Principal's Column

Welcome back to our last term for 2024! It is definitely one with lots of learning and a lot of events happening! Please make sure you keep an eye out on Compass and Class Dojo for event dates and deadlines.

Dates students do not have school this term

This term we have three days where students do not have school. Dates are as follows:

• Monday 4th November: Professional Practice Day (NO SCHOOL)
• Tuesday 5th November: Melbourne Cup Public Holiday (NO SCHOOL)
• Wednesday 27th November: Curriculum Day (NO SCHOOL)

'Hats Off to Teachers' - World Teachers Day

Next Friday, 25th October the Department of Education are acknowledging World Teachers Day. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the work that our teachers do and the differences they are making in the classroom and our community each and every day! We encourage families to send a note of gratitude to your child's teacher or a message via the school email account that we could pass on to teachers on your behalf.

Staffing Update - Farewell Diane!

Diane Ludolff, one of our office staff, is retiring and will be leaving us on Wednesday 6th November (day after Melbourne Cup)! We would like to thank Di for her many years of service and dedication to our community and wish her well with her days playing golf, travelling and with her loved ones.

2025 Parent Payments

This week 2025 Parent Payment information has been sent home with all Year Prep - 5 children. Please read the notice carefully and if you have any questions please contact the office.

Parent Opinion Survey

A big thank you goes out to all our families who completed our 2024 Parent Opinion Survey. We had a record number of surveys completed, 110 in total! Looking at the initial data there has been improvement in all categories. It is pleasing to see that our community are connected with our school and what we are putting in place to improve the outcomes for our children.  We will share a snippet of the data in the coming weeks.

Enrolments for 2025 - ALL YEAR LEVELS

Enrolments for any child looking to start Prep (or any year level) in 2025, are continuing to be accepted. If you or someone you know are yet to enrol their child/children for next year please contact our office.

Are you leaving us at the end of this year?

We understand that some of our families may be moving on to other schools in 2025, therefore, if your family will be leaving us at the end of the year, can you please notify the office. Year 6 families do not need to contact us.

2025 Class Placement Considerations

Later this term teachers will work together to form balanced classes ready for next year. This is quite a lengthy and complex task as we consider a number of factors and as part of this process, we do recognise the importance of fostering and maintaining friendship groups but also understand that it is equally important for students to mix and learn with peers who have different interests when forming class groups.

Therefore, if you would like to request that your child is not placed in a class with a particular student, please ensure that you make this request by Tuesday 22nd October, 5.00pm. Requests for any class placements must be made in writing, outlining who you would not like your child to be placed with and why. Please email your placement consideration to the Principal via the school email address, westgrove.ps@education.vic.gov.au with the subject ‘Confidential: 2025 Class Considerations'. 

We will not always be able to accommodate class placement requests but will endeavour to take your wishes into consideration where possible. Our class placement policy can be found on our website.