Principal's Report

Who Do I Go To? 

From time to time, parents have issues or concerns that they wish to raise or clarify but they don’t know who to speak to. 

There are several staff members you can contact: 

• your child’s classroom teacher, 
• the year level coordinator, 
• Sarah Giles, the Junior School Coordinator, 
• Dale Adams, the Assistant Principal, or myself. 

If it is a matter related to your child, I suggest you speak with their classroom teacher first. At Preston we don’t have a hierarchy; you can approach the person who you believe will best help out with your concerns. 

Parents can email teachers through Compass or can call them on 9470 1167. Please be aware that teachers cannot talk to you during teaching times, so I suggest you ring them before or after school. 

For those parents who don’t know who the grade level coordinators are I have included a photo of them in this week’s newsletter. Remember a small problem is easy to solve, a big problem is harder to solve. 

Road Safety 

Last year the Darebin Council asked the parents and students to complete a short survey about how the children get to school and how they would like to get to school. As a result of the survey this year we are participating in a road safety program with the Darebin Council. The program is called Safe Routes to School and encourages the children to either ride or walk to school. As part of the program all of the children will participate in a road safety session next week. 

In the lead up to Ride2School Day, which is on Friday March 22nd, we will be having a visit from the  Dr Cranky Bike Hospital program so that every child who wants to ride on the day has access to a safe, working bike. 

Dr Cranky’s - Bikes for Kids will visit our school and help families get ready for Ride2School Day.

What is Dr Cranky’s and what will they do for our school? 

• It is a not-for-profit organisation. 
• Dr Cranky’s works with local schools and their communities to ensure every kid has access to working bike that they can ride regularly.  
• Their focus is on helping families to fix their bikes and also providing bikes, helmets and locks to those who would not otherwise be able to afford or access them.  

We have engaged Dr Cranky’s to visit our school twice in the lead up to Ride2School Day as follows:  

• Introductory session – Tuesday March 12 one hour in the morning and 1.5 hours in the afternoon. Parents are invited to bring bikes to school to be checked, or donated, and talk about their bike needs. Following this Dr Cranky’s will prepare bikes, including those donated, for kids who need them and will bring them to the Follow-up session. 
• Follow-up session - Monday March 18.  – one hour in the morning and 1.5 hours in the afternoon. Parents are invited to bring bikes to be checked. Dr Cranky’s will bring a selection of bikes to suit requests from last session. Again, parents are highly encouraged to join in the fun. 

In Term 2 we will be holding a WoW Day (Walk or Wheel) each week to encourage children to either walk or wheel to school on a regular basis. There will be more information later in the term. 

3 Way Conferences

Yesterday the staff were very busy with this semester’s 3 Way Conferences. We hold the 3 Way Conferences early in the semester to enable parents, teachers, and students to get together and talk about what is happening at school and share important, relevant information. Students play an integral role in the conference.

Remember, if at any time you have any concerns regarding any aspect of your child’s schooling, please contact their teacher; don’t wait until next semesters’ conferences. You can contact them through Compass. 

I would like to thank all of the families who were able to keep their children at home or make an alternate arrangement, it was greatly appreciated. If we did not have the support from those families, it would be impossible to run the day the way we do. 

Swimming Sports 

Yesterday we had 26 students compete in the District Swimming Sports at the Coburg Pool. It was a great day for the children of Preston PS.  They all won through to the next level, the Division Finals. Our school team was also the overall winner on the day. 

Congratulations to all of the children who competed on Tuesday. Thanks to Kris Mihal for organising the team and to Lisa Evans and Paula Sanford for going to the event and supervising the children.

Thanks also to the parents who went along to cheer on the children. 

Good luck to the children who are competing in the Division Finals next week. 

Choosing a Secondary School

Time is fast approaching for our Grade 6 parents to make the final decision as to which secondary school their child will attend next year. All our local secondary schools send us information about Information Sessions, Open Days and Tours which we put in our school newsletter. 

I suggest that parents keep an eye out for the information and ensure that you look at as many schools as you can before you make the final decision. I strongly suggest that parents of the Grade 5 children also start looking at schools this year as it will give you time to visit schools before having to make your decision. 

Don’t be swayed by what other parents say or past reputations, the best way to make a choice is to be informed and the only way to do that is to visit the schools yourself. 

Regards 

Janet Paterson