From the Principal's Desk

It has certainly been an unusual week for our school community. Between the recent industrial action and our scheduled Curriculum Day, there have been a number of disruptions to the normal routine for students and families. I would like to sincerely thank our families for the understanding and support you have shown during this time. We recognise that keeping children home during the industrial action and accommodating changes to the school week can place additional pressure on family routines and work commitments. Your support for the school and our staff during this time has been greatly appreciated.

Our Curriculum Day also took place this week and, while it meant another adjustment for families, it provided our teaching staff with valuable and dedicated time to collaborate, reflect and forward plan for Term 2. Opportunities like this allow teachers to work together to strengthen our programs and ensure we are providing the best possible learning experiences for our students.

Staff were involved in several professional learning opportunities including reviewing two important programs we implement at school-

RRRR- Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships

PCMS- Positive Classroom Management Strategies

Thank you again for the ongoing support you show our school. It is always appreciated and plays an important role in maintaining the strong partnership between our school and our community.

Term 2

Looking ahead, Term 2 is shaping up to be a very busy and exciting term. We will be hosting three Prep Tours for prospective 2027 families, which are always a wonderful opportunity to showcase our school and welcome new families into our community.

In the sporting arena, our Year 3–6 students will participate in both the Athletics Day and Cross Country events, which will take place in the same week. Please note that these dates are set collaboratively with other schools across our Surf Coast network and are scheduled the year prior, so they are unfortunately beyond our control. We appreciate families’ understanding as we work within these shared arrangements. Our Year 5/6 students will also take part in the annual Football and Netball Day with our local schools.

Another highlight of the term will be our Year 5/6 School Production, an annual event that will once again be held at Grovedale Secondary College. This is always a fantastic experience for our senior students and a wonderful opportunity for them to perform and showcase their talents.

Students will also participate in several important learning programs and incursions throughout the term. Our Prep to Year 2 students will take part in the Bravehearts incursion, which supports important learning around personal safety. In addition, our swimming program will run for students in Years 1–4 and will take place at a new location this year, Saltwater Swim School in Mount Duneed.

It is certainly shaping up to be a very full term, with many exciting opportunities for students to learn, participate and represent our school. Please take note of our key dates page for important dates.

As we near the end of Term 1, I would like to congratulate all students on the work and effort they have put into their learning so far this year. We have had a busy term with many events both academic and on the sporting field and our students as always, have thrown themselves enthusiastically into their opportunities.

Our new Preps, may not be able to be referred to as 'new' anymore have made a wonderful start to their educational journey and are well versed into the routines of school life.

School Council

This week our new School Council were meant to meet however we needed to postpone our first meeting due to the industrial action taking place on that same day and therefore we are due to meet next Monday 30th March at 5:30pm for our first official meeting. 

At this school council we will elect our new President, Vice President and Treasurer for the next 12 months. 

In addition we will also present our Annual Report which will then be published on our website. 

Our new school council consists of the following members-

Lou Ellis

Lisa Barry

Chris Holmes

Emma Campbell

Rachael Partridge

Erin Gleeson- staff

Melissa Maccora- staff

Ashlee Merchant- staff

At our first school council meeting in Term 2, we will table our Annual School Report which will then be published on our school website for the whole community to view.

I thank all returning and new members for joining us on council and for the continued support of matters that relate to the functions of a school council.

Off-Site Evacuation Drill

This week we completed an offsite drill which seemed like a really big task as we planned for this, however upon reflection, we were so impressed with the responses from students as they made their way to our offsite safe spot. This included crossing the road twice, one at our crossing and the other opposite the store.

As you know, I have been messaging families about safe driving around our school including the use of our drop off and pick up zone and the close proximity to the trainline. We cannot be complacent around schools and children often will behave and react suddenly at times in unpredictable manners which makes it even harder. Please continue to be mindful of the road rules at that busy time and remember that it is for the safety of our whole school community.

Staff vs students Netball Game

A highlight each term at our school is the Staff vs Students sporting events where the teachers take things way too seriously and seem to enjoy showing off their sporting prowess whilst our students give it a red hot crack! This term was netball and despite some 'careful' umpiring by Mrs Gleeson and some genuine heckling by myself, our staff still took away the win. I would like to mention that there was some amazing Moriac talent on show in the student department, with some of the girls really showing the staff the skill vs brute force goes a long way with some stunned staff in awe of their skills. It was always going to be a difficult task with some seriously competitive staff who play serious netball...there's always next term students! 

https://vimeo.com/1176409370?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci#t=0 

As the term draws to a close, I would like to wish all our families a safe holiday period, enjoy the Easter break and we look forward to a productive and busy Term 2. 

Mel Maccora