From the Principal's Desk

Term 3 Review

It is certainly hard to believe that Term 3 is nearly at a close with the year flying by so very fast. We are thankful that in the colder months this year, this term was a 10 week term as the number of children and staff that have gotten sick seems to be more and more each year. Whilst we do our best to ensure the spread of germs is minimised in our environment, it seems that it is a difficult task with young children.

We encourage students to always wash their hands before they eat and when going to the bathroom, hand sanitising is still an active part of our school day and not sharing food or drink bottles is a strict part of our routines. However having said that, when doors and windows are closed and the heater is on, it is very hard to stop this spread.

We really appreciate those families letting us know when their children have tested positive to Influenza and other illnesses, as we can push out messages to our community to be on the alert. We also really appreciate when families keep their unwell children home as this really does help to stop the spread. Let's hope that this is all behind us for 2026 as the warmer weather makes an appearance.

Below are bits and pieces that I love to share and keep our community updated from my perspective in the school. However, I really do encourage families to read all the year level pages to stay up to date with what is happening in the classrooms and in particular the learning your child is a part of in their classroom. Our newsletter is a key way we keep you updated with what is happening in English, Maths, Humanities and all other areas of our curriculum in between reports and parent teacher conferences. 

In addition our specialist pages are also really important and in particular our sport page where results are listed on the fantastic efforts of our students as they progress to district and regional level. Ms Fisher completes this page and so rather than repeat the results on this page, I do prefer to give her the opportunity as our sport teachers to showcase these results.

Year 3/4 Camp

What a fantastic time was had at our Year 3/4 Camp to Creswick. I attended this camp along with the Year 3/4 team which included- Kerri Burns, Ryan Fischer, Kylie Craig, Indy, Yvette and Lewis. We were also fortunate enough have a pre-service teacher on rounds with us Kieren attend and Candice Robertson (Frankie's mum) come along too. Camps are such an important part of a student's journey in Primary School and in some cases, the first time a student has slept away from home or family. It can be very daunting and a lot of work to prepare a child for this kind of event and so we wanted to thank all families for trusting us with your special little people this week. They sure did have a wonderful time!

In addition, the work that goes on from this end of things in a school is also huge with planning, risk assessments, forms to complete, costings, activity selections, plans for many different reason, bus bookings, timetable changes at school, I could go on and on. The team here from our office staff through to the teachers and ES all supports in many different ways and honestly I could not have been more proud of their efforts. Attending the camp was a privilege and being able to just be a teacher on camp running a group was something I will remember for a long time! 

The highlight for me was watching our students try all activities, encourage me to try all activities and even when things were tough, they just kept going!

Book Week Celebrations and Parade

Another great book week celebration this year at our school with efforts from you all that really do put my past costume designs for my own children to shame! Honestly I do not know how many of you come up with such clever ideas but I love what I see every year.

We wish we could award every student with a prize but this is not realistic and understand that at times their may be disappointment when the effort feels like it has gone unnoticed, but we really do see the love our students have for reading and the appreciation for books and this is reflected in their costumes on the day.

Parent Opinion Survey

Recently I pushed out notification for our annual Parent Opinion Survey that we are required to do each year. I would like to thank the parents that took the time to complete this as this really does help to highlight areas we might be able to improve across our school, confirm or encourage us when things are going well and I always say to the staff I work with, feedback is a gift and when you are given a gift, we say thank you.

Some of the results that stood out are captured below-

Colour Run

Please see the Parents and Friends page for an update on the colour run. 

We intend to run the event with some slight changes to our normal timetable on the day including lunch time to ensure we can get through all the year levels in time.  We have chosen to host the colour run on the second last day of the term for a few reasons, one being that on the last day of term we normally finish at 2:30pm and this would mean we have less time to complete the run. In addition, our staff like to head off fairly promptly on the last day as many go away with their own families too which can be difficult when you are covered in slime and colour powder. 

At the moment the weather forecast is looking much kinder to us this time around with predictions of 18 and sunny on that day. Keep our fingers and toes crossed that this stays as is!

Schedule-

Lunch – 1-1:45pm

Colour run – 1:45pm – 3:15pm

Each year level will run through separately with Preps joined by their Year 6 buddies. If you have any questions about the colour run event, don't hesitate to contact the school office.

Playground Update

We are getting very close to our new playground project physically commencing at the school which is a Victorian Schools Building Authority (VSBA) led project. This has meant that although I am part of the team that is involved in this project, it is different to a project that I would lead and see through to completion with restriction on decision and options. Along the way over the past 8 months, our School Council has been kept informed about the works and stages we are up to which has included project design, tender processes, contracts and budget updates. 

As many of you would be aware in the building industry, money does not often go as far as you would hope and throughout this process I have been really optimistic that the inclusive playground of our dreams could be built within the budget we were granted. Of course I am never one to look a gift horse in the mouth so I am really grateful that we were given a grant of $250,000 to allow this project come to life. 

I would also like to mention and give a large plug and gratitude to DIGGA Demolition Group who have agreed to demolish and remove our current playground fully free of charge. This has saved a great deal of money for this project which we are extremely grateful for.

The kick off meeting is scheduled for next week and once the plans are all approved I will share the image of our playground that is going to be installed.

Unfortunately our original design did not quite meet the financial brief of the project and so school council discussed that we might request future fundraising efforts or our major fundraiser next year may go to supporting completing a small section of the playground that we were not able to install within this scope of works.

After the kick off meeting, I will also know  more about timelines and when the project is due to be completed.

Fundraising- PnF and School Council

At school council this week, we discussed what our main areas of priority are for fundraising in our school. Each term at school council meetings and during our Finance meeting with our treasurer Lou Ellis, we look closely at all school finances and in particular our voluntary contributions that our families make that really do make a difference to our school budgets. Whilst we appreciate and genuinely value fundraising efforts in our school, fundraising monies can only be spent on certain things within a school whilst our voluntary contributions directly benefit and impact schools programs and student resources we desperately need within our teaching and learning program.

As a school we have recently reviewed our Literacy Scope and Sequence document which includes looking at all texts we use in our English program across the school from Prep through to Year 6 each and every term.

We know more than anyone how important books are for learning and to align with the new Department of Educations literacy resources and planners, we  have decided to update all texts within the school.

In the junior years, a teacher may only require one copy of a text which they would read and share with their class following on with specifically targeted activities within their learning program. However as students move through the year levels and head into Year 3/4 and 5/6 where novels are read, it is much more authentic and valued for each child to have a copy of the book in their hands. When we have student numbers in year levels that sit around 60-70, that many books cost a lot of money!

So in the short term for now, all fundraising money is going to be put towards prioritising this budget, along with any money we can allocate as a school, with the goal to have as many books in students hands as possible that are part of our new scope and sequence. This includes the upcoming Colour Run and the Mango Drive fundraiser in Term 4. 

Digital Devices in 2027

Keep an eye out for a compass post next week with a letter explaining that in 2027, our school will completely cease the BYOD iPad program that was previously implemented in our school. The letter outlines and explains that we have decided to fully support students with devices which is a much safer and more controlled way of implementing the digital technologies curriculum at our school. We have committed to purchasing new netbooks, which are a smaller version of a laptop for students in Year 5/6 to use while our students in Year 3/4 will have access to our school owned iPads. Students in P-2 are required to be on digital technology as minimally as possible with only P-2 classroom teachers and support staff accessing iPads for any learning within the digital learning framework.

In addition, a school council initiative includes asking any families with spare iPads that may not be used in homes to be donated to the school for refurbishment and use by the school. Any iPad that is able to be donated must be an 8th Generation or newer however to esnure they are still able to download the latest iOS system and can work effectively in our school network.

SunSmart Term 4

A small reminder that next term is a Sun Smart Term and therefore students will be expected to have their wide-brimmed hat for use at recess and lunch and during all outdoor activities. Please also make sure you child's hat is clearly labelled with their name to prevent sharing of hats as well as any bugs that might live in hair that we seem to have had many issues with this last term.

Concert

We are excited and very much looking forward to our annual highly anticipated School Concert next term which again will be held at the Geelong Arts Centre.  Mr Smith has begun pre-planning dances, routines, song choices and costumes already and this is a hot topic in the staff room!

As occurred last year, there will be a limit on tickets initially when they go on sale to give all families the opportunity to buy first and then another allocation for whatever is left over. This year, tickets will be sold via the box office to alleviate the traffic and pressure on our front office and we will communicate this in term 4 after some further plans are finalised! 

Wishing you all a safe and relaxing (germ free) school holiday period. Thank you for your ongoing support of our school!

Melissa Maccora

Principal