Principal Report – Reconciliation Week

This week, our school proudly took part in National Reconciliation Week. A special time for all Australians to learn about our shared history and how we can work together for a better future. Reconciliation Week is held every year from 27 May to 3 June. These dates mark two important events in Australia’s history — the 1967 Referendum and the 1992 Mabo Decision. Throughout the week, students took part in a range of activities in their classroom to build their understanding of why we have a National Reconciliation Week.

Some highlights from our week included:

Our school leaders Connor and Holly participating in the inaugural Reconciliation Walk with the other school leaders from the Hamilton and surrounding district schools.
Our Indigenous students coming together for a special lunch hosted by Tayla Wakely and Macahlia Rose from Winda-Mara.
Our indigenous students participating in a yarning circle with Josh Franks (Koorie Education Support Officer)
Every student writing a response to Reconciliation Week on paper leaves which will be displayed in the Open Learning Area.
Ruby Elder and Evie Rankin receiving awards for standout Colour Ins as part of the Southern Grampian’s Shire Reconciliation Week Colouring Competition.
Staff completing Cultural Understanding and Safety Training with Department of Education Staff Josh Franks and Kate Meade, along with Gunditjmara elder Darryl Rose.

It is great to see how our school is implementing actions within the Marrung Strategy with intentional authenticity so our work is meaningful to our staff and students. A huge thankyou to Janelle Harms who leads this work across our school with knowledge and passion.

End Of Day Drop off Zones

It is important that our children leave our school at the end of the day safely. To ensure this happens we have three supervised crossings and two supervised pick up zones. Our school staff and crossing supervisors are there to assist with the safe use of these areas. Please listen to their guidance and observe any cones placed out. We ask parents not to remove the cones as they mark out the school crossing clear zones. We also request that parents speak kindly and respectfully to staff who are doing their job of ensuring students are kept safe and the pick up areas are used efficiently.

Year 3 – 6 Cross Country – Regional Cross Country

Congratulations to Sophie Stewart who represented our school last week at the Regional Cross Country. This was the second time Sophie ran the Warrnambool Course having already successfully competed in the District Cross Country a couple of weeks ago. With having already had experience with this course Sophie felt comfortable in setting herself a challenging yet achievable goal of finishing in the top 20. Sophie was pleased to achieve this personal goal, finishing in 18th place. Well done Sophie.

EISTEDDFOD

Next Thursday our school choir will attend and participate in the Hamiton Eisteddfod. Mrs Garland has worked hard with students over the last month to ensure that they are prepared and represent the best version of themselves, individually and collectively. The Eisteddfod is a wonderful time for schools to come together and for students to shine in their area of interest and talent. We encourage parents and family members to join us at the Hamilton PAC for this event.

Report Writing Day

A Reminder to parents that next Friday June 6th is a School Council Approved Report Writing Day. No students are required at school on this day.

Casual Dress Day – Friday June 20th

On Friday June 20th our school will be bursting with colour and kindness as students and staff take part in Colour Dress-Up Day! The theme of this day is that kindness brings colour to another’s day. Across the school we will be focusing on how acts of kindness can not only brighten someone’s day but also ensure our school is a place where people feel noticed and that they belong. We invite students to wear the colour that makes them happy - bright blues, sunny yellows, radiant reds and even peaceful purples. Our Student Voice Leaders will be sharing more information on this shortly .

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent Teacher will take place on the evening of Thursday June 12th. The exception to this is our Foundation Classroom who will run theirs across two nights – Wednesday June 11th and Thursday June 12th. These Parent Teacher interviews are not only a time to catch up on how your child is going, but also a time for staff to share information from our current mid year assessments ahead of mid year reports. We encourage all parents to make a time suitable to them through our XUNO school platform.

Hamilton (Gray St) Primary School Newsletter

Respect, Relationships & Resilience

Issue 8 · 30 May 2025

In this issue