Principal's Report
Staffing News
I would like to congratulate Miss Brooke Ingram on her recent success in securing a teaching position at our school in 2025. Miss Ingram currently works at Woorinen District Primary School, where she is a leading teacher. Her responsibilities include classroom teaching, Professional Learning Communities Leader, Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader and Disability Inclusion Leader.
I'm sure our community will make Miss Ingram feel very welcome at our school when they meet her.
Classroom Teacher Placements for 2024
Our classroom teachers have been allocated to the following grades for 2024:
Prep – Miss Madie Floyd, Miss Georgia Mortlock and Miss Abbey Dunn
Grade 1/2 – Mrs Kate Murphy, Mrs Tegan Edwards, Miss Jade Patrao-Hurley, Mrs Jane
Rodda, Miss Ashlea Lockett and Mr Chris McClellan
Grade 3/4 – Mr Rohan Daenke, Miss Alisha Mitchell, Mrs Lauren Schulz, Mr Daniel Lidgett and Miss Brooke Ingram
Grade 5/6 – Mr Luke Staley (0.4)/Mrs Von Garmey (0.6), Mrs Kelly Byron, Mr Corey Greer, Mr Luke Crawford and Mrs Emma Clohesy
Please note: Mr McClellan will not have his own class, rather he will be providing targeted intervention for groups of students.
Be Awesome Day 2024
We celebrated another successful 'Be Awesome Day' recently. For those not familiar with this special day, it is a legacy piece to celebrate our former friend and colleague, Mr Mark 'Stevo' Stevens. Stevo was an amazing teacher at SGPS, who’s passion and enthusiasm for his students was infectious. Stevo had a lasting impression on everyone he met, and not a day goes by that we aren’t reminded of his amazing impact on our school. Our motto 'Be Awesome' was Stevo's favourite saying when talking to our students. He could always be overheard telling students to be awesome, and when they responded with 'I already am', he would just tell them to be more awesome. This year we have been lucky to have Stevo's eldest daughter, Pearl, do some casual Education Support work at our school. It has been so nice to have this connection back to Mark.
Special thanks to Mrs Schulz for coordinating this special day. Thanks also to Emma Clohesy for organising the Colour Run and thanks to all parents who helped out or attended on the day. Finally, congratulations to all students for planning and running their activities on the day. You were all AWESOME!
School Arrival Time - 8:30am
Supervision at SGPS begins at 8.30am, and our learning day starts promptly at 8:45am. The music starts at 8.42am, and by 8.45am, students should be ready to enter their classrooms.
Arriving even a few minutes late can lead to a disrupted start to the day for the student and the class. Over time, these small delays can add up to significant missed learning, impacting their progress over a week, a term, or even the school year.
If your child arrives late to school, they must report to the office. A staff member can then walk them to the class if required, especially for our youngest students. I respectfully request that parents do not enter the buildings after 8.45am to drop their child off. We want to minimise disruptions for students that are ready to learn, as well as their teachers.
Remembrance Day
Every year at 11am on 11 November—the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month—we pause to remember those men and women who have died or suffered in all wars, conflicts and peace operations. We also think about current serving personnel.
Our staff acknowledged this important day with their students on Monday.
2025 Booklists
Reminder, that the 2025 Booklists will close on Friday December 13, 2024 - this will guarantee delivery on book collection day. Orders received after this date will not be ready until the start of the Term 1 2024.
Book Collection Day
Where: Spring Gully Primary School
Date: Tuesday January 21, 2024
Time: 8:00am to 4:00pm
From: Art Room
Head Lice
We occasionally receive reports from parents about head lice. While annoying, they are very common in school-aged children and are the most adaptable of creatures. They have survived living solely on humans for 10,000 years!
Please be vigilant and check your child/ren’s hair regularly, particularly behind the ears and neck.
If you are unlucky enough to come across lice in your child’s hair, please let the school office or your teacher know so they can put out the anonymous alerts. This is important to help eradicate them from the classroom.
Children with head lice are not permitted to attend school until appropriate treatment has started. Please rest assured that head lice can (and does) happen to anyone...except people like me!
The Victorian Department of Health provides a handy website to help parents manage head lice and we appreciate your support with this.
Repeat Notices
Change of Plans for 2025?
Accurate enrolment numbers are crucial when it comes to planning for 2025. If your child/children will not be with us next year, please contact your child’s teacher or the office as soon as possible.