I hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing break. I had a very enjoyable break, due to the Lions winning their second Grand Final in a row. I was lucky enough to be at the game to see them win, which made it even better!

The year seems to have flown by so quickly as we are now in the final term of 2025. Our Grade 6 students are nearly at the end of their primary school journey and are looking forward to new and exciting adventures at secondary school. Next week we will welcome our 2026 preps to their first orientation sessions.

Term 4 is always a very busy term in schools as we have many important day-to-day tasks to do including teaching, assessment, and report writing however we also have an eye on planning for the 2026 school year. In Term 4 one of the biggest roles for the leadership team is to get in place our staffing profile for 2026. All government schools are self-managing, which means we are given an indicative budget based on our projected enrolment and we then have to staff the school accordingly.

Grade 4 Camp

Last Thursday and Friday our Grade 4 students went to the city for a two-day camp. During the two days they visited various city attractions including ACMI, Docklands, Archie Brothers Amusement Centre, and a boat cruise down the Yarra. It was a jam-packed two days which included a lot of walking. I joined them of Thursday afternoon and slept overnight. They were a fantastic group of children who were a pleasure to be with.

I would like to thank the staff who went with the children - Joanna Bright, Lucas Kilmartin, Jen Cora, Alex Bennie, Paula Sanford, Amelia Andonovski, and Joe Greige. Thanks also to the parents who went along to help supervise during the day.

Arrangements for 2026

As we are currently in the process of organising our staffing for 2026, it is important that we have an accurate indication of the number of students who will be attending Preston PS in 2026.

If your child is currently in Grade Prep to 5 and they will not be returning to Preston in 2026 we would appreciate it if you could let us know as soon as possible.

Please contact the school either by phone on 94701167, or email us at preston.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Riding to School

It is great to see so many students riding their bikes and scooters to school. If your child is riding to school, there are a few things that they must remember:

they MUST wear a helmet
they must ride safely when on their way to school and home
they are not permitted to ride their bike or scooter in the school grounds.

Unfortunately, we have had a couple of students riding their bikes in an unsafe manner. While they have had several warnings, they haven’t changed their behaviour, so they are now banned from riding their bikes to school for a week.

Any students who do not ride their bikes in a safe manner will be banned from riding them to school. The reason for this is to ensure their safety. It is too late to respond after something happens to one of these children and they are injured. We need to be proactive and ensure all of our students are riding safely and abiding by the road rules.

School Starting Time

School starts at 9.00 am and all students are expected to be in their classroom by the time the second bell rings. The children can arrive at school any time from 8.45 am.

Parents, please ensure your children aren’t leaving home too early and arriving at school prior to 8.45am.

Also, please remember that children should not be playing at the park prior to after school.

Prep Orientation

On Thursday October 23rd we will be holding the first of our three sessions of Prep Orientation. If you are aware of any families who live in our local area and have not yet enrolled their child could you please let them know they need to do so as soon as possible. We are all looking forward to meeting our new Preps and their families in the coming weeks.

Portfolios

Last week the students were given their portfolios to take home and share with their parents. It is important that parents read the portfolio with their child and discuss their learning. The portfolios contain a sample of the assessment tasks students completed in Term 3.

Once you have read the portfolio could you please sign the form at the back of the portfolio to indicate you have read it and provide any feedback. We would appreciate it if all portfolios could be returned to your child’s teacher by Monday October 20th.

Zooper Doopers

Zooper Doopers have returned for this term! If you are able to help with the selling process on any Friday of this term, please email the school at preston.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Please include your name and the dates you would be able to help. If you volunteer, you will need to have a current Working With Children Check and complete the volunteer duty statement (available on the school's website).

Hats

Term 4 has arrived, and it is once again compulsory for all children to wear a hat when they are outside. Children must wear a royal blue school hat.

Parents can buy a bucket hat from the school Uniform Shop; however, the children can also wear a broadbrimmed (royal blue) hat.

Children are not permitted to wear a baseball style hat.

Parents, please make sure your child has a clearly named hat in their bag at all times during Term 4. Children who do not have a hat will be restricted to playing in an undercover area.

Are these yours?

We have two platters that were remaining after the 150 Years celebration day. If they are yours, please collect them from the Senior School office.

A key chain was found near the Foch Street gate - if it's yours, please collect it from the Senior School office.

Regards,

Janet Paterson,

Principal.

Artists of the Week

Grade 1

Grade 4