Principal's Blog

Good Afternoon Parents Students, Staff and Friends of Derinya,  

Welcome to Term 4! I hope that everyone had a fantastic holiday break and feel well rested in preparation for the term ahead. Term 4 is jam packed. We continue to have a strong focus on learning in the key areas of curriculum and wellbeing alongside the many celebrations, community service and extra curricular opportunities that make our school special. I look forward to working with the children and welcoming families across the course of the term.  

End of term events  

The term ended with a bang. Our Year 6 students did an exceptional job running our Spooktacular Disco. With a focus on improving care for the environment, this disco operated with sustainability in mind, with a significant reduction in waste. Many thanks to our Year 6 staff and the incredible Community Connect volunteers who supported this fantastic event.  

Our footy parade was another super celebration along with our teachers vs students match on the last day.  

Preparation for 2025 

Planning for the year ahead is an important part of our work in Term 4. If you have any specific educational needs that you would like brought to our attention, please email me directly at nadine.pye@education.vic.gov.au by C.O.B Thursday 24th October. For specific requests of this nature please ensure that you include in the subject line the following 

CONFIDENTIAL, students name, students year level, 2025  

Please note that historical requests are not passed from year to year. If there has been important information shared in the past that remains relevant, please ensure that you communicate this in writing by the due date.  

Team Japan 

The sixteen students and four staff that headed off to Japan on Tuesday 1st October have arrived safely. So far, they have spent two nights in Tokyo, followed by the four night home stay in Susono, our sister city, with their host families. This is the part of the trip that most participants share as their favourite part of the experience. There will be much more to share when the team return. Many thanks to Sakamoto Sensei, Taylor Sensei and Mrs Jenkins for their incredible organisation and support of the trip.  

Hats 

In line with department policy, it is mandated that all children wear a broad brimmed hat in Term 4. The weather will continue to improve, but even on cloudier, overcast days, wearing a hat is essential. Children will not be allowed to play outside without a hat. Please encourage your child to leave their hat at school. Applying sunscreen in the morning before school is also encouraged. Children are also welcome to bring along a small tube of sunscreen to reapply just prior to lunch.  

Derinya Dance  

Congratulations to all students who participated in the AASCF VIC and TAS State Championships over the holidays. Once again our teams were hugely successful achieving the following results. 

Dynamic Hip Hop 2nd 

Divine Lyrical 2nd 

Darlings Jazz 2nd 

Diamonds Jazz 4th 

Dare Pom 4th 

Many thanks to Mrs Lindi Morrison for her tireless work in choreographing, rehearsing and bringing these performances to the stage.  

Year 1 Showcase of Learning  

For families of our Year 1 students, I am sure you will agree the work the students did around researching their chosen animals, the composition of the information reports and dioramas of their habitats were truly exceptional. This work came to fruition from the hard work and dedication of both teachers and students. Staff met every week to analyse student work, identify next points of learning (for every individual), set ambitious targets and researched and explored innovative and engaging practices to support students to achieve their best. The results were outstanding with the children having an opportunity to share their work with other students, teachers and their families in the last week of term. Thank you for coming along to share in the children’s learning. This was certainly a highlight of the term with the children being incredibly proud of their achievements. Well done to all! 

Teaching and Learning 

This term all teaching teams throughout the school will be working in their Professional Learning Communities to thoroughly investigate the new Victorian Curriculum 2.0. Learning about the new Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0 will also form the basis of our professional learning. It is expected that all schools will implement the new curriculum across the course of 2025 and 2026. It is our intention to make these changes next year.  

Wishing everyone a fantastic fortnight ahead. 

Nadine Pye on behalf of the Derinya Team.