Principal's Report

Dear Members of the Glen Waverley Primary School Community,

I trust all is well with you and your family and welcome to this fortnight’s newsletter where so much is shared about our wonderful school.

As per usual, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to see me at school or contact me on 9802 9938 or via email at frank.catalano@education.vic.gov.au 

Update on our new approaches to learning 

As you may be aware, our recent whole-school instructional initiatives include:

• MultiLit / InitiaLit – introduced in 2024.
• OCHRE Maths – implemented across the school in 2025 and 
• OCHRE English – introduced in Years 3 to 6 this year. 

These programs have not been selected in isolation nor randomly. They are underpinned by the “Science of learning,” a substantial body of research from cognitive science, psychology and education that examines how students learn most effectively. This research highlights the importance of explicit teaching, breaking learning into manageable steps, regular checking for understanding, purposeful practice, timely feedback, retrieval practice, and reviewing learning over time to strengthen long-term memory. Collectively, these evidence-informed practices provide students with the best opportunity to develop deep understanding, confidence and academic success.

While it is still too early to fully evaluate the long-term impact of these programs, the early indicators are extremely encouraging such as: 

Teacher Judgement Data - as per the children’s reports: 

At the end of Semester One, approximately 30 students in Year 2 and 3 progressed from the English as an Additional Language Continuum (Curriculum) to the Victorian Curriculum. This is a significant milestone in their learning journey and provides encouraging early evidence that our investment in high-quality, evidence-informed literacy instruction is making a positive difference.

Historically, most children would not make this transition until Years 4, 5 or even 6. Seeing students achieve this milestone much earlier suggests they are developing the literacy skills and confidence needed to access the broader curriculum sooner, which is fabulous.

2026 Year 3 NAPLAN Results

The other assessment measure is the NAPLAN tasks, which arrived a few weeks ago. While we are continuing to analyse the data in greater detail, our initial review has identified many positives. The table below shows the percentage of students achieving in the top two proficiency bands compared with similar schools and our network.

• Similar schools refer to schools of similar size and economic status and
• Our network refers to schools in the City of Monash and Manningham.

Importantly, this Year 3 cohort is the first group of students to have experienced InitiaLit from the beginning of Year 1 (2 years), providing some of our earliest evidence of the positive impact of our evidence-informed literacy approach.

These early results reinforce our belief that a consistent, evidence-informed approach to teaching, combined with the dedication and professionalism of our staff, is helping more students experience success and achieve their full potential.

While these results are certainly encouraging, we know that the greatest gains occur when schools and families work together. The support parents and carers provide at home, whether it is listening to your child read, discussing their learning, practising number facts, attending tuition classes, or simply showing an interest in what they are learning each day, plays a vital role in building confidence, reinforcing classroom learning, and fostering a lifelong love of learning.

Whilst on the topic of our newest approaches to learning, following on from our very successful Maths Open Morning, I would also like to warmly invite all families to attend our English Open Morning on Thursday 13 August. This is a wonderful opportunity to visit classrooms, see our evidence-informed English teaching practices in action, and experience first-hand the engaging learning environment our students enjoy every day. 

Thank you for the manner in which you support your child/ren with their learning and I look forward to seeing as many families as possible on the 13th August as we showcase how we teach English – I am certain that you will really enjoy and gain a great deal from this experience. 

Congratulations to the following children for their recent achievements:

 As written previously, one of the highlights and joy that I have as a school principal, is rejoicing in the children’s achievements both within and beyond our school. Below are some of the most recent achievements:

• Chess: Congratulations and well done to:
  • Thinuli for receiving a silver medal for placing 2nd in a recent Year 3/4 Northern Star chess competition 

• Amasha a bronze medal for placing 3rd in the same competition and
• Sineysha for receiving a silver and bronze medals for placing 2nd and 3rd in the Year 5/6 Category

• Tuition: Sineysha for working extremely hard to improve her overall learning. Recently she received a trophy from her tuition classes for achieving more than 90% in their ‘mega-test!’

• Extra-curricular activities: Sihara (Year 2) loves to participate in various extra-curricular activities and recently she was awarded the following: 

• First Place in a roller-skating performance event
  • Completed the Star Three Level in roller-skating
    • Completed Purple Level in Swimming
    • Received a One-Year Achievement Award in the Drama Program

Max (Year 4) and Ethan (Year 2) Rubik’s Cube: During the recent school holidays Max and Ethan participated in the World Cube Association Competition, Australian Nationals, where both of the children achieved amazing results as per the following:  

• Max has broken his personal Records with 3x3 new record 8.38 seconds and a best single solve with only 7.18 seconds! 
• This ranked him 29 out of 520+ competitors! He also broke records for 4x4 solve, 5x5, megamix and skewb. 
• Ethan has also made significant improvement-breaking his personal record of 3x3 with 44.62 seconds, 2x2 with 14.29 seconds, pyramix 21.53 seconds and skewb 53.73 seconds. 

Wow, what amazing times Max and Ethan – well done, congratulations and keep it up!

Well done and congratulations everyone as you all should be incredibly proud of your achievements!

Rotary Club of Monash Glen Waverley Schools Writing Competition

Recently the students in Years 3 and 4 were given the opportunity to write and submit an entry to the Rotary Club Writing Competition. They were asked to create a piece of writing, approximately 500 words long, about the topic ‘Beyond Earth’. 

I would like to congratulate all the children who submitted an entry, as there were many fabulous pieces of writing! After lengthy consideration, we are pleased to announce that the Glen Waverley Primary School Winner is Aishira (Year 3), who will receive a book voucher valued at $80. The Runner Up is Ishana (Year 4), who will receive a book voucher valued at $40. Both students will be presented with their award later in the term. 

Congratulations to both our winner and runner up. The entries will now be assessed by a judging panel of members of the Rotary Club of Monash Glen Waverley to determine the overall winner for 2026.  The winner will be awarded a $200 book voucher and there will be a $250 book voucher for the winner’s school library along with the perpetual shield to be held for up to a year. 

Well done and congratulations Aishira and Ishana, as you should be very proud of this achievement!

Below are copies of the children's writing for your enjoyment.

The Girl Who Planted Stars on Mars by Aishira Year 3

No Way Home by Ishana Year 4

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED A PRINCIPAL’S AWARD RECENTLY: 

Year Prep

• Selene and Aaradhya for learning all about ‘tricky and regular’ sentences 

Year 1

• Vivansh, Rhashvin and Oshane for acting a very funny skit which involved one of them eating some bread 
• Binok for making the most amazing progress with his learning and assessment results
• Seth and Suvrat for being very supportive friends 
• Vivansh for drawing an excellent picture of his home including the bricks and the security cameras 
• Assd for making exceptional growth with his English assessments 
• Nathan for being a very supportive and kind friend 

Year 2

• Evaan for receiving the Superb 9 Swimming Award from his swimming club. He can now swim 100m, has been introduced to Breaststroke and completed basic water safety 

Year 3

• Vivaan for making excellent progress across all areas of the curriculum 
• Samith for being a wonderful friend 
• Myraa and Kaira for making exceptional bookmarks for my office 
• Nairah and Tanvika for being really responsible and honest members of our school community

Year 4

• Ayaan and Edwin for making outstanding progress with their understanding of verbs and adjectives 

Wishing everyone a safe and happy fortnight, 

Frank Catalano

Principal