Principals' Message

It was wonderful to see our Donvale school community come together yesterday for our Welcome Back BBQ! With a fantastic turnout, beautiful weather and outstanding student performances, the evening truly set the tone for a warm, connected and positive start to the school year. It was especially lovely to see so many past students joining in the celebrations and reminiscing about their time with us — a reminder of the strong and lasting connections within our community.

A huge thank you to our incredible parents and staff who organised and ran the BBQ, ensuring everyone was well fed and cared for throughout the evening. Your generosity of time and spirit is what makes our school so special.

Finally, thank you to our amazing staff for setting up, cooking, serving, supporting students, packing up and contributing to such a joyful and memorable event. We are so fortunate to have such a dedicated and caring team.

What a wonderful way to begin the year together!

School Council 2026

I am delighted to share that we received wonderful community support for the four parent vacancies and two staff vacancies on our 2026 School Council. As the number of nominations matched the number of positions available, a ballot was not required.

I am pleased to announce that Amelia Davatzis, Sam Chun and Leah Martini have been reappointed to School Council, and we warmly welcome Michael Proitsis, who joins us as a new parent representative.

Our sincere thanks go to Danielle Svede for her valued contributions over the past two years. We also welcome Anita Flack and Stewart Simpson, who will fill the employee member vacancies.

We look forward to our first School Council meeting on 24th March, where our 2026 Council will convene. At this meeting, office bearers will be elected, and I will provide a further update to the community via Compass outlining the full Council membership.

Thank you for your ongoing support and involvement in our school community. Your partnership makes a meaningful difference to our students and to the life of our school.

Inducting our School and House Captains

Over the past two assemblies, we have proudly inducted our 2026 School Captains and House Captains. These students were selected at the end of last year in recognition of their leadership potential, commitment to our school values, and willingness to serve our community with integrity and enthusiasm.

It was wonderful to formally acknowledge their achievement in front of their peers and families. As leaders, they will play an important role in representing our school at events, supporting student initiatives, and modelling the respect, responsibility and kindness we strive to see in all members of our community.

We look forward to inducting our remaining student leaders at our next assembly and celebrating the important contributions they will make throughout the year.

Step into Prep

The transition to school is a monumental step in every child's life. It is a wondrous experience full of new buildings, new faces and new rules! Over the past few weeks, we have been so proud of the way in which our newest Donvale students have settled into life at school in Prep A and Prep B. We are proud of, and thankful for, the care and dedication which Miss Thomas, Miss Lefebure, Ms Chu and Ms Hong have demonstrated in creating such a beautiful environment for our youngest learners.

For many of our preppies, the school journey did not begin with the formal transition sessions, but rather with our much-loved "Step into Prep" Program. Donvale Primary is very proud of this program and is excited to be offering it again to all four-year-old kinder students - regardless of where they are looking to enrol at Donvale Primary School. We believe all students benefit from having positive schooling experiences and are looking forward to welcoming families to our school for 5 exciting sessions. You can find information on the flyer below and on our school website.

If you know of any families looking for school readiness programs, or think would enjoy the community and education which Donvale has to offer, please pass on this information.

Attendance

As you know, regular attendance at school is vital for student wellbeing and academic achievement. Today marks our 16th day of school this year and it has been such a joy to see so many students settling in beautifully to their grades and peer groups. Students are arriving on time, ready to learn and, even though we have had a number of families on overseas holidays and many reported cases of the flu, our attendance numbers are pleasing overall.

In 2025, 29% of our students attended 95% of school or more. Currently, this figure is 65 - which equates to 179 students!

Prep A, 1/2A, 2A and 3/4B all boast an average attendance over 95% while Year 2 leads the school in average attendance with an impressive 96.96%!

Thank you to all of the parents, grandparents, siblings, aunties and uncles who are supporting student attendance at school. Keep it up and remember, Donvale is better when you are here!

Student Voice Leaders

We are proud to announce Donvale Primary School’s first ever Student Voice Leaders. These students wrote speeches which they presented to their peers and were subsequently voted in to represent their classmates. They showed courage to “put themselves out there” and should be commended for their efforts.

The Student Voice Leaders will continue to organise activities which the former Junior School Council undertook, but they will also now have more responsibility in showing Student Voice, Agency and Leadership. They will lead class meetings, celebrate what is going well and look for opportunities to improve the school.

The Student Voice Leaders have their first meeting next Tuesday with Mr Robertson where we will talk about their role and start talking about ideas which may find their way to Donvale Democracy - a parliament made up of our 5/6 student cohort.

A special congratulations to these students on their exciting role: