Dear Families,

A very warm welcome to our newsletter as we move ahead to the final weeks of the 2023 school year. We have achieved a great deal this past year whilst providing our students with many inspiring and diverse experiences. As a school we have much to do in the last few weeks including our Year 6 Graduation, Christmas Carols, Meet the Teacher, and Student Reports yet to go home to families.

Traditionally the lead up to Christmas is hectic as families begin to plan for the holidays. I hope that we can take some time to care for ourselves and our loved ones whilst navigating this often busy time of the year.

Last Day of School – Wednesday 20th December 2023

Our last day for the 2023 school year will be Wednesday 20th December. We will have a whole school assembly on Wednesday 20th December at 9:15am in our school gym. At this assembly our School Captains and House Captains will be presented to our school community. Our Year Six students will be farewelled at this assembly.

Students in years 1-6 return to school for the 2024 school year on Wednesday 31st of January. Our Foundation/Prep students will begin on Wednesday 7th of February. The later start for our Foundation/Prep students will enable assessments to take place in the one-week period, allowing for teachers to use this data to drive their planning.

Curriculum Day / Student Free Day – Friday December 8th, 2023

Next Friday December 8th is our whole school Curriculum Day which means that no students are required at school. Teachers and Education Support Staff will be at school, along with our new teachers starting in 2024. Teachers will spend the day in their new teams planning for the 2024 school year.

Their Care will operate on Friday December 8th therefore if your child requires care on this day, please contact Their Care.

End of Year Student Reports: UPDATE

All Student Reports will go out live to the community on Compass at 9:00am on Monday 11th of December.

Interviews with teachers in December reporting period are by request from either parent or teacher at the following times:

Throughout the week of Monday December 11th – Friday 15th December at following times
8:35-8:45am, 11:00-11:30am, 3:15-3:35pm
Wednesday 13th December from 3:35pm -4:35pm. Teachers will be available for appointments at this time.

Step Up: UPDATE

Our Step-Up sessions continue to run smoothly. We have worked diligently to consider students' social/emotional needs, academic needs, friendship groupings, teacher/specialist input and the additional information parents/carers have shared with us when forming classes. Our final two sessions involve our students meeting their teachers. The sessions where our students will meet their teachers are as follows:

Tuesday 5 December– 2:15pm-3:15pm – Meet the Teacher
Tuesday 12 December– 2:15pm-3:15pm – Meet the Teacher

Transition Year 6-7

The date for our Year 6-7 Transition is Tuesday December 12th. This is the state-wide transition for all year 6 students moving into secondary school.

Staffing 2024: UPDATE

We are at the time where staff make decisions regarding their careers and whether they continue their careers with us or move to other settings. Staff choose to move settings for various reasons including to be closer to home, for promotions or to seek new opportunities. We have the following staff moving on at the end of the school year:

Bev Keenan – Bev is taking some leave with the view to retiring in 2024.
Jennifer Welsford – Jennifer is taking some leave with the view to retiring in 2024.
Mel Gardner – Mel is taking some leave with the view to retiring in 2024.
James Warren – James is leaving us to take on a new role at Craigieburn Primary School as the STEM teacher.
Jaclyn Milward – Jaclyn has secured a one-year transfer to Lancefield Primary School so that she is closer to home and can spend more time with her family.
Kylie Carter – Kylie is returning to one of her previous schools, St. Albans North PS.
Sue Marshall – Sue is returning to her previous school, Melton West PS after completing her short-term contract with us.

We thank all our staff who are moving on for their individual contributions to our school. We wish them all great success and happiness in their new settings.

We have undergone an extensive recruiting process for our 2024 Leadership team. Next year we will have the following leadership structure in place:

1 Principal – Kathy Cvitkovic
1 Assistant Principal – Educational Leader portfolio (Louisa Beckenham)
1 Leading Teacher – Wellbeing/Inclusion portfolio (Donna Matthews)
1 Learning Specialist – Literacy (Brodie Lane)
1 Learning Specialist – Numeracy (David Bigger)

Our school was successful in our application through the National Student Wellbeing Funding Program. This means that our school will receive funding for us to be able to continue to employ our Chaplain Nicky Gallus. Nicky will continue to work with our students, families, and staff in 2024 every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Lorna Taylor will continue to work in our Canteen in 2024 with our Canteen open Tuesday through to Friday. Our canteen will not operate on Mondays due to the low sales on this day.

New Staff beginning with us in 2024:

We are pleased to welcome new staff to our school. The following staff will begin with us in the new year:

Marc Simpkins – Class teacher. Marc is coming to us from the Northern School for autism. Prior to working at the Northern School for Autism Marc worked as a classroom teacher in mainstream schools.
Mathew Mann – Class teacher. Mathew is coming to us from Hazel Glenn College.
Annette Meriwether – Class teacher. Annette is a Graduate teacher starting with us. Annette knows our school through her work as a Student Teacher in the year 6 cohort.
Jody Bretherton – Class teacher. Jody is coming over to us on a Family Leave contract from Sunbury Heights PS.
Brooke Apollonio – Business Manager. Brooke is coming to us from William Ruthvan Secondary College where she was a Business Manager.
Jayne Nadja – Education Support Staff member. Jayne is coming to us from Broadmeadows Special School.

Returning to us next year in full time capacity is Ms. Daniella Vranesic who was a teacher in prep last year and went over to Japan to teach for the 2023 school year. Ms Cassandra Brodrick and Ms Ashleigh Gray will also return to our school next year. Ms Ashleigh Gray will be with us until March 1st, 2024 in a support role before she goes back on Family Leave.

Christmas Carols - Friday 15 December:

Our annual Christmas Carols and Community Picnic will take place on Friday 15th December from 5:30pm – 7:30pm.

We will gather on our turf/basketball court area. Our PCA will operate a BBQ, fairy floss, pop corn and confectionary will be available for our community to purchase. We are inviting our families to BYO food, chairs and blankets.

All classes will be performing two songs each. These songs have been rehearsed during Performing Arts. We look forward to our Christmas Carols and Community Picnic where we will celebrate the end of the school year as a whole school community.

Together with the support of our families and friends we look forward to a busy last two weeks and a smooth finish to our 2023 school year.

Warmest Regards,

Kathy Cvitkovic

Principal

‘Building the foundations for success and happiness’.

SWPB