Principal's Report

By Frank Catalano

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 wonderful 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.

School Chess Team

Recently some members of our school chess team participated in a tournament at Doncaster Gardens PS and I am thrilled to report that our school placed 2nd with the following children receiving notable prizes:

Ethan - Grade 3-4 Silver Medallion and has qualified for the State Semi-Finals.
Aadyah - Grade 3-4 Bronze Medallion and has qualified for the State Semi-Finals and
Yehara - Girls Overall Gold Medallion and has qualified for the State Finals.

Well done and congratulations everyone as you should be incredibly proud of yourselves! Also, a sincere thank you to the parents who supported the children by escorting them to the event as your efforts are appreciated immensely! I look forward to sharing additional news soon!

The other exciting news for the children in the chess team, is that this year they have all received our very first School Chess Team badge which I am certain they will wear with pride at school and at the various tournaments they participate in.

STEAM Incursion

On Monday 29th April the Year 5 and 6 children participated in a STEAM incursion which was very engaging and incredibly rewarding as the students explored and learnt about various concepts. Thank you to Mr. Soo for organizing the incursion and congratulations to the Year 5 and 6 students for the outstanding manners and high level of interest and participation. Please refer to Mr. Soo’s reflective piece which is included in this newsletter.

Pyjama Day

Wow, what a sea of colour and delight we had at our school last Friday as the children (and staff) supported the Heart Kids Foundation with our very own pyjama day. A sincere thank you to everyone who supported this incredibly important cause and please refer to the CIS Captain’s piece below as they reflect on the day. Thank you and well done everyone!

Hello GWPS community,

On Friday the 3rd or May, it was pyjama day, where everyone could wear their pyjamas to school. We had to bring a gold coin donation to school, and all of the money raised would go to the Heart Kids Foundation, which is an organisation that helps children with heart diseases. We would like to thank everyone who took part in this event and donated their money. In total, together we raised $1423.50.

Well done and thanks everyone. Our next fundraising event is Crazy Hair Day on Friday 31st May, so start thinking of how you will make your hair crazy!

From your CIS captains

Camp Australia Big Art Competition Winner

Congratulations, Aseli for being crowned the winner of the Senior age group in the Big Art Competition with Camp Australia! This achievement is a testament to Aseli's exceptional talent, boundless creativity, and unwavering commitment.

It was truly wonderful to have Meththa, our Before and After School OSCH coordinator, join us at our recent school assembly to present Aseli with this well-deserved recognition. As part of the prize package for the Big Art Competition, Aseli received a framed copy of her artwork, a tangible symbol of her remarkable accomplishment. Well done Aselli for this incredible achievement!

Congratulations Akshara in 4F -2nd prize in Take the Mic Singing Competition!

We're thrilled to share the exciting news that Akshara has once again showcased her incredible talent at the Take the Mic singing Competition. She wowed the judges with her rendition of Taylor Swift's "You Belong with Me" and received second prize in the Pop junior category (7-12 years). The competition, judged by international vocalist Cassie McIvor and 'The Voice All Star' fame Madi K, was undoubtedly fierce, making Akshara's achievement even more commendable!

Attached are some photos from her performance. And don't miss out on the video of her performance: https://youtu.be/8YJdsaDykl0?si=33YsRxIbutSPxhNj

With this remarkable win, Akshara is now gearing up for the Grand Finals in July. We couldn't be prouder of her dedication and talent.

Curriculum Day

On Friday 26th April we held our third Curriculum Day for the year where the focus was:

All staff - Do Happy Fundamentals with Dr. Gihan
Year Prep to Two staff – AERO/SOLAR Lab Course work – focusing on the MultiLit program
Year Three to Six and TSL Teams – Assessment and Reporting and the
Specialist and Innovation Teams – Developing guidelines for our school’s wellbeing routines.

Overall, the day was an enormous success, thank you and well done to Amanda Seach for her outstanding organisation and the entire staff for implementing a marvellous Curriculum Day. Our next curriculum day is scheduled for Tuesday 11th June and I look forward to sharing some of our learning as soon as possible.

School Photos

‘School Photo Day’ is always exciting as the children (and staff) prepare themselves for this special event and this year was no exception. Thank you everyone for your willingness to support this initiative and we look forward to the children’s photos being delivered later in the term.

Facilities Update

As mentioned in previous newsletters, the development of our school’s facilities is an important part of our overall school improvement plan and this fortnight the main facilities related task completed was the installation of a new fence along High Street Road. Thank you to the numerous parents who have commented about this project (and also the tasks completed throughout the recent holidays) as your feedback and comments are appreciate immensely.

Included are some photos of the new fence for your enjoyment.

For the remainder of the school year, the main projects we will be focusing on are:

The installation of new windows in the main building and the Year 3 building and
The development of the new Year 6 Area.

I look forward to providing updates in forthcoming newsletters.

Principal Awards

Congratulations to the following students for receiving a Principal’s Award recently:

Prep C

Kiyan and Jaynmae for learning all about rectangles and triangles

Eric for writing very descriptive pieces that shines a light on the readers imagination
Owen for continuing to make outstanding progress with his dancing skills. Recently he competed in a competition organised by the Australian Dance Society where he placed 5th in the Quick Step and Samba and 1st in the Gypsy Tap

Agam for working very hard to improve his drawing skills
Abisshna and Reyashi for creating the most amazing key note presentation about how to collaborate and booklets about the environment

Shanaya, Eric and Aria for writing excellent persuasive texts about looking after the environment and saving animals.

Ryleigh, Aaren and Rishaan for making amazing connections and progress with their understanding of fractions.

Shawn for creating amazing and very detailed posters for Cultural Diversity week involving 3 countries
Lyneta for writing the most amazing narrative about a child who is not very friendly and for also writing a recount about a family holiday which was outstanding!

Klarissa for receiving her first Australian Air League badge in general proficiency class 6. For it she had to do complete a test about planes including knowing the difference an Airbus and a Boeing, different types of planes, history of flight, aviation terms, aviation history and uniform. Klarissa also created a scrapbook about planes. Shortly she hopes to receive the GP5 badge which focuses on, Electronics and the Theory of Flight.

Jimmy and Arnav for making excellent choices and working so hard to improve their learning.

Pratham and Hasiru for creating amazing and very detailed posters for Cultural Diversity week

Oliver for continuing to work very hard on his writing skills. Oliver writes with a deep passion and is very clever at getting his point across.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy fortnight,

Frank Catalano

Principal