Principals' Message

Happy Teachers' Day - Friday 31st October

Today we celebrated World Teachers’ Day – a wonderful opportunity to recognise the incredible dedication, care, and commitment of our teaching staff. Every day, our teachers go above and beyond to support our students not only academically, but also socially and emotionally.

Their work extends far beyond the classroom – from planning engaging lessons and providing individual support, to creating opportunities that make school life special. Our recent school production was a perfect example of this dedication, with teachers staying back late, organising costumes and staging, and ensuring every student had a moment to shine.

Now, as we move into Term 4, our staff are once again working tirelessly behind the scenes to organise our camp experiences – from the Foundation to Year 2 Camp Activity Day, to the Year 3/4 camp at Camp Adanac, and the upcoming Year 5/6 camp. These experiences take a great deal of planning, care, and teamwork, all of which our teachers approach with enthusiasm and professionalism.

We are truly grateful for the time, effort, and heart our teachers pour into everything they do. Thank you to all our staff for making Donvale Primary such a supportive, inspiring, and joyful place to learn and grow.

Changes to digital device use 

From 2027, the Victorian Government is introducing changes to the use of digital devices for students from Prep to Grade 6. Under the new guidelines, schools:

• will no longer invite families to purchase or bring their own digital devices to use at school for Prep to Grade 6

• will follow new recommended digital device times, including minimal device time for Prep to Grade 2; and a maximum of 90 minutes per day for grades 3 to 6.

   

These changes are intended to support families by reducing cost-of-living pressures. They will also support students by reducing screen-time which can reduce the risk of eye strain, sedentary behaviour, and reduced peer interaction. These reforms complement Victoria’s nation-leading mobile phone restrictions, ensuring an integrated approach to addressing digital distraction and the inappropriate use of technology.

What this means for our school

This means we will be ceasing our current BYOiD program for Grade 3-6 from 2027 on. Instead, we will provide class sets of digital devices for use by students. Students who have been using BYOiD devices prior to 2027 will be able to continue to bring their devices to school, but we will be following the new recommended device use times.

Students with disability who use a digital device as a reasonable adjustment are exempt from these changes. 

These changes are intended to support families with cost-of-living pressures and reduce student screen time.

You can read more about the changes on the department’s website: Digital Learning: Policy.

Litter Brigade

A huge thank you to our incredible Litter Brigade — a dedicated group of Year 1 and 2 students who have taken it upon themselves to help keep our school grounds clean and tidy. Each week, these enthusiastic helpers can be seen collecting rubbish around the yard and reminding everyone to take care of our environment.

At last week’s assembly, the Litter Brigade confidently addressed the whole school, reminding us all of the importance of putting rubbish in the allocated bins. Their clear message and leadership have inspired everyone to take greater responsibility for our shared spaces.

We’re so proud of their initiative, teamwork, and commitment to making our school a cleaner, greener place for everyone!

SunSmart - Hats and Sunscreen  

A gentle reminder that ALL students need to wear their school hat this term. As we are a SunSmart school, we take very seriously the need to be sun smart. This includes

• Wearing the approved broad-brimmed Donvale school hat outside
• Encouraging students to come to school wearing a broad-spectrum water-resistant sunscreen (30+) and to reapply it during the day 

If students do not wear or have a hat, they will be restricted to play in the designated shade areas.