Principal's Message 

Fortnightly reflection

Welcome back for Term 4. I hope you all had a relaxing, well earned break. It is hard to believe we are in the last quarter of the school year. 

It has been so nice to return to Ceres after my extended break and see all the happy Ceres faces again. It has been particularly heartwarming to see how much fun our students are having around the yard and how focused they are in the classrooms coming off the break. Fantastic!

Over the holidays we again have had some extensive work completed with a CCTV system installed, and synthetic grass laid near the playground transforming that area completely. Numerous other carpentry tasks have been completed too. It's never dull around the traps on our quest to make Ceres PS sparkle before our milestone year in 2025.

This term, we are pleased to announce that Music has been re-introduced to our specialist program and, at the same time, welcoming the newest member of the Ceres staff, Mrs. Roberta Kelevitz. I'm sure we will all make Roberta feel very welcome each Tuesday and Friday.

Community engagement 

Keep an eye out if you are headed to the Geelong Show this weekend as our students will have entries on display (see below) for all to see in the Education Pavilion. Our students' wonderful creations will no doubt look fantastic on display and a big congratulations on the third placing.  They should be proud of their efforts, as should our Art teacher, Mrs Deppeler for co-ordinating it all. A big thank you to Trisha for stepping in as our Ceres supervisor on Thursday. 

Throughout this term, there will be further community engagement initiatives with the Community Christmas Tree initiative and a possible student visit to a local aged care facility. Watch this space!

National Teacher's Day -

Fri, Oct 25th

In Victoria, we celebrate World Teachers' Day on 25th of October, NEXT FRIDAY. 

It is a chance to recognise and celebrate the teachers who are making or have made, an impact in our lives.

At Ceres PS, we are very fortunate to have such a dedicated, enthusiastic, and compassionate group of teachers. 

Our teachers constantly go above and beyond to ensure the students of Ceres have the best education and wellbeing opportunities possible. We thank them for their efforts and constant positive attitudes. 

Please spare a minute or two to acknowledge your child's teacher next week.

Geelong Cup- Public Holiday

Please note that Wednesday 23rd October is Geelong Cup Day which is a scheduled public holiday in the City Of Greater Geelong. It is important to be aware that as a school we do not have any choice in this matter and I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

We also have Pupil Free Days scheduled for:

• Monday, November 4th for teachers to complete some assessment and reporting commitments  and 
• Tuesday November 5th (Melb Cup Day) planned for teachers to conduct some new curriculum learning. 

Please make the necessary care arrangements for your children for each day concerned.

Kelly Club has been engaged to run a full day care program for Nov 4th and 5th if they are to reach the required numbers.

Parent Survey Data Dive

We are calling any interested parents to join our Leadership team to explore the results from our recent Parent Opinion Survey together in the form of a Data Exploration. 

We, as a school staff, are interested in gaining deeper insights into the parent responses. Parents you will have another opportunity to have your voices heard and support the development of Ceres PS. 

Last year's data dive opportunity lead to the introduction of many initiatives to our school operations. 

We are looking to hold this exciting parent-voice opportunity on Thursday, October 31st at 9am. Please allow about an hour for this session. 

If you are interested and able to join us for this session please follow this link and let us know. EOI will close next Friday, 25th Oct. 

For organisational purposes, we will be in contact with each parent to confirm the date, time, and attendance. 

The coffee truck will be onsite and some light snacks will be available.

2025 preparation and update

A question we get a lot around this time of year is, "Who will be my child's teacher next year?" 

At Ceres, we work thoughtfully to build future class groupings. Teachers work together (literally for hours) forming classes for the coming year. They consider student learning styles, behaviour needs, student personalities, and many other factors to create classrooms where students will work well together and with their teacher. It is a complex process. Our goal is always to create the most balanced classes possible. 

It's important to remember also that children are very resilient and will usually find new friends in their new class if they don't get their "bestie" in their class.  There's always recess and lunch to reconnect. I ask you to trust us, the teachers and leaders to put together the best class groupings for next year. 

Although we do not accept any specific teacher requests, parents are invited to advise us of any considerations that they would like us to take into account for student placement in 2025 in terms of learning styles, behaviours, and personalities of your child/ren etc. 

If you would like to take this opportunity, I ask that you provide your thoughts in writing to me (via the school email ceres.ps@education.vic.gov.au ), no later than Friday 26th October 2024. Unfortunately, we are unable to consider requests after this date.  

We will have our Whole School Orientation Day on Tuesday 10th December, the same day as some of the Grade Six children transition to secondary school. 

Also, to assist our 2025 planning we ask that if your family is moving out of our area or your child will be attending another school in 2025, please contact the office and let us know as soon as possible to allow us enough time to effectively plan and manage our enrolments. Thank you.

F-2 sleepover/disco decision 

From this year and onwards we have decided to not continue with an F-2 Sleepover and disco. We know that this will come as a disappointment to some but please know that this decision was not made lightly. 

Each class/cohort will get to engage in an end of year incursion and/or excursion to celebrate their year. 

Schools Water Efficiency Program (SWEP) @Ceres PS

Our school has been fortunate enough to have received a water monitoring device on our water tanks recently thanks to SWEP, a Barwon water initiative.

The Victorian Government Schools Water Efficiency Program (SWEP) enables schools to track their water usage using data logger technology.

SWEP provides water meter data-loggers and an online monitoring dashboard, enabling schools to track water usage and detect leaks. 

SWEP will alert us to any issues, help us save water, and promote water education in our school.

Bushfire Risk Category  

Ceres PS is considered a Category 4 on the Bushfire At-Risk Register, meaning we are in an area considered to be at some risk of bushfire or grassfire. As a school in Category 4, our school must close on days forecast as ‘Catastrophic’ by the Bureau of Meteorology in our designated fire district. 

We will advise all families immediately if we receive a notification of this rating via Compass if it is to eventuate.

For more information regarding this procedure please read the communication document below.

Sunsmart in Term 4

As mentioned at the end of last term we are required to be wearing our hats when outside from now until April next year. 

School hats are available for purchase from our uniform provider Beleza for $15. School hats with a broad brim meet all DET and sunsafe requirements, baseball hats do not. 

Students will be actively encouraged to apply a broad spectrum water resistant sunscreen (SPF30+) at home before coming to school which their parents or guardians provide.

Please read our Sunsmart Policy attached below for further information.

Reminder: Our student led Assembly is on today at 2:30 pm.

Our assembly is an important part of our school. It is an opportunity to proactively reinforce our school culture and expectations through the acknowledgement and celebration of our students and school. 

Have a great fortnight.

Tim Callaghan

Acting Principal