Message from the Principal 

Term 3 continues to provide many highlights and many ways for our families to participate in their child’s education. Of course, we have our parents, grandparents and carers helpers’ program. This could be assisting in the classrooms, attending an excursion or even helping out with our school production. You can also get involved directly with your child’s learning through our Continuous Reporting program on Compass. Here you can log in to see three of four work samples which have been assessed by the teacher against a rubric.

We also have our Student Agency Conferences being held on Thursday 10th September. This is another opportunity for you to engage with your child and their teacher to review learning progress made and set new goals for the remainder of this year. More so than ever before we are working to provide you with meaningful and memorable ways to be part of your child’s learning journey.   

100 DAYS OF PREP

There was plenty of excitement across Greenhills on Monday as our Prep students celebrated their 100th day of school! It is hard to believe how much they have grown in such a short time. Over the past 100 days they have built friendships, developed confidence, discovered a love of learning and become valued members of our Greenhills community. It has been a joy to watch them embrace every opportunity with curiosity, courage and big smiles.

A big thank you and congratulations to our amazing Prep teachers and Education Support staff for the care, patience and dedication they show every single day. We also thank the many families who joined us to celebrate this special milestone and our wonderful Year 6 buddies, whose kindness, encouragement and friendship have helped make our Prep students' first year of school such a positive and memorable experience. Together, these partnerships create the strong sense of belonging that makes Greenhills such a special place for our children to learn and grow.

THANK YOU PARENT ASSOCIATION  - BOGAN BINGO

I’ll try writing this in my best bogan……Fair dinkum... if ya weren't at Bogan Bingo down at the Eltham Bowling Club last Satdee night, ya were probably at home alphabetising ya stubby holders! 

What an absolute pearler of a night! There were mullets flowing in the breeze, flannies as far as the eye could see, leopard print in every direction and enough fake tatts, mozzie bites and Southern Cross singlets to make ya proud to be Strayan! 

A massive CHEERS, YA LEGENDS! to everyone who lobbed up and got right into it. You mob helped turn a silly night into a bonza fundraiser for Greenhills and proved once again that our school community knows how to have a proper crack.

Now... let's hear it for our absolute champion Parents' Association crew!

Sarah, Meiling, Mel, Prue and Melanie... you all deserve a gold-plated stubby holder! 

Big love too to our fabulous Greenhills office team, who are always busier than a one-armed brickie in a wheelbarrow factory. Nothing's ever too much trouble, and you're always there to lend a hand. We reckon you're pretty grouse!

On another note - it is not too late to join our parent association and we always welcome new bogans to our team. 😊

NAPLAN WRITING RESULTS

Greenhills Primary School has achieved strong writing results in NAPLAN 2026, with both our Year 3 and Year 5 cohorts performing above similar schools and network averages in the proportion of students achieving the Strong or Exceeding proficiency levels.

YEAR 3 WRITING

Year 3 Writing

• 90% of Greenhills students achieved Strong or Exceeding. 
• This compares with: 
  • 89% in similar schools. 
  • 86% across the network. 
• The data indicates that the vast majority of Year 3 students are writing at or above the expected proficiency level, with only a very small proportion requiring additional support.

YEAR 5 WRITING

Year 5 Writing

• 85% of Greenhills students achieved Strong or Exceeding. 
• This compares with: 
  • 84% in similar schools. 
  • 81% across the network. 
• The Year 5 cohort has also demonstrated strong performance, maintaining results above both comparison groups while ensuring very few students remain in the lower proficiency categories.

At Greenhills, these outcomes are underpinned by a deliberate and evidence-informed approach to writing instruction. Our teachers provide explicit instruction in the essential skills of writing, including sentence structure, vocabulary development, grammar, text organisation and the writing process. Through carefully sequenced lessons, regular modelling, worked examples and timely feedback, students develop the knowledge and confidence needed to become successful writers.

Alongside explicit teaching, we place a strong emphasis on ensuring students engage in meaningful and authentic writing opportunities. Students write for real purposes and audiences across a range of curriculum areas, allowing them to apply their skills in engaging and relevant contexts. This balance of explicit instruction and purposeful application helps students see themselves as capable writers while building the independence, creativity and communication skills needed for future success.

These results are a testament to the expertise and dedication of our teaching staff, the consistent implementation of our whole-school writing approach, and the commitment of our students to continually improving their writing. We will continue to refine our teaching practices and provide rich learning experiences to ensure every student is supported to achieve their personal best.

On that note, keep your eyes out for our G.R.E.A.T. Writers Competition for this year. This will be launched at our assembly this week and I will put the details in the newsletter next week.

STUDENT AGENCY CONFERENCES – THURSDAY 10th SEPTEMBER

Our Student Agency Conferences are a terrific way for us to build our school and home partnership. Over recent years we have taken on feedback from students and parents and have worked together as a staff to develop consistent proformas that are used across the school. These are designed to support our students to be actively directing and taking responsibility for their learning. Having this Agency will allow students to develop into independent, curious and reflective learners. Teachers work closely with students to support them prior to the Student Agency Conference.

Thursday 10th September is a School Council approved alteration to normal school attendance day.  

REGULAR SCHOOL DOES NOT RUN ON THURSDAY 10th SEPTEMBER.

Students areonly required to be at school during their own Conference time.

The Student Agency Conferences will last for 15 minutes, and your child will be involved for the entire time.  If you or the teacher sees the need to speak for more time, teachers will ask you to make an alternative time. Making an alternative time will ensure that you are able to speak with the teacher when other families are not waiting for their own Conference time. 

CHILDRENS BOOK WEEK – DRESS UP PARADE – 9.15AM TUESDAY 25TH AUGUST.

At Greenhills we love to celebrate all things reading. A highlight of this is our dress up parade as part of the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Annual Book Week. This will be held on Tuesday 25th August. Students are encouraged to dress up as a character from a book to celebrate the day. 

There will be a whole school parade at 9.15am on the Tigerturf where each grade will have an opportunity to share their dress up and character with the rest of the school. Parents and carers are welcome to attend. 

HILAT Focus: Pursuing Goals

At Greenhills, we want our students to take ownership of their learning by setting goals, making plans and reflecting on the progress they make along the way. Our weekly reflection question is a simple way to continue these conversations at home and encourage children to think about how they can keep growing as learners.

Week 4 – Persistence 

What challenge have you faced while working towards your goal, and how did you keep going?

James Penson,

Principal.