Principal's Report

Jells Park Primary School

Principal:                        Kevin Oakey

                                          Kevin.Oakey@education.vic.gov.au

Principal &

Assistant Principal:    Kellie Stewart

                                         Kellie.Stewart@education.vic.gov.au

Assistant Principal:     Scott Zachariassen

                                          Scott.Zachariassen@education.vic.gov.au

Parent Opinion Survey

A reminder that the 2026 Parent and Caregiver Opinion Survey is now available for completion online until Friday 18 September 2026. At the moment we have had just a 5% response - we would love to hear more from you, positive and negative.

The survey seeks feedback from parents on:

• school climate
• community engagement in learning
• teaching practices for student engagement and outcomes
• attitudes towards school attendance.

The link and PIN to log on and complete the survey was sent to parents 2 weeks ago - please check your emails. 

We greatly value parent opinion - your views have resulted in many changes around the school in past years, so please participate in the survey.

Change to Student Leadership positions

From recommendations of staff and approval by Leadership and School Council, we have made a small change to the Student Leadership positions for 2027, which will also be important for parents to know.

For 2027 we will be adding a Wellbeing Captain to the available positions and removing the Media Captain positions.

The introduction of Wellbeing Captains fits in with our work in the school and the need for support in this space, highlighting the priority we give Wellbeing to the students and the community. It is a positive extension to engage with students on issues that affect their wellbeing.

The removal of Media Captains is due to the position becoming redundant over the past few years. The 'digitech' skills required for this role are fairly universal across all students and the media tasks are better written into the specific role descriptions for all the other positions. We have found it challenging each year to find meaningful responsibilities and opportunities for the Media captains - in the end the past few captains have had very little to do.

Each year we circulate a document to Level 5 students and parents that provides more information fabout the positions, process and support advice for students.

The Student Leadership Policy is available on website.

National Champions - Schoolaerobics

What a brilliant outcome for our Level 5 Jewels and Level 4 Gems Aerobics teams at the recent National School Aerobics Championships in Queensland - a GOLD medal to the Jewels and a BRONZE medal to the Gems. Their preformances were outstanding  and the smiles on the faces were huge. Congratulations girls.

I have seen the work put in by these students and it really paid off. Thanks should go here to the massive workload taken by the staff to get these girls ready to go and encourage them all the way.  Thank you also to all the support from parents. Wonderful result!

Kevin Oakey

Principal

Canteen 2027

After a thorough review process and consultation with students, staff and families, we are pleased to announce that Classroom Cuisine has been engaged as our canteen provider for 2027. This decision was made following careful consideration of community feedback and the needs of our school. As Classroom Cuisine operates as an off-site canteen service, it also provides an exciting opportunity for our school to make greater use of the canteen kitchen as part of our teaching and learning programs, allowing students to engage in authentic, hands-on learning experiences. We are confident this model will support both high-quality food service and enhanced learning opportunities for our students. Further information about the transition and ordering processes will be shared with families in the coming months.

R U OK Day

R U OK? Day is begin recognised on Thursday 10th September across workplaces and schools Australia wide. It provides an important opportunity to remind our students that looking after our mental health is just as important as looking after our physical health. Through our Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) program, students are explicitly taught skills that support emotional awareness, resilience, positive relationships and help-seeking behaviours. These messages are further strengthened through the mental health and wellbeing initiatives led by Melissa McLeod (MHiPS leader) and Laura Serong (Wellbeing), who work closely with students and staff to promote a positive, connected and supportive school environment. We encourage families to use R U OK? Day as a conversation starter at home and to continue reinforcing the importance of checking in with one another and seeking support when needed.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Kellie Stewart

Assistant Principal