Strong Hearts Strong Minds

Grandparents & Special Friends Day 

Tuesday afternoon, 29 October saw our school community welcome Grandparents and Special Friends into the Primary School. Our time together started with a cuppa and a gathering in the PUMP Room. This gathering was an opportunity for the children of the Junior Primary Choir to perform 'I Can Do It' by Suzie Davis Splitter and Phil Splitter and those of the Senior Primary Choir to perform ‘Keep On' from Count Us In 2013. Both songs had encouraging messages around perseverance and  growth mindset. 

Our Principal, Michelle Dempsey shared the work our Learning and Teaching team have been doing on our new MECS Threads. Our visitors responded so well to our commitment to developing Truth Discerners, Purposeful Learners, Justice Seekers, Welcoming Advocates, Awe Dwellers, Community Builders and Creation Keepers through our approach to Christian Education. 

Following this time together our visitors spent time in classrooms with their special learners. There were some more cups of tea in between classroom visits. Children with younger siblings who had to wait for Grandparents and Special Friends to make it to their classrooms did so with patience and grace. There was a lovely hum throughout the Primary School during this multigeneration event and all participants left glowing.

Janet Anderson

Assistant Principal - Primary

Treasuring our Trees

Mr Armstrong first heard about 'Treasuring Our Trees' after the June 9 storms that raged through the Dandenong Ranges. More than 25,000 trees fell down in one night! Homes were smashed and lives changed forever. David Ferrier is the founder of Treasuring Our Trees, a non-for-profit organisation that repurposes many of the fallen logs from the storm to begin community and sustainability projects such as furniture making, play spaces, yarning circles, and bush cubby houses. Many of these projects involve local schools and community groups. Mr Armstrong organised the very first excursion to the factory where our Year 6 students learned how Treasuring Our Trees has offered healing by bringing people together and 'turning a sadness into a positive'. David also spoke about his partnership with First Nations people and has become an ambassador for saving our trees in Parliament. Students had the opportunity to see firsthand the tools, massive timber logs, timber slabs, and incredible hollowed trees saved from being used as firewood.

As a symbol of resilience, for the second year running, David is giving each of our Year 6 students a block from a fallen tree as a graduation keepsake – a section of beautiful native timber salvaged from those storms. Each of the blocks will be engraved with a personal quote chosen by each student regarding resilience, which they will carry with them into their high school years and beyond. This year’s blocks are especially memorable because the Montrose Men’s Shed cut them for us and sanded them into stunning individual pieces. The engraving will be done in partnership with Ranges TEC, and we are very grateful for their expertise and machinery. Our students also visited this facility to watch VET students demonstrate the various trades. What a wonderful opportunity to taste a possible career path. It was one of the most meaningful excursions Senior Primary has attended. 

The students will send their sincere thanks to David, Noel, Terry and Eddie at the Montrose Men’s Shed for all the time and effort put into these magnificent graduation mementos.

To teach our students the majestic beauty of God’s creation and to passionately care for nature, is a joy and a privilege.

Wayne Armstrong & Lyse Carlson 

on behalf of the Senior Primary Team

Cyber Safety

Our lovely SPs have been learning about Cyber Safety and we had a team of Year 5s (Emily, Harin, Grace, Jeffrey and Riley) who volunteered to present their learning to the MPs. 

Here is what they presented:

This term we have been learning about cyber safety in SP, and we have learned how to be safe online. Some games can be online, and you must be careful when you are on them, as they have other players on them that you don't know and could be an adult or kid. If someone is rude to you online or you don’t feel safe, report them, block them, or tell a trusted adult. Some of us have had a chance to talk to the MP’s about what we have learnt. Now the MPs know all about cyber safety! For parents, this might be a conversation to talk to your kids about if they play online games or go online in general. Some things to talk about are: Don’t talk to other players you don’t know, if you feel unsafe or uncomfortable you can use your five fingers to list who to talk to and to report and block people that are being weirdly nice or are doing bad things.

Rebekah Clark​​​​​

Middle & Senior Primary Teacher

Primary Leadership Speeches

Year 5 students eagerly prepared and delivered their leadership speeches for 2025 before their current and following year cohort. They showed courage and commitment to step forward for these roles. Each student invested their own time into crafting speeches that highlighted their strengths, values, and aspirations, incorporating humour, Bible verses, and references to people they admire. Their presentations reflected personal insights and a genuine desire to contribute to the school community, showcasing the God given gifts and talents they hope to bring to these leadership positions. The roles will be announced shortly, and the current School and Tribal Leaders will ‘hand over’ their duties in an upcoming GT. The students should be well proud of their decision to pursue leadership for next year and beyond.

SP Teaching Team