Mr Irwin's Message

Hello families and welcome to this week’s newsletter.

Road Safety - Barker Street

Last week I had a report of a near miss of a pedestrian on the gravel part of Barker Street between Sutherland Street and the Teesdale-Inverleigh Rd. This is a narrow road that is shared by not only cars travelling in both directions but students and community members walking. Please remember to travel slowly and carefully around all parts of the school when arriving and leaving. Particularly as the weather improves we have an increase in the number of families who walk or ride to school which is great for parking, but also means there is an increased number of pedestrians to be mindful of.

It’s also worth noting in a similar vein that we notice many students after school head directly to the shop. For many students we know this is part of their after school routine, but we are also aware that many families have the expectation that students head over the supervised crossing and directly home. Many students who attend the shop after school are then required to cross the busiest road in Teesdale at the busiest time of day. Please ensure you chat to your children about the expectations you have of them heading home, and have practiced and discussed with them their plan for safely crossing unsupervised roads.   

Class Considerations for 2027

A reminder that over the coming weeks as we begin to make preparations for the 2027 school year teachers will begin the process of creating classrooms groups for the new year. 

Every year we provide families with the chance to share considerations they may have before teachers begin the class placements. This isn’t a chance for families to request friends for their children, or a preferred teacher, but more the chance to raise significant considerations related to student wellbeing they believe it important for the school to know as they work through this process. 

If you would like to share any considerations, you have for your child they can be emailed to me via my email address by Friday 6th November at 4:00pm

As part of this process all students will get the chance to complete a ‘friendship hand’ in class to guide teachers on who they see as the peers they would like to have in class they learn best and work well with. Every year we make the commitment that students will have at least one student from their friendship hand, which doesn’t sound like a lot, however we only commit to at least one per student due to how complex developing class lists is. Students will complete this process in class as a personal learning lesson guided by their teacher in the coming weeks. 

Pupil Free Days

A reminder to families that next Monday and Tuesday are pupil free days. Monday is a curriculum day and Tuesday we observe the Melbourne Cup Public Holiday. 

Bye for now and have a great week.

Sam