Message from the Principal 

THANK YOU EDUCATION SUPPORT STAFF

Friday the 16th May is Education Support Appreciation Day. We take this opportunity to acknowledge the huge contribution that Education Support staff make to our Greenhills Primary School team.  

Thank you to our Office Admin Team:

Victoria Harris, Nicole Pearson, Kiera Roberts, Libby Egan & Karen Morrison

These are our super friendly and organised faces of our school. They are not only the first point of contact with our community but also provide our whole school community with the support and care across first aid and everything from A-Z…Accounts Payable to Zones (Prep & Year 6-7 Transition!). 

Thank you to our Classroom Support Team:

Raelene Turner, Karen Porter, Ashlee MacKinven, Sheryl Munks-Callahan, Rhoanne Salazar, Nathan Marks, Melinda Williams, Alyshia Ninness, Teresa Jordan, Lisa Emery, Tim Gorman, Ilda Araujo & Emma Slavich.

Our team of classroom-based Education Support personnel all work tirelessly to ensure students are given every opportunity to learn and participate with their peers. These staff make such a big impact on our students through strong connections and positive relationships.

Miriam Pekolj – Our Canteen Manager, who does a great job looking after school lunches each week. I think we had a record of over 150 last Friday! I also know the Wednesday Wonders menu is a real favourite…on behalf of our hungry students a big thanks Miriam! 

Max Smith – Our busy handyman, who helps us to make sure the school is always looking so neat and safe. Max fixes and maintains our facilities, especially our gardens and playgrounds.

Thank you to all members of our Education Support team for your work to support our whole school community. We can’t thank you enough!

WELCOME LOUISE SCALLY

We welcome Louise Scally - Assistant Principal at Wales Street Primary to our school. Louise will be working with our Principal Team over a period of 4-weeks as part of the Victorian Academy of Teaching & Leadership Unlocking Potential Principal Preparation Program. It has been a great experience so far sharing some of the elements of key improvement strategies we are working on at Greenhills whilst also learning more about the ways another school approaches things. 

CURRICULUM DAY – FRIDAY 20TH JUNE

School Council has approved a curriculum day for Friday 20th June. This will be a pupil free day where our staff will spend a day of professional learning focused on “The Big 6” and the Victorian Teaching & Learning Model 2.0. Research has shown that there are six key components that contribute to successful beginning reading. Because of the importance of these components, they have become known as the 'Big Six': oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.

Teamkids will be running a full day care program on this day.

ACTING WITH COURAGE

Over recent weeks in newsletters and Two Minute Tuesdays, we have been sharing details about our High Impact Learner Agency Trait’s (HILAT’s) which has been built around a four-stage continuum.

Our students need a continuum to learn because learning happens gradually, not all at once. A "continuum" means a smooth, connected progression. Students don’t jump from beginner to expert instantly — they grow step-by-step.  This week we take a closer look at the later two stages of “Acting with Courage”:

3 – OPEN TO BRAVERY: Extended Learner

4 - OPEN TO THE UNKNOWN: Unbound Learner

You can read the sentences within both Open to Bravery and Open to the Unknown and see how they have built on the first two levels of Protective of Self and Open to Trying. These clear statements enable our students to know where they are going, how they can build their skills and have agency in their learning.

Next week we will start of focus on a new HILAT “Being Open to the New”.

THANK YOU MOTHERS DAY STALL TEAM

Many thanks to our awesome Parents Association team. We hope all our Greenhills mums, grandmothers and other special people enjoyed a very special day on Sunday and enjoyed one of the gifts and treats that were specially selected by our students last Thursday at our stall.

A HUGE shout out to Emma Oliver and Donna Anderson and all members of our Parents Association for making events like this happen. 

If you’re interested in joining the PA, please consider coming to our next meeting on Tuesday 17th June at 7pm in the Staffroom. It’s a wonderful opportunity to make new friends and contribute to your child’s school community in a fun and relaxed way.

MID-TERM TWO MEET WITH THE PRINCIPAL TEAM

Don’t forget that on Wednesday 28th May we have our next Mid-Term Meet with the Principal Team. This will be via Webex from 7.30pm. The sessions are held at the mid point of each term. We introduced these last year to help keep you in the loop with things that are happening across our school. They are also another forum to ask questions, provide feedback and suggestions and continue our strong home school partnership. If you have a topic that you would like us to cover, please let us know:

James.penson@education.vic.gov.au

Here is the link:

https://eduvic.webex.com/eduvic/j.php?MTID=m43b4d78da9825f6b8bfe63017d90ca95

James Penson,

Principal.