Message from the Principal 

CHOIR

At our assembly last week, we enjoyed a performance by our school choir. This week the choir will be attending the Boroondara Eisteddfod on Friday May 22nd, where they will proudly represent our school and showcase their musical talents alongside choirs from across Victoria. This is an exciting opportunity for our students to perform in a professional setting and demonstrate their skills. 

WHOLE SCHOOL PRODUCTION - “LOST IN THE MOVIES”

When four friends sneak into an abandoned cinema, a magical projector sweeps them through wacky, wild, and musical movie worlds, where they must navigate chaos and adventures to find each other, and a way home! 

This is the storyline for “Lost in the Movies” our whole school production set for Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th September. 

This week our Year 5 & 6 students will be auditioning for the main roles which involves performing a monologue that has been provided to them, in front of their class. Following the class auditions, students will vote for the top performances using a rubric to ensure the process remains fair and transparent.

Next week, we will hold our final auditions in front of the whole cohort where the Year 5 & 6 classroom teachers and Mrs Dunne will select our final cast based on the same criteria and monologues.

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK

Next week is National Reconciliation Week (NRW). It is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2026 is All In, a call for all Australians to commit wholeheartedly to reconciliation every single day. All In makes clear that reconciliation is not a spectator sport and that all of us must step away from the sidelines and take action to make change.

The theme also reminds us that reconciliation and advancing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights isn’t a passive activity, and it is not solely the responsibility of First Nations people, who have carried the weight of championing, explaining and acting for far too long.

In the last week of this term, our school will be organising special Cultural Awareness Day in association with NAIDOC week. Stay tuned for more information over the next few weeks.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Our Year 5 & 6 Action Teams and our Junior School Council have been very active with a range of different initiatives and ideas. Here is a list of some of these upcoming events for the rest of this term. We will also provide more information about each one closer to the time.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

We are looking for volunteers to help support our upcoming Greenhills Primary School Eltham Bunnings BBQ and Bake Sale on Sunday 7th June. This is always a fantastic community event and an important fundraiser for our school, helping us provide additional opportunities and resources for our students. We would love assistance with cooking on the BBQ, serving customers, helping at the bake sale stall, or donating baked goods for the day. Even volunteering for a short shift can make a big difference. If you are able to help in any way, please sign up using the Care Booking Link:

Baked goods can be dropped to the office on Friday afternoon, otherwise direct to the BBQ, please clearly label all the ingredients.

 Thank you for supporting our wonderful Greenhills community!

ACTIVATE

This week our staff will be engaging in a professional learning session focused on the first phase of our Greenhills Responsive Teaching & Learning Model. 

At Greenhills Primary School, “Activate” is the crucial opening phase of a lesson, designed to intentionally prepare students for new learning by connecting what they already know to what they are about to learn.

Activate gives our lessons a “strong start”. It sets the tone for everything that follows. Neuroscience reminds us that before we can be motivated to learn what is in front of us, we must pay attention to it. The activate phase helps to build learner agency to direct their attention towards the learning. 

The Activate phase of a lesson or lesson sequence has a significant impact on student attention, behaviour, and learning readiness. The most effective lesson openings are predictable in structure, purposeful, cognitively demanding and engaging. They reduce transition time and maximise thinking time.

The aim / purpose of Activate is to:

1. Engage and focus students
2. Retrieve prior knowledge
3. Signal the importance of the learning
4. Create early success and participation
5. Launch students into thinking, not waiting

We will keep you updated with more details about what “Activate” looks like across our school and also share information about Responsive Teaching & Learning Model as we go.

ENROLMENT FOR 2027

There continues to be strong interest in our school for students enrolling in 2027. Each week we run an organised school tour and the feedback we are getting from parents attending these tours about our school and the perception of it in the community is positive. If you have a child starting school next year, please ensure that you fill out an enrolment form now. 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Asking for Feedback

Did you ask for feedback this week? What did you want help with?

James Penson,

Principal.