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 fabulous school.

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

Novel Coronavirus Update

It has been very pleasing to note that the number of confirmed cases throughout our school has decreased over the last fortnight. Naturally this is a result of everyone being vigilant by ensuring the children remain home if they are feeling unwell and also utilising the Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT’s). Once again, thank you everyone for the manner in which the entire GWPS community have supported one another and please continue to keep an eye on Compass for updates.

Year 5 Camp

Congratulations and well done to our fabulous Year 5 learners as they enjoyed 4 fantastic days at the Old Priory camp in Beechworth. The children returned on Friday looking somewhat exhausted however incredibly proud of themselves as they learnt so much about Australian history whilst developing their confidence, self-esteem and ability to work with others.

Naturally, a school camp is not possible if it were not for the staff and other adults who attended and also organised the camp. A sincere thank you and well done to Ms. Liburti and Ms. Stevenson for their fabulous organisation, the rest of the Year 5 Team for their leadership and support and all of the staff who attended or assisted in various ways. Congratulations, thank you and well done everyone!

Year 4 – 6 Intra-School Athletics Sports

It was wonderful that we were able to complete our intra-school athletics sports on Thursday 24th February. We look forward to our school team being announced and the children partaking in the District Athletics which are being held on Friday 1st April at Bill Stewart Athletics Oval in Burwood. Congratulations to all of the children who qualified and best wishes with your respective events. We look forward to sharing how you went as soon as possible.

Congratulations to the following children for their outstanding achievements:

Swimming:

Joshua (Year 5) is an avid swimmer and recently he sent me the following email:

Dear Mr Catalano,

This is Joshua from 5D.

On Saturday 26th February 2022, I went to the 2022 Metro East District Swimming Competition.

This is where they select ten fastest swimmers in each stroke and age. I got selected in 3 strokes for my age group.

These are the strokes:

Butterfly 50m 7th Place PB

Freestyle 50m 6th Place PB

Backstroke 50m 8th Place PB

I will be going to the semi-final on the 26th of March 2022 and if I get in the top ten again, I will be the Victorian Metro All Junior Competition in the final. I am very proud of this because I couldn’t train perfectly because of being sick, but I did my best. From now on I’ll train even harder for the next competition.

Sincerely,

Joshua

Josh, this is an amazing achievement – well done and congratulations! I did note that you also swam PB’s (personal bests) in all of the 3 strokes in which you were selected – this too is a real testament to how much effort and persistence you place on your swimming. We all look forward to hearing how you go on the 26th of March!

Also, Josh recently represented our school in the district swimming championships, and I am delighted to report that he placed:

1st in Freestyle and
2nd in Butterfly

to now qualify for the Regional Finals which are being held on the 26th of March.

Once again, congratulations Josh and we look forward to hearing how you go in the Regionals!

Athletics :

Congratulations to Aidan (Year 4) and Ethan (Prep) for their outstanding athletics achievements recently.

Aidenplaced 4th in high jump and hurdles in a recent regional track and field competition and was selected to participate in the State track and Field Championship this month. He also placed 3rd in his centre championship!
Ethan also placed 3rd and received his first medal.

Well done and congratulations Aidan and Ethan, please continue with your athletics passion and Aidan we look forward to hearing how you go at the State Championships!

Cricket:

Congratulations to Chaitanya (Year 5) for receiving the Bob Morrow Spirit of Cricket award from the Monash Glen Waverley Junior Cricket Club. Chaitanya also received the “Sensie” award for teaching his teammates…helping with their batting, bowling and fielding skills. Well done and congratulations Chaitanya as it is wonderful to receiving such amazing awards! And

Congratulations to Krisha and Minza for successfully completing the cricket season with their local club. The girls proudly showed their trophies at Monday’s assembly and also gave a fabulous speech! Well done Krisha and Minza, as you mentioned in your speech, hopefully some day you will be professional cricketers!

Tribute to Shane Warne

The passing of cricketing icon and legend Shane Warne has had an impact on most Australians, Victorians and cricket loving fans all over the world including some of the children at our school. Thimath (Year 6) has written the following tribute to “The King” – Shane Keith Warne. Thank you Thimath for doing so, as this demonstrates a deep sense of acknowledgment and empathy.

Tribute To Shane Warne - By, Thimath 6A

The cricket world has lost a legend, the world’s king of leg-spin. Australian cricket icon Shane Warne passed away on the 4th of March 2022. Warne is recognised as the best leg spin bowler in cricket history. Shane Warne is the 2nd highest wicket taker in test cricket with over 700 wickets. This Victorian claims an unbelievable Ashes hat trick and the record for the most test runs without scoring a century. Warne also captained the Australian ODI squad in 1999. Nobody who saw Warne play at that time would ever forget him. Our hearts are breaking for Warne, and any Victorian would feel sad.

Rest In Peace Warnie.

“To me, cricket is a simple game. Just keep it simple and go out and play.” - Shane Warne

Junior School Council

Congratulations to all of the children who were selected as part of the 2022 Junior School Council as it is always an honour to represent your class and school. On Friday the children will be completing their first leadership training session with renowned leadership coach, Gary Ryan. I look forward to sharing the children’s feedback and reflections about their training session and their action plans in forthcoming newsletters. Well done and congratulations everyone!

Class	Student Voice	Service Learning	Environmental
00A	Kivein	Jamie	Samiksha
00B	Amesh	Denith	Ryleigh
00C	Max	Kiara	Evin
00D	Alex	Amasha	Shivane
00E	Ella	Harin	Thidas
1A	Jacob	Senon	Hasan
1B	Aaradhya	Anuki	Dylan
1C	Evelyn	Tasmira	Isha
1D	Aneel	Jamie	Ali
1E	Reyansh	Shlok and Manuth	Arjun
2A	Harley	Shruthi	Prisha
2B	Vivaan	Tevin	Shonosh
2C	Rehmat	Nishita	Dehan
2D	Saakhi	Eva	Navya
2E	Vidit	Sevin	Khwaeesh
3A	Kimaya	Reyan	Akira
3B	Agam	Janhavi	Mahaan
3C	Jaik	Kyra	Duke
3D	Samihan	Sheila	Aaria
3E	Mikayla	Saneli	Niven
4A	Vinudi	Anuki	Amelia
4B	Neervi	Jiya	Suwi
4C	Ana	Hansiga	Shaya
4D	Eman	Vishan	Mayra
4E	Dusmika	Ishika	Kiyara
5A	Arnold	Dev	Ansh
5B	Janiya	Ofeli	Deneth
5C	Ryan	Blake	Sahiba
5D	Nabiha	Dilu	Lilia
5E	Mitul	Yuvan	Harish
6A	Gauri	Yenuli	Ruhein
6B	Sachin	Arnav	Mihir
6C	Nartana	Nethuli	Isath
6D	Nishith	Imansa	Harsh
6E	Aryan	Russell	Caleb
6F	Vedanshi	Hriday	Saheli

School Council Elections and Update

Thank you to the numerous families who completed this year’s School Council voting slips. In total approx. 1700 votes were counted which demonstrates the importance our school community place on this issue.

Thank you to the members of our school community who nominated for selection and congratulations to those who were successful.

I am very pleased to announce the composition of the 2022 School Council is now complete and is as follows:

Parent Representatives:

Jessey Kaur, Tejaswini Patel, Chetna Raj, Praveen Jain, Suresh Ramachandraiah, Poonam Virk, Aditya Sathe, Thusitha Tennakoon, Dinesh Shetty and Isha Malhotra.

Staff Representatives:

Ben Welsh, Roland Lewis, Trish Singh, Lauren Anderson, Jess Wood, Peter Shen and myself.

This fortnight I have also attached an overview of the role of the School Council compared to that of the Principal.

Area of Activity

The School Council ……

The Principal ……

Curriculum

Develops the broad direction and vision for the school using guidelines provided by the Department

Leads development of teaching and learning programs

Determines teacher, subject and time allocations, timetables, class sizes and structures

Student Management

Develops student engagement policy and student dress code

Consults with the school community before adopting changes to these policies

Implements these policies

Considers and, where appropriate, grants exemptions to dress codes

Manages all matters of student wellbeing, discipline and academic progress

Staff Employment and Management

Approved employment of some staff e.g., casual replacement teachers, canteen staff

Recommends to the Secretary of the Department the appointment of a principal

Is responsible (as delegated by the Secretary to the Department) for the employment and management of persons in the Teaching Service (including non-teaching staff)

Buildings and Grounds

Enters in contracts for buildings and grounds improvements

Oversees maintenance of all facilities

Monitors implementation of contracts

Child Safety Standards

Develops policies as required by the Child Safety Standards

Reviews existing contracts and ensures future contracts address the requirements of the Child Safety Standards

Implements these policies

Principal Awards

Congratulations to the following students for receiving a Principal Awards recently:

Prep D

Harley for making amazing progress with her learning. Harley has learnt about the letter N!
Nethuli, Hathan and Aran for their fabulous writing skills

1B

Sam for continuing to write very engaging and interesting narratives
Kisal for being a fantastic friend

1C

Hasiru for working very hard to continue to improve his drawing skills

1E

Reyansh, Krishna and Riaan for many ‘buckets’ for my office so they can be filled with compliments from others
Nevan for being a very supportive and trustworthy friend

2B

Ivan and Jittipad for making amazing pizzas out of clay in the art room. Ivan’s is a bacon pizza with meat and Jittypad’s a cheese, mushroom and lettuce pizza!

Tevin and Rishi for volunteering to build a Lego crane for our school’s display cabinet
Ronith for being an amazing and very supportive friend

2C

Pavirna and Jiaqi for making outstanding progress with their writing
Kevon for working so hard to improve his writing and for writing an engaging narrative that is 3 pages long!

2D

Siya and Aagash for completing their home learning to a very high standard

Tevin and Rishi for their mazing lego skills

3C

Yash for being a very responsible member of our school community
Kyra for working so hard to complete her home learning at a very high standard

3D

Himansh also for being a very responsible member of our school community

4A

Yashvi, Zarah and Yash for making amazing progress with their writing as featured in the Kids Corner section of this newsletter

Wishing everyone a safe and happy fortnight,

Frank Catalano

Principal

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