Principal Report

It’s hard to believe there’s only one week left until we’re officially halfway through the school year – what a busy fortnight it’s been! We’ve welcomed some much-needed rain, along with a few lovely days in between.

This is a timely reminder to please ensure all student jumpers are clearly labelled. This makes it much easier for us to return them to their rightful owners when they’re misplaced.

I’d like to warmly welcome Noah and his family to the IPS community. Our school continues to grow steadily, and it’s always a joy to see how quickly our new students settle in and become a part of our school family.

We’re proud of the welcoming and inclusive culture we’ve built, and it’s wonderful to see students making new connections and feeling at home so quickly. We look forward to supporting Noah on his learning journey and seeing all he will achieve at IPS.

If you haven’t had a chance yet, we encourage you to check out the exciting progress at the front of the school. A huge thank you goes to Lex for his continued efforts in transforming this space – it’s really coming together beautifully. Lex has also been working on extending our chicken coop, which is now looking very impressive! We know the chickens will love their new home.

You may have noticed another exciting change happening at our school! We’ve recently moved the library into the Art Room space. This shift allows us to transform the original library room into a flexible mini classroom and breakout space, designed to support students to stay focused, calm, and engaged in their learning. A massive thank you to Sara and Kim, who completed this shift in a day, a solid effort!

This new space will give us greater flexibility to run small group sessions, provide targeted support, and offer quiet zones when needed. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be upgrading the room with new furniture and resources to make it a welcoming, functional and inspiring environment for all students.

Thank you for your ongoing support as we continue to adapt and improve our spaces to meet the needs of our growing school community. We look forward to sharing updates as the transformation unfolds!

REPORTS

Our staff have been working incredibly hard to complete student reports, and we are aiming to have them sent out by this Friday. However, if things don’t go exactly to plan, they may be finalised and distributed by Monday instead.

Once you receive your child’s report, we encourage you to read through it carefully and reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any questions or concerns.

A reminder that we are now reporting against the new Victorian Curriculum 2.0. In particular, the new Mathematics curriculum uses a single dot to represent a student's level of achievement. This means it may appear that your child has made little or no growth, when in fact, the expectations and content are more challenging at each level. Please keep this in mind when reviewing your child’s progress.

POTENTIAL NEW STAFF

You may have noticed that we are currently advertising for a new teacher to join our team. This position is not replacing anyone—it’s an exciting addition to our school.

If we are successful in finding a suitable candidate, having another teacher on board will enhance student learning and allow us to provide extra support where needed.

There may be some minor changes to the specialist subjects being taught by certain teachers; however, please rest assured that this will not have any negative impact on your child’s learning.

We’re all very excited about this opportunity and the positive benefits it will bring to our school community.

ILLNESSES

As we approach the end of term, we’ve noticed an increase in student absences due to illness. There are a number of different viruses circulating at the moment, so we kindly ask all families to remain vigilant. If your child is unwell, please keep them at home to rest and recover—and to help stop the spread of illness within our school community.

Below are some common illnesses and the minimum exclusion periods from school, in line with the Department of Health Victoria guidelines:

• COVID-19: Stay home for at least 5 days and until symptoms have resolved.
• Influenza (Flu): Exclude until fully recovered.
• Gastroenteritis: Exclude until 48 hours after symptoms (vomiting and/or diarrhoea) have stopped.
• Conjunctivitis: Exclude until discharge from the eyes has stopped.
• Chickenpox: Exclude until all blisters have dried—usually at least 5 days after the rash appears.
• Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease: Exclude until all blisters have dried.
• Head Lice: No exclusion required once treatment has started, but ongoing monitoring is essential.

We understand it can be challenging to manage work and home when children are unwell, but your support in following these guidelines plays a big role in keeping our school safe and healthy for everyone.

If you're ever unsure, feel free to reach out to the school or consult the Victorian Department of Health’s School Exclusion Table.