Dear Parents,

Next week we will be hosting our `Meet & Greet’ sessions on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. The classroom teachers will send out a Google Form (survey) later this week for completion prior to the meeting, requesting some general information regarding your child as a learner. Our apologies once again for the `glitch' in the booking system as we navigate the new SIMON / PAM platform.

For many of our parents, this meeting is the first opportunity to meet your child’s 2024 classroom teacher and establish a home / school partnership to support your child in their learning. While the meeting is relatively short (10 minutes), it is an opportunity to share any important information regarding your child. This information, in addition to handover information from the previous teacher, greatly assists in ensuring a smooth transition into a new school year. We strongly encourage students to attend with their parent(s).

We encourage parents to contact the classroom teacher, in the first instance, if issues or concerns arise throughout the year. The classroom teacher is usually best placed to address the concern and follow up if required. If the issue or concern is of a more serious nature, parents can email or call a school leader, including myself as School Principal or Natalie Ballinger as Deputy Principal. In most cases we will include the classroom teacher in the communication and response, where appropriate.

Our staff are expected to reply to parent correspondence within 24 hours, or within business hours on a Monday following an email received over the weekend period. At HT we consider business hours to be 9am-5.30pm (Mon-Fri), so parents should not expect phone or email correspondence outside of this time. We do encourage our staff to `switch off’ when they leave work for their own health and wellbeing and to promote a healthy work / life balance. I’m sure many of our parents can relate to this challenge!

Swimming Program - Prep to Year 4 - begins 9th February

Our annual swimming program for students in Years Prep-4 commences this Friday 9th February. The program will run every Friday until the end of Term One. Information and permission forms have been sent via PAM. Please ensure your child’s medical information is up to date in readiness for swimming and future excursions. If you have any questions please contact your child’s classroom teacher.

Assembly - Friday 9th February - 2.30pm (normally 2.50pm start)

Our first assembly for 2024 will begin at 2.30pm to allow time to present the Year 6 students with their leadership badges and their Year 6 jackets. Assemblies this year will take place in the Great Space. This is always an exciting time for Year 6 students and it can be challenging to convince them to remove their jackets when the weather is hot - they are so proud to be the leaders of our school! On Friday we will also welcome our new Prep students. Parents are most welcome to attend. Please access the building via the glass doors near the library.

Parking Restrictions - Important

I met with the local council today in regards to managing the traffic congestion during pick up time, which has led to parents being fined for queueing in traffic in the `no standing areas' on either side of the supervised pedestrian crossing. Motorists need to be aware that Riddell Road, on either side of the crossing, is strictly `no standing’ between the hours of 8.15am - 9.15am and again from 3pm-4pm on school days. The council have committed to reviewing the traffic plan and providing some advice to the school community. The Council have worked collaboratively with the school in the past. They Council also offer sustainable transport and active programs, such as bike education training which we began in 2023. Ride2School and Walk2School days are other initiatives.

We continue to encourage parents to park and walk if arriving prior to 3.30pm. If using the pick up bay, we encourage parents to arrive after 3.30pm. If the pick up bay is full, motorists are required to continue driving down Riddell and possibly looping back around Wallace Road.

Parking inspectors have been active in the area so please ensure you are following the traffic and parking regulations.

Beginning Year Mass - Sunday 18th February

All families are invited to attend our beginning year mass on Sunday 18th February, 10.30am, at St Jude’s Scoresby. This Mass will also include Staff Commissioning for the 2024 school year and an opportunity to officially welcome our new Prep families. The parish will provide a sausage sizzle and icypole following Mass.

Knox Festival - Saturday 2nd March

Our Parents’ Association have successfully secured a `dunking machine’ stall at this annual event held at Wally Tew Reserve, Brenock Park Drive Ferntree Gully. We are looking for volunteers to assist on the day, including spending some time in the dunking machine. Please see flyer and volunteer details in the Parents' Association section of the newsletter.

Parents’ Association (PA) - Thursday 22nd February at 6.30pm

All parents are encouraged to consider joining our Parents’ Association. The PA meet approximately twice per term for about an hour and a half in the school staffroom. The aim of the PA is to raise funds to directly benefit our students and organise events to build community. It is a great opportunity to meet new people and contribute to the life of the community. A special welcome to our new families. Your contribution to the PA can be large or small, so please be assured that your attendance at the meeting is not a huge commitment. I encourage you to come along and see for yourself!

School Closure Dates - Term 1

Our school is participating in a school review and improvement process as part of a 4 year cycle of review. This process involves both our governing body (MACS) and compliance with state government processes. As such, we will have two school closure dates this term, as advertised in 2023. The dates are as follows:

Friday 8th March & Tuesday 12th March

These two school closure dates bookend the Labour Day long weekend so students will have a 5 day break.

Fortnightly Newsletter

As communicated last week, our newsletter will be published fortnightly (even weeks) this year. We will continue to communicate important information through SIMON / PAM on a regular basis.

Looking forward to a great 2024 school year!

Warm Regards,

Adrian Scutt

Principal

Time to eXcel