Principal's Message 

Principal Message

As we wrap up Term 1, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our students, staff, and families for a fantastic start to the school year. It has been a term filled with achievements, exciting events, and wonderful community spirit.

Celebrating Our Events

We have had an action-packed term with many incredible events that showcased the talents and sportsmanship of our students. Our Division and District Swimming events saw our swimmers give their best efforts, representing our school with pride. The Gala Interschool Sports and Cross Country events were also fantastic opportunities for our students to challenge themselves, support one another, and demonstrate outstanding teamwork. Well done to everyone who participated!

A Special Congratulations to Our Preps

A special mention to our Prep students, who have now completed their first full term of school! It has been wonderful to see them settle so confidently into school routines, forming friendships, and embracing learning with enthusiasm. We are incredibly proud of their achievements and look forward to watching them continue to grow throughout the year.

Upcoming Works at Yarra Road Primary School

Over the holiday break, the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) will be undertaking important works to improve some of the ramps around our school. While this is an exciting development for our school infrastructure, we ask families to be mindful that some ramps will be blocked off during the holidays. If you need to access the school during this time, please be aware that certain areas may be restricted due to construction.

Car Park and Drop-Off Lane Reminders

To ensure smooth and safe drop-offs and pick-ups, we remind parents to utilise the designated drop-off lane when dropping off students. If you need to park, please use the designated car park spots. For those with permits, you may also utilise the left-side parking spaces. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping traffic flow efficient and ensuring the safety of all students and families.

A Big Thank You to Our Working Bee Volunteers

A huge thank you to everyone who joined our recent Working Bee last Sunday! We had an amazing turnout of parents, students, staff, and families who came together to clean up the frog bog, veggie patch, and the Prep and 1/2 garden area. We also had volunteer parents and families who helped move mulch and soil to different areas of the school—your efforts have truly made a difference in improving our outdoor spaces for our students.

Parent Association Appreciation

Our Parent Association has been hard at work this term, and we deeply appreciate everything they do to support our school community. The last few days have been a buzz of activity with parent helpers running the Hot Cross Bun fundraiser, Easter raffle, and other exciting events. Your dedication and commitment to our school is invaluable, and we are so grateful for your ongoing contributions.

100-Year Celebration Committee

A special thank you to the parents and staff who have joined the 100-Year Celebration Committee. We are well underway with preparations for this significant milestone event, and your enthusiasm and hard work are greatly appreciated. It is going to be a fantastic celebration of our school’s rich history and community.

School Council and Staff Appreciation

Finally, I want to extend my sincere thanks to our School Council for their dedication and efforts this term. Your support and leadership help shape the future of our school. 

I would also like to acknowledge and thank our incredible staff for their hard work, passion, and commitment to making this a fantastic term for our students.

As we head into the Easter holidays, I wish all our families a safe, restful, and joyful break. Enjoy this special time with loved ones, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back for an exciting Term 2.

Happy Easter!

School Council

School Council President

The 2025 school year feels like it has only just begun and here we are at the end of first term already. Fantastic to see all of our new Preps and students from other year levels settle into Yarra Road Primary School so well and to see so many new families join our school community.

It has been an honour to be elected as School Council President for another year, so I thank everyone for the support and look forward to another great year for Yarra Road.

Yarra Road Principal

As you are all aware, following Ken’s departure at the end of last year, we had Karen Butler join us in Term 1 to lead the school, whilst we undertook the process to select a new ongoing Principal.

This process has been occurring in the recent weeks and is very near to its completion.  Keep an eye out for an announcement very soon – hopefully before the end of term.

100 Years of Yarra Road Primary School

Planning for our milestone year is progressing with a number of people coming together in a committee to discuss ways to mark this historic occasion.

School Councillor, Paul Wulfrun, has stepped up to lead this planning work and once the events are approved, there will be plenty of opportunities for all those who want to be involved to get their hands dirty in the execution of these activities.

It will be an exciting and historic time for the school, so get on board and be part of it – there will never be another chance!

School Wide Positive Behaviour (SWPB)

As flagged last year, Yarra Road Primary School has been included in the further expansion of the School Wide Positive Behaviour Program, which is a Department initiative.  Whilst it is in its infancy at our school, I, along with council members Ben Cameron and Narelle Cooper, recently had the opportunity to see firsthand this program in action at Kilsyth Primary School, who have achieved the ‘Gold Standard’ level of this program.  We were all very impressed with the program and the stories and evidence of positive behavioural change within their school over the past 9 years.

I do not have the technical knowledge of how this program works, so will leave that to our school leaders to detail as it rolls out, but please keep an eye out for it, get engaged with it, and be a part of improving our kids learning environment.

School Council

I would like to announce our new School Council members this year, Rebecca Major, Helen Rota, and Shanae Steven, and welcome them on board to join the existing council members, being Rhiana Macrae, Dikesh Gandhi, Paul Wulfrun, Gareth Ross, Leah Bromage, Narelle Cooper, Melissa Dawson, Pam Jones, Ben Cameron, Meriden James, and our Principal.

As a representative council, all of these people are there to represent the thoughts of the whole community, so please reach out to any of them to discuss issues around the governance of the school.  Anything to do with the actual operations of the school (such as educational aspects or any student management issues) still need to be directed to the teachers or front office.

I would also like to thank Daniel Raftis and Rachel Freene for their time on the school council for the past two years – I have appreciated their input and contribution to the school through this role.

Parents Association

Hot Cross Bun Morning Tea

Easter Raffle Wrapping

Junior School Council News

The JSC representatives are excited to host a Zentangle Pattern Bookmark activity for all students before the end of Term 1.

Using the Zentangle method—a relaxing and creative way to draw and colour structured patterns with simple shapes, like dots, lines, and curves—students can design their own unique bookmarks or colour a Zentagle design. An Easter-themed bookmark option will also be available.

Activity Dates:

• Prep, Year 1 & 2 – Friday, 21st April at 1:00 PM

• Year 3 & 4 – Friday, 28th April at 1:00 PM

• Year 5 & 6 – Thursday, 27th April at 1:30 PM

Join the JSC representatives in Mrs. Freene’s classroom and get creative!  

Camps, Sports and Excursions Funding (CSEF)

Applications are now open for CSEF. If you hold a current Health Care Card, you are eligible to apply for $150.00 funding per child. 

To find out more and apply, please click on the button below. Alternatively, we have hard copies of the application in the office. We will need to view a copy of your Health Care Card when you hand your application into the office. 

Annual Privacy Reminder

Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice.

Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy describes how we collect and use photographs, video, and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn. 

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Microsoft 365/Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Microsoft 365/Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ privacy policy: information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

• Amharic

• Arabic

• Chinese

• Dari

• Gujarati

• Mandarin

• Somali

• Sudanese

• Turkish

• Urdu

• Vietnamese