GECPA News
Working Bee Sunday 19 November
The next school grounds working bee is scheduled for Sunday 19th November, 3pm-5pm. These working bees play a huge role in helping maintain and enhance the school grounds.
Thank you to the parents who volunteered at October’s working bee which made such a collective difference. We are always looking for more parent volunteers for these working bees, so please pop your name down here if you can help: https://signup.com/go/EJxpOFP Thank you!
World Teachers’ Day Friday 27 October
World Teachers’ Day is being celebrated in Victoria on Friday 27th October. Please make a note in your diary to say ‘thank you’ to the wonderful teachers at GEC who are making, or have made, an impact on your child’s life. To all GEC teachers, thank you for the incredible contribution you make to our community each day.
A Great Trivia Night
It was a great Trivia Night held at the Murrumbeena Park Function Room on Saturday 9th September. This was our first school community Trivia Night since 2018. The Silent Auction was also a huge success. Thanks again to the generosity of the donating businesses and individuals.
There were 11 trivia teams who battled it out with the fun ‘Around the World’ themed questions. Amazingly two tables, table ‘Flight 69’ and table ‘Alan Joyce’s Redundancy Package’ tied for first place at the end of the trivia rounds. The latter of these 2 tables was declared the winning table after a tie-breaker question.
Many guests wore a touch of ‘Around the World’ to celebrate our theme, while others excelled on the dress-up front adding to the fun atmosphere on the night.
A special thank you to GEC parent Keren Loyer who volunteered as MC for the night and did a fantastic job. And thank you to Gabrielle Darvell for assisting GECPA with the event.
A shout out to the core organisers of the evening from GECPA - Paul McNeill, Nicole Sternbergs, Emmanuelle Missios and Catherine McNaughton, and volunteers Susannah Farfor and Angela Shugg for all their hard work.
Finally, thank you so much to parents, staff and alumni for joining in and making it such a terrific evening.
BBQ Stall Thank You
The GECPA BBQ Stall held on Saturday 14th October was enjoyed by all who walked through the gates to vote in the Voice Referendum. The stall provided a great welcome, the food options proved popular and tasted great. A huge thank you to the parent volunteers who helped setup, cook, serve and pack up on the day - the stall would not have been possible without you! It was wonderful to share our GEC community spirit with the wider community.
We are grateful to the following businesses who kindly donated items for the BBQ stall:
Malvern Continental Butchers, Eastern Halal Butchers (Oakleigh South), Charlie’s Fine Food Co., Koornang Hot Bread, Coles Caulfield, Bunnings Chadstone, Woolworths Metro Carnegie, Dan Murphy Malvern.
A raffle was also held at the stall. Congratulations to GEC parent, Belinda Hudson, who won 1st Prize, a $300 voucher for Scooter Hut Malvern (a big thank you to Scooter Hut for their generous donation and fundraising support).
Uniform Stall
The second-hand uniform stall is generally held on the first Monday of every month, 2.45pm-4pm outside the GEC library, unless otherwise advertised. Confirmed stall dates are published on the Xuno home page.
The uniform stall relies on donations of pre-loved uniforms, newly washed in resaleable condition. These are gratefully accepted and can be dropped into the GEC office.
Neuro-diverse Support Group
Next catchup: Saturday 28 October, 2pm, Fig Jam Café, Carnegie, rear courtyard.
Families of students who are neuro-diverse meet in a local café once a month and have a whatsapp group, to share information in support of their children and the school in meeting their needs. If you would like to join this next catchup, please contact Catherine on 0412 119 807.
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month
Individuals with dyslexia have trouble with reading and spelling and learn in a different way.
Useful resources
: https://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/dyslexia-in-australia/
: Understanding Learning Difficulties – A Practical Guide for Parents (Auspeld Guide 2022)
: https://www.sallyrippin.com/wild-things
Get Involved in GECPA
Please email us at gecpa@gec.vic.edu.au to have a chat and find out how you can be involved in any way, no matter how big or small. We’d love to hear from you. Membership in the GEC Parents’ Association (GECPA) is free and is open to any GEC parent or supporter. We meet once a month. We’re all about activities which build GEC community, support school operations and raise funds for the benefit of the school and its’ students. We’d love to hear from you.
Nicole Sternbergs
Year 9 Parent & GECPA Member