Principal News

CAMPS

I hope our Year 3 students are looking forward to their long-day camp to Anglesea next Tuesday 18th August. Thank you to Mr Ramage and the Year 3 team for completing all the necessary administrative tasks to help ensure students and staff have a safe and enjoyable camp.

ADDITIONAL STUDENT SUPPORT

It is always wonderful to walk around our classrooms and see the terrific work our teachers do to support student learning and wellbeing. In addition to our classroom teachers, we have twelve Education Support staff working across the school each day to provide additional support to students.

We also have our Learning Specialist/Lead Teacher, Mr Ramage, teaching small groups of students to extend their learning. Our Wellbeing Team Ms Aspinall, Ms Graham, Ms Malassu and Mr Buszard also provide additional support to students across the school.

Our Teachers of the Deaf, Ms Eskrigge and Ms Hunt, support our Deaf and hard of hearing students, alongside our Communication Assistants, Ms Radnay, Ms Belyea and Ms Pearl.

This staffing profile reflects our commitment to ensuring that every student receives the support they need to engage in learning and experience success at school.

POLICE VISIT

Thank you to our Wellbeing Leader, Mrs Graham, for organising a cyber safety education session for our Year 5 and 6 students today. The session was delivered by Geelong's proactive policing unit and covered online bullying and harassment, digital reputation, relevant criminal offences and legal consequences, and support available to victims. The presentation also addressed the under 16 social media restrictions, the role of bystanders, and the recording and distribution of fight videos.

STAFF CAR PARK – NOILA STREET

This week, we had a near miss involving damage to a teacher's car. The Noila Street area can be very busy, with vehicles, staff and students moving through the area. Please ensure you follow the safety rules and take extra care when entering or leaving the car park. Our priority is to keep everyone safe and prevent anyone from being injured.

BOOK WEEK 2026 - SYMPHONY OF STORIES

We're excited to celebrate the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book Week from 24th – 28th August with this year's theme, "Symphony of Stories." Our students will enjoy a week filled with books, creativity and special events celebrating the joy of reading. Please find more information in another section of this newsletter.

PARENT OPINION SURVEY

Our school is conducting the annual Parent/Carer Opinion Survey offered by the Department of Education and is seeking your feedback. The survey is designed to help schools gain an understanding of families perceptions of school climate, student behaviour and student engagement.

The survey is optional; however, we encourage and appreciate your participation. It will be open online from Monday 17th August to Friday 18th September 2026. Details about how to access the survey will be distributed to families early next week.

SCHOOL COUNCIL

Our team of parent representatives Jessica Craven, Lauren Bennett, Christiana Brown, Deanne Titler, Bethany Ha, Rikki Bee, Morgan Turnock and Natalie Swaine along with Department representatives Emma Graham, Brett Greenwood, Michaela Bird and Murray Surkitt (Executive Officer) met on Wednesday. Below is a summary.

We monitored the school’s financial position to check it remains financially viable.
We reviewed the letter the school submitted to the national public school infrastructure inquiry seeking funding for Student Toilets, Roofing and Building Maintenance and Secure Bicycle Storage.
We reviewed an Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) report produced by Sheridan. The report included the following update about Sue, who has recently finished working at OSHC.

It is with both sadness and gratitude that I report that Sue has decided to focus on her health and family and has finished up at OSHC, effective immediately. Sue had been away over the past few weeks due to illness and came in last week to let me know of her decision. Sue joined our team in 2016 while completing her Diploma of School Age Education and Care and needed to gain practical experience. She completed her qualification in 2019 and has been our dedicated morning educator ever since. The number of breakfasts she has prepared over the years is hard to imagine! She somehow managed to remember each child's favourite breakfast and exactly how they liked it. While we know we'll still see Sue around the school keeping busy in the library, the children, and I think I can safely say their families, will miss seeing her each morning. We wish her all the very best as she focuses on her health, enjoys more time with her family, and embraces her well-earned retirement’.

Policies. The following policies have been updated and will soon appear on our website: Before and after school yard supervision, Asthma and Respect for School Staff.
A Buildings and Grounds report was presented. It included completed projects: Internal blinds installed in P-2 building, decking installed outside the Year 5 area (shops side), servicing of air-conditioning units and servicing of all heaters.

Potential upcoming projects include upgrading the student toilets at the OSHC end of the school, installing internal doors and walls in Year 4 and 5, including painting, installing external doors in Year 5, installing a new bike shed with a concrete path to the double gates, and upgrading the deck outside Year 4. Once quotes have been received, the next steps will be determined.

Fundraising: As the school will be used as a polling booth for the State Election on Saturday the 28th November, we will hold a BBQ and cake stall fundraiser to raise funds for the bike shed and new bike racks. More information will be provided closer to the event.
Principal's Report: A Principal's Report was shared, including an update on progress towards implementing the school's 2026 Annual Implementation Plan.
50th Anniversary: We discussed the school's 50th anniversary, which will occur on the 29th September 2027, including ideas for celebrating the school's 'birthday'. More information will be provided as planning progresses.

CLASSROOM TABLES

During term 2 we were able to upgrade our year 5 classroom tables. Therefore, we have a supply of our old classroom tables which we can offer to families for free. If you would like a table or two please contact the office.