs, Mrs Kiralee Pascoe and Ms Vanessa Bush did an amazing job in coaching our Year 6 students to be aware of their leadership role as leaders of the Primary School. Throughout the day, students worked collaboratively in teams to unpack the roles and responsibilities of being a leader. This year, students will be given lots of opportunities to practise and fine-tune when teaching Primary students during peer support session each term. We look forward to seeing them develop into these roles.

Commencement Assembly

At today’s Commencement Assembly, we celebrated the beginning of the 2024 academic year by welcoming our new students and staff. We also celebrated the 2023 Dux, Band 6 Recipients and introduced the Primary leadership team and the Beacon Leaders.

2024 Year 6 Leadership Team 

Northern Country Region Athletics Carnival

I would like to wish the students listed below all the best as they prepare for the upcoming Northern Country Region Athletics Carnival in which they compete this weekend in Shepparton. Have a great time, try your best and remember to have some fun along the way.

• Cleo Haw (Year 5)
• Marcelle Cordner (Year 5)
• Izzy Barnett (Year 5)
• Ollie Bowles (Year 6)
• Vihara Konara (Year 6)
• Ivy Walker (Year 7)

Upcoming Events

13/02/24              Shrove Tuesday

14/02/24              Ash Wednesday Service

15/02/24              GRIP Leadership Day (Year 6 Leadership Group)

15/02/24              Volunteer Induction (8:50am)

16/02/24              Primary Swimming Carnival (students in Years 3-6)

16/02/24              Volunteer Induction (3:05pm)

23/02/24              Primary Assembly

29/02/24              Be Rare, Be You! Fundraiser

01/03/24              Primary Chapel

Kind Regards,

Nici Deller                                                      

Deputy Principal - Head of Primary