From the Principal

Welcome back for the final term of 2024, we hope everyone had a refreshing and relaxing break. It is hard to believe we are in Term 4 and very soon we will be celebrating the conclusion to another productive year at Parkdale Primary. It has been a very smooth start, and the children are excited about the term ahead. We have many events to look forward to including Art Show Trail, Japanese Day, Grade 3 camp, Grade 5 Health Ed, F/1/3 Swimming, transition sessions for our 2025 preps, Grade 6 sport gala days, excursions, incursions, GATEWAYS challenge, Prep Portfolio presentations, and we will farewell our Grade 6 students as part of their Grade 6 Graduation.

Pupil Free Day – Monday 4th November

Whole school Staff Professional Practice Day is on Monday 4th November, this is a Pupil Free Day. TheirCare will operate a Pupil Free Day program, if you require this service, please book directly through TheirCare.

School Saving Bonus

As shared with you previously, parents and carers of every child enrolled in a Victorian government school in 2025 will receive the one-off School Saving Bonus $400 support.

In the coming months, the Department of Education will send you two email communications for each of your children enrolled in Victorian government schools.

By Friday 18 October 2024, please ensure that your child’s 2025 enrolment is completed and that your contact information is up to date.

The 2 emails from the Department of Education will:

Confirm your email address between mid-October and late-November.
Provide you with your unique $400 School Saving Bonus code by the end of November.

If you do not receive a confirmation email from the department by late-November, please check your spam or junk folders.

You can read more about the School Saving Bonus on the Department of Education website, with key information now available in 14 different languages.

2025 School Year

If you have a child in Foundation to Year 5 who will not be returning to PPS next year, could you please inform the office or the class teacher via email ASAP. This will assist with planning for class structures and staffing for 2025.

SunSmart - Hats & Sunscreen

From Monday 2nd September children are required to wear a hat which is in line with our SunSmart policy. Please ensure your child has a school hat, navy and wide brimmed and named. No Hat, No Play. Sunscreen is available; however, we encourage children to bring a small tube of sunscreen which can be kept in their bag, and they can apply this before they go outside.

Hats & OSHC

If your child attends before or after school care they will need to keep their hat in their bag or have a spare hat in their bag, as the children will not be allowed to go to their classrooms before or after school.

A reminder that OSHC has access to the school grounds from 3:40pm, we ask that all parents make their way out of the school grounds by the 3:40pm bell, thank you.

Helmets

A reminder that children need to wear a helmet to and from school if they are riding their bike, scooter or skateboard. Children need to dismount from their bikes and scooters at the school gate and are not to ride in the school grounds before or after school.

Buildings & Grounds

Over the term holidays new carpet was laid in the Performing arts and Japanese rooms. We purchased and installed 11 interactive smartboards upgrading the older versions currently in some classrooms. General ground and oval maintenance were completed, and a tree audit was also conducted on Tuesday. We have a scheduled playground audit in November.

Allocation of 2025 Classes

When developing individual classes each year, teachers consider several factors including academic ability, social competencies, gender, students who work well together, those who may not work well together and friendship groupings. Whilst the students are consulted about current friendships, it is only one of the criteria considered because building new relationships is also part of our education process and an important skill for students to develop. The placement of students is a complex process where teachers put great thought into their planning. They discuss, reflect, and review their decisions over a period of time.

On occasions parent perspective can also add information to support this process. If you have any valuable information regarding class placement for your child for 2025, that is above and beyond what the classroom teacher and leadership team already know of your child, you may make a written request for consideration.

Any parent request must be in writing/email to Leanne B, Tracy R or Jarrod B no later than Friday 25th October 2024. Information will only be considered if in writing and received by the due date. Requests will not be considered after this date.

Naming a specific teacher, gender or nominating other students will not be considered. Children are given the opportunity to list friends they would like to be with and are guaranteed at least one student from their list.

If parents have written requests in previous years, we do not retain these as students’ needs change from year to year. If the consideration of the previous year is still important, a new letter should be written.

There may often be a reason why your request is not granted. It is therefore important not to indicate to your child that you have made a request as this may lead to unnecessary disappointment.

I encourage you to trust our school’s judgement and value our teachers as professionals, as the wellbeing of every child in our school is our prime consideration.

Kingston Grants Program School Awards

Following an extensive review and public consultation, Council endorsed a new Kingston Grants Program in October 2023, which was officially launched on 1 January 2024. As a part of this review, several changes were made to the previous program, including a realignment of the grant streams offered to the community.

Council offers the opportunity for individual students to apply for funding through the Individual Development Grants stream. The Individual Development Grants - Achievement category aims to support individual Kingston residents with up to $600 to compete, perform or represent at a State, National or International level in their chosen discipline.

For further information about the Kingston Grant Program, including our Guidelines, please refer to our website at Kingston Grants Program.

If you have any questions, or need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at 1300 653 356 or community@kingston.vic.gov.au.

We hope everyone had a great first week, enjoy your weekend.

Kind regards

Leanne Bradney