Dear Members of the Glen Waverley Primary School Community,

I trust all is well with you and your family and welcome to this fortnight’s newsletter where so much is shared about our wonderful school. As per usual, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me on 9802 9938 or via email at frank.catalano@education.vic.gov.au.

School Council Update

As mentioned in our previous newsletter, this year we had more nominations than positions available hence we have had to undertake a ballot (voting) process. May I take this opportunity to thank the members of our school community who nominated and to those that voted as your time, effort and commitment to our school is appreciated immensely.

Congratulations to the following parents and staff who will form the 2025 School Council:

Parent Representatives:

Aditya Sathe, Jessey Kaur, Suresh Ramachandraiah, Jay Shah, Praveen Jain, Rajat Mathur, Ana (Archana) Iyengar, Harshani Hewage, Swethekei Munasinghe and Atul Malhotra.

Staff Representatives:

Roland Lewis, Ryo Sugihara, Kylie Bailey, Amanda Seach and myself.

I have also included an overview of the role of the School Council compared to that of the principal:

Area of Activity

The School Council ……

The Principal ……

Curriculum

Develops the broad direction and vision for the school using guidelines provided by the Department

Leads development of teaching and learning programs

Determines teacher, subject and time allocations, timetables, class sizes and structures

Student Management

Develops student engagement policy and student dress code

Consults with the school community before adopting changes to these policies

Implements these policies

Considers and, where appropriate, grants exemptions to dress codes

Manages all matters of student wellbeing, discipline and academic progress

Staff Employment and Management

Approved employment of some staff e.g. casual replacement teachers, canteen staff

Recommends to the Secretary of the Department the appointment of a principal

Is responsible (as delegated by the Secretary to the Department) for the employment and management of persons in the Teaching Service (including non-teaching staff)

Buildings and Grounds

Enters in contracts for buildings and grounds improvements

Oversees maintenance of all facilities

Monitors implementation of contracts

Child Safety Standards

Develops policies as required by the Child Safety Standards

Reviews existing contracts and ensures future contracts address the requirements of the Child Safety Standards

Implements these policies

Thank you everyone and we look forward to providing ‘School Council’ updates throughout the year.

Council of International Schools (CIS) Update

As you may be aware, last week I had the privilege and pleasure of leading the CIS review at Dulwich College, Suzhou (China) with an incredible group of colleagues from Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and China. The purpose of the visit was to assist the College in gaining re-accreditation with the CIS and overall, the visit was incredibly successful. Below are a few photos of the College for your enjoyment and I look forward to sharing more CIS news in forthcoming newsletters.

Congratulations to Kyna

Kyna (Year 6) is an avid artist and recently she donated a number of paintings which will be displayed in the art room. Thank you Kyna for doing so and I look forward to sharing some more of your art works in the future.

Principal Awards

Congratulations to the following students for receiving a Principal Awards recently:

Prep A

Kriyansh also for creating a set of cards and a checklist for me to stay well

1C

Tia also for learning how to colour in with purpose
Keshvi for being a fantastic friend

1D

Abir for collecting and then explaining how to use Pokémon cards
Ashley and Sohana for working hard to learn how to colour in with purpose
Aadit for continuing to work so hard to improve his drawing skills
Kairav for being a fantastic friend

3A

Niyta, Aishwarya, Dua, Kridha and Amaira for creating a set of cards and a checklist for me to stay well

4A

Arnav for learning how to multiple using factors of numbers

4B

Minadi, congratulations on receiving three certificates from the Buddhist Vihara Victoria Cultural and Sinhalese Language School! Your fabulous effort and outstanding achievement in winning the Excellent Performance Trophy in the Cultural and Language School Stanza Recitation make us so incredibly proud of you!

4D

Elaina and Aaradhya for commencing to write a very interesting and enthralling piece for Writing Innovation class

Wishing everyone a safe and happy fortnight.

Frank Catalano

Principal

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