School News

School Security - Please Help

As parents will know, we have a process in place where we lock all the external gates each morning once school has started, except the front entry gate.  The gates are locked for two important reasons:

1. To ensure our students don't leave the school grounds unsupervised and without permission
2. To ensure unauthorised people do not enter the school grounds during school hours

In order for our students and local community to understand the importance of this security measure, we are seeking parent assistance in not climbing the fences to either leave or enter the school grounds during school hours.  If you need to come in to the school during school hours the expectation is that you use the front gate and come immediately to the school office, this includes if you are dropping your children off late in the morning.

This is particulalry important if you are attending an event during the day or that conclude well into the day please organise your arrival and departure via the front gate. The only exception to this is Friday's assembly, where all students are in the Rec Centre, we will ensure the gates are opened in time for parents to attend.

Attending in 2026

We are well in to our planning for the 2026 school year. We are finalising our Prep enrolment for 2026 and another important piece of information we need when planning for a new school year is how many students we will have across the rest of the school. This information is essential when we are planning the number of classes at each level and how much money will be available for staffing, specialist programs, etc.

 If you know that your child will notbe at Malvern Primary School in 2026, please let Robyn James know in writing as soon as possible (email: robyn.james@education.vic.gov.au). Please do not leave it until late this term, as staffing decisions are being made now.   We realise that some families find this conversation difficult for a range of reasons, however it will be a huge assistance to us to know as soon as possible.

Hats at School

School hats are to be worn during all outside activities, by all students and staff, all this term.  Hats are available from Bob Stewart (uniform provider).

Protecting against mosquito-borne diseases

Warm and wet weather can result in greater numbers of mosquitoes and an increased risk of illness from mosquito bites. While the overall risk is currently low, some mosquitoes may be carrying diseases that make people sick. 

The best protection against mosquito-borne illness is to avoid mosquito bites.

Families can protect against mosquito bites by: 

• covering up as much as possible with long, loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing  
• applying insect repellent that contains picaridin or DEET on exposed skin when outdoors 
• limiting outdoor activity if lots of mosquitoes are active

• clean up and remove containers and items around the home that may hold water where mosquitoes may breed.

   

Families with any health concerns should see their doctor or phone NURSE-ON-CALL: 1300 606 024 (available 24 hours).

Free Japanese encephalitis vaccines

Japanese encephalitis virus is spread to humans through bites from infected mosquitoes and can cause a rare but potentially serious infection of the brain.

A free vaccine is available to some individuals to protect Victorians at higher risk of the virus. 

For more information, including vaccine eligibility, refer to the Department of Health’s Japanese encephalitis webpage. 

Find out more

For more information on protecting against mosquito-borne diseases, families can refer to the following Better Health Channel pages:

• Mosquitoes can carry diseases
• Protect yourself from mosquito-borne disease, including a handy checklist to help reduce mosquito breeding sites at home and resources translated into other languages.
• Japanese encephalitis virus