Message from the Principal 

3RD DIVISION SIGNALS ASSOCIATION

Last Wednesday, a group of our student leaders from Years 5 & 6 attended the Shrine of Remembrance to hold a special memorial service to honour the 3rd Division Signals Association. Our school makes this annual visit as part of our ongoing and special relationship with the Association which started back in 2007. The partnership fosters relationships and enables schools to carry on the legacy of an ex-service organisation, which is a very special honour for our school. 

This year was an incredibly special event as Jack Bradie, the last serving member of the Unit who turned 101 years old this year, made the trip down from Mildura to attend. 

I have included an email we received from Larraine Atherton & Val Stratford who are the daughters of Milton Kennart who served with the 3rd Division Signals during World War 2.

Good evening, my sister and I attended the Melbourne Shrine Sanctuary today April 24th, 2024 for the Wreath Laying Ceremony for 3 Div Signals! It was such a lovely experience and made so much richer by the inclusion of the students of Greenhills Primary School! The thoughtfulness, caring and respect given by your students was wonderful to see and we thank you all so very much! 

As you can read from the letter, our relationship with the 3rd Division Signals Association is certainly very important and significant to both current and past servicemen and women who served in the Association and all of their family members. 

A big thank you to Tegan Smith for helping to organise the day with the Association, Sheryl Munks-Callahan for attending and supporting our students and of course a big thank you to our students.

ANZAC DAY COMMEMORATION EVENTS

On ANZAC Day last Thursday, we had a large number of Greenhills students attend our local Greensborough RSL Sub-Branch Memorial Service. This included participating in the march up to the service along Main Street.

Once again it was wonderful seeing so many of our students and their families there to represent our school and pay respects to all men and women who have served our nation. During the Service, our team of students, dressed in full Greenhills uniform laid a wreath on behalf of our school community. 

At this time, each year I also like to remind our school community that we have our own memorial garden at Greenhills Primary School as well. For those of you who might not be aware of this, the garden is located outside the main office as you walk up to the school from Mine Street. This project was led by Andrea Williams our Art Specialist teacher and Helen Platania, a local artist. If you haven’t already seen it, please make sure you take the time to do so. A part of the garden includes a special plaque in recognition of the 3rd Division Signals Association and the face of the soldier in the centre of the mural is James Nolan who is the great, great uncle of the Thom family here at the school. 

TEACHING OUR STUDENTS ORGANISATIONAL SKILLS

Learning how to be organised is an important element of student agency. At Greenhills, one of the ways in which we teach our students organisational skills is through our focus on “learning to learn.” As shared in previous newsletters, each Monday morning our students spend the first part of the day “setting up for success.” This could be setting a goal or thinking and planning for the week ahead.

Our Home Learning Program is also part of the way our students are supported to develop their agency through organisational skills. As you can see from the pictures, in Years 5 & 6 this extends to using their student diaries to record important dates, deadlines and things to remember. There are also a range of other suggested tasks to complete. This is a way our students can step up and be organised for the way homework operates in high school without having to move too quickly into this space!

THE JUNGLE BOOK

Last Friday we launched our whole school musical for 2024! This years production will be 'The Jungle Book'. Over the next few weeks, the team will be busy at work making script adjustments and building musical items and dances into the show.

Our Year 5 & 6 students will have the opportunity to audition for the roles in the show and the process for this will be shared and communicated to all our senior students and families. 

Everyone can become involved by entering our logo competition. We need our very own Jungle Book logo. This will be used to promote the show on posters and social media platforms. Full details of this competition will be sent out next week and shared at the next assembly as well.

Put the dates in your calendars now:

Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th September. *Note there will be both daytime and evening shows on these days. 

                                    TERM 2 WORKING BEE             

Just a quick reminder that we have our Term 2 Working Bee on Saturday 18th May from 8.30am - 11.30am.  Even if you can only help for an hour, it will really assist us to look after and maintain our school grounds. This is a challenge with the funding our school is provided with, so our working bees each term are critical.

 Please register via https://www.carebookings.com/code?z=TYHjtk using the code: JGU9L

James Penson 

Principal