Principal's Report

Staffing News

Last term we finalised our recruitment processes for 2026. We had an incredibly strong field of applicants, and we are pleased that so many high-quality teachers actively targeted employment opportunities at our school. The successful applicants were:

• Georgia Greene (Caulfield Junior College – currently Grade 2 PLC Leader)
• Samantha Craig (Eaglehawk North PS – currently Grade 3/4 Teacher & Learning Specialist)
• Caitlin Harris (returning to SGPS after starting her family)
• Sam McCloud (Specimen Hill PS – currently Grade 3/4 Teacher, PLC Leader & Learning Specialist)

I would also like to congratulate Miss Georgia Mortlock and Miss Jade Patrao-Hurley for securing ongoing employment at SGPS following an internal selection process last term. Both Georgia and Jade are high-performing teachers, and we are fortunate that they have chosen to continue their careers at our school.

I am sure our community will warmly welcome our new teachers to SGPS and join me in congratulating Georgia and Jade on their ongoing roles.

Classroom Teacher Placements for 2026

Our classroom teachers have been allocated to the following grades for 2026:

Prep – Miss Georgia Mortlock (Team Leader), Miss Abbey Dunn and Mrs Georgia Greene

Grade 1/2 – Miss Madie Floyd (Team Leader), Mrs Tegan Edwards, Mrs Jane

Rodda, Mr Chris McClellan and Mrs Samantha Craig

Grade 3/4 – Mr Rohan Daenke, Mr Daniel Lidgett, Miss Jade Patrao-Hurley, Mrs Caitlin Harris (0.8)/Mrs Jenna Brewer (0.2) and Mr Sam McCloud

Grade 5/6 – Mr Luke Staley (Team Leader - 0.4)/Mrs Von Garmey (0.6), Mr Corey Greer, Mr Luke Crawford, Mrs Emma Clohesy and Mrs Kate Murphy

Farewell to Staff

We will be saying farewell to the following staff at the end of the year;

Miss Alisha Mitchell 

Miss Brooke Ingram

Miss Ash Lockett 

Mrs Lauren Schulz 

Mrs Kelly Byron

I would like to thank Alisha, Brooke, Ash, Lauren and Kelly for their care of our students and their commitment to our school, and we wish them all the very best in their future endeavours, which include new career pathways, relocation, and travel.

Although Ash is an ongoing member of staff, she has been granted leave for the 2026 school year.

In addition, Mrs Lauren Starr  and Mrs Jan Alexander have been granted 12 months leave. We wish them all the best during this time.

Mr Parkes - LSL

For anyone who may have missed Brett’s Compass message earlier this week, he is currently on Long Service Leave for the remainder of 2025. We thank him for all of his hard work this year and wish him a well-earned break with his family. We look forward to welcoming him back in 2026.

Free Cyber Safety Night - LAST CHANCE

We have now 'sold' 260+ free tickets to the upcoming Cyber Safety Night with Susan McClean. With less than 140 tickets now remaining, please get yours before they are all gone.

When things go wrong at school, it usually relates to issues that students have when online, whether this is with a peer or a complete stranger.  Brett and I spend far too much of our time dealing with matters that are completely avoidable.

I strongly encourage all parents and carers to attend this important session, regardless of the age of your child or if they currently use a device or not. I guarantee you will be shocked with some of the content shared during Susan's presentation.

Join us for a free parent information session with Susan McLean, Australia’s foremost authority on online safety and digital behaviour. Susan will speak openly and honestly about the risks young people face online and provide strategies parents can use straight away.

📅 Monday 1st December @ 6:30pm

📍 Bendigo South East College Theatre

🎟️ Free Event – Bookings Essential

Reserve your free tickets here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1847440677799?aff=oddtdtcreator

Prep 2026 Transition – 2 down and 2 to go!

Our Prep 2026 transition program commenced last week, and I’m really pleased to share how well it has begun. The children have enjoyed visiting our school, meeting the teachers, and becoming familiar with the learning spaces. It has been wonderful to see how settled and confident they have been during their sessions.

We have two more Prep transition sessions to go on Tuesday 2nd December and Tuesday 9th December, and we are looking forward to welcoming the children back for these important steps in preparing them for school next year.

‘Step Up’ Day

On Tuesday 9th December our current Prep to Grade 5 children will be involved in a ‘Step Up’ transition activity. On this day the children will be moving to their 2026 classroom with their 2026 classmates. All students will be spending time with their 2026 teacher. 

This is an important part of preparing students for a smooth and successful start to the new school year, helping them build familiarity and confidence ahead of 2026.

Year 6 Orientation Day

On Tuesday 9th December our Grade 6 students will be attending their respective secondary colleges for the Statewide Transition Day. Meanwhile, our 2026 Prep students will be attending their fourth and final transition session at SGPS from 9:00am – 11:30am.

Selecting Our Schools Captains for 2026

Shortly, we will begin the selection process to determine our School Captains for 2026. This process is always a valuable learning experience for the students involved, and we are consistently impressed by the confidence, courage and maturity they show when putting themselves forward.

So how are these decisions made? 

1. All Grade 5 students are invited to write an application explaining why they ought to be considered for a School Captain position. 
2. Candidates are interviewed by Mrs Brewer, the current School Captains, Cailin and Reuben, and myself. 

3. The Grade 5 teachers and Specialist teachers are asked for feedback on each of recommended candidates.

    

After considering all of the above, our new School Captains will be chosen and will be presented to the school community at our assembly on Friday, 12th December.

Thanks in advance to all of the students who will go through the process. We are very lucky to have so many awesome students, making the decision extremely difficult each year. For those children who miss out, I would encourage you to keep putting yourselves forward for any leadership opportunities that present in the future.

House Captains

Many students will present their speeches to their House next week, demonstrating their desire to be a leader in 2026. Thank in advance to all students for nominating for these important roles. As is the case for those children who miss out on School Captain roles, I would encourage these students to keep putting themselves forward for any opportunities that present in the future.

Grade 6 Graduation - Thursday, 11th December

Our Grade 6 Graduation will be held on Thursday, 11th December, starting at 7:30 pm in The Hub. We kindly ask that everyone is seated by 7:20 pm.

This special evening celebrates the achievements of all our Grade 6 students. Before the formal program begins at 7:30 pm, the students will enjoy dinner at school with their friends and teachers from6:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Semester Two Student Reports

Reports will be released electronically via Compass on Thursday, 18th December. Please be mindful that many other schools are likely to be releasing their Semester Reports at a similar time and that download speeds may vary depending on the time of day you are attempting to download. Reports will only be printed upon request.