From the Principal
Congratulations to Our Grade 6 Leaders
Last Friday, Mr Tim Richardson proudly presented our Grade 6 leaders with their leadership badges. We congratulate our School Captains and Vice School Captains, House and Vice House Captains, Specialist Captains, and Peer Support Leaders on their appointments.
We look forward to working closely with our Grade 6 students throughout the year as they lead by example and make a positive contribution to our school community.
Meet & Greet
It was fantastic to see so many parents take the opportunity to attend our Meet & Greet on Wednesday and connect with their child’s teacher. These conversations help build strong partnerships between home and school.
Congratulations to Our Swimmers
Well done to all the children who participated in the swim trials on Tuesday. The PPS Swim Team will now represent our school at the District Competition on Monday, 23rd February.
Grandparents/Special Person Afternoon – Save the Date
Our Grandparents/Special person afternoon will be on Friday 20th March 2:45pm-3:30pm. Grandparents/Special person will be able to visit the children’s classrooms during the afternoon. Further details will be sent out closer to the date.
Uniform
School Council has approved the PPS school uniform policy. Parkdale Primary School has a compulsory uniform policy. A uniform dress code reinforces in students a pride in their own appearance, instils recognition of themselves as an integral part of the school community, and assists in developing pride in representing their school. It promotes equality amongst all students and develops a sense of pride in, and identification with our school. We understand that occasionally children will come to school out of uniform. We ask that if this occurs that the alternative clothing be of a similar colour to the uniform and as plain as possible, eg without popular branding. PLEASE ensure all uniform is labelled with your child’s name.
Please note: Bike shorts are not permitted as stand-alone items in the PPS uniform. However, they may be worn underneath school dresses.
Sports Uniforms
Sports uniforms for Grades 1-6 can be worn on children’s dedicated Phys.Ed day and year level sport day.
PPA
We had the first PPA meeting and AGM on Friday 6th February. Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to take on various roles of PPA. Shane S (President) Alex S (Treasurer), Anna Mc, (Secretary), Karen B (PPA rep for School Council). We also have several parents who have taken on a variety of roles to support the school. Kerry A (Parent Rep), Liz B (Second Hand Uniform), Helen M and Britt J (Mother’s Day & Father’s Day), Kerry A (Garden Club).
PPA will run a variety of events throughout the year, such as buy in lunches, Fun day
(TBD), Mother’s and Father’s Day stall and Breakfast, second hand uniform stall.
School Council
School council and PPA play a vital role at Parkdale Primary School. We encourage parents to become actively involved in these committees. These committees operate best when we have a full membership. I encourage anyone who is interested to please nominate for school council or to join PPA. If you are interested but need to know more information, please contact me. We welcome new faces as well as current members. Information about the upcoming School Council Elections was sent out in last week’s newsletter. School Council elections will close on Monday 16th February at 4:00pm. Parent nomination forms can be collected from the school office, or we can arrange for one to be emailed to you.
Our next and final school council meeting for the current membership is on Monday 16th February. The AGM and the first meeting of the 2026 School Council will be held on Monday, 16 March.
Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) 2026
Each year the school develops an annual implementation plan (AIP). The AIP supports the goals of the four-year School Strategic Plan. We review and track our progress of the AIP throughout the year with leadership, staff, school council and the SEIL (school educational improvement leader).
Our school vision is, to empower every student to achieve academic excellence while nurturing lifelong wellbeing.
Our Literacy and Numeracy Learning Specialists, alongside our Professional Learning Teams, continue to build on the strong foundations of teaching and learning at PPS. This year, our school learning goal is to enhance literacy and numeracy outcomes for all students. Our key improvement strategy focuses on strengthening teachers’ capability to effectively monitor student progress and provide timely feedback within a safe and supportive learning environment.
In Literacy, our knowledge-rich curriculum across both fiction and non-fiction texts remains a focus. Foundation to Year 6, students are supported through the delivery of Phormes-Phonology (through phonics), Orthography (spelling), Morphology and etymology, Semantics, and vocabulary. By integrating these essential elements, we aim to strengthen students’ literacy skills, deepen their understanding of language structures, and support their development as confident readers and writers.
In Mathematics, we continue to build on our consistent approach to problem-solving while strengthening retrieval practices. A key strategy is interleaved practice, where problems are intentionally sequenced so that consecutive questions require different methods. For example, an addition problem may be followed by a subtraction problem, prompting students to think critically and select the most appropriate strategy. This approach enhances problem-solving skills, promotes flexible thinking, and supports long-term retention of mathematical concepts.
We also continue to reinforce our commitment to Explicit Instruction, ensuring a consistent and high-quality approach across the school. Our school-wide instructional model is based on the I Do, We Do, You Do framework, providing clear structure and support to enable all students to experience success. To strengthen learning retention, teachers implement Daily Reviews in both Literacy and Numeracy, which helps consolidate new learning into long-term memory through spaced and interleaved practice. This approach supports the development of deep and lasting knowledge across all curriculum areas.
At PPS, student wellbeing remains a top priority. We have a dedicated wellbeing teacher, and our wellbeing team meets regularly to ensure a proactive and supportive approach for all students. This year, our wellbeing goal is to improve student outcomes in social and emotional learning. Our key improvement strategy is to embed a consistent, whole-school approach that supports and promotes student wellbeing.
In addition, we are incorporating elements of Positive Classroom Management Strategies (PCMS) to strengthen student engagement and further support positive learning behaviours and success in the classroom. We will also undertake professional learning in school wide positive behaviours this year, closely aligned with PCMS.
We will continue implementing our four common school-wide rules, which align with our Super Six Values:
Care for and respect everyone, our property, and our school environment.
Listen to and follow all directions.
Work as well as you can and allow others to do the same.
Move and play safely—keep your hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
Absences
All absences need to be entered on Compass with a reason for the absence (Medical, Holiday, Illness etc). All schools are required to contact parents/guardians as soon as practicable when student absence is unexplained. To assist with this process, we ask parents to enter the absence on Compass before 9am. If you are experiencing any difficulties with Compass, please contact the school.
School Insurance – Personal accident and personal property
The Department (which includes our school) does not have personal accident insurance for students.
If a student is injured at school or while participating in a school activity (including offsite) and requires medical treatment, parents/carers are responsible for all their child’s medical expenses. This includes transport costs such as ambulance costs (which may include an air ambulance if considered necessary).
The Department (which includes our school) does not have personal property insurance for staff and/or students.
Items of personal property that are lost, stolen or damaged at school or during school excursions are not the responsibility of Parkdale Primary school or the Department. Staff and students are reminded not to bring items of value to school or on school excursions.
Parkdale Primary School encourages parents/carers to consider obtaining their own accident insurance for students and property of value that may be brought to school.
IMPORTANT: Working with Children’s Check
Parents require a Working with Children’s Check if they are attending camp, excursions, and volunteering in the school eg: classroom assistance, school events, garden club, school council, etc. Applying for a WWC is done online and is free if you click on the volunteer category.
Please note: Parents need to have a WWC card before they can volunteer in the school. http://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au
Parent volunteers must also undertake the Volunteer Training that can be accessed on the school website. Child Safety & Volunteers
Department of Education Policy to promote respectful behaviours and staff safety
When parents, carers and school staff work together as one team, our students thrive. Everyone at school, particularly staff and parents and carers, play a role in making school a better place for learning and work.
Parents, carers and school staff have a relationship that can last many years. This is an opportunity to work together to create a positive relationship in the best interests of your child. When this relationship is built on respect and trust, students learn better and feel like they belong in the school.
You may notice new posters displayed in our school that depict some unacceptable behaviours which can negatively impact our school community. These posters are a visual reminder about the behaviour that does not help us create a safe, respectful and inclusive learning environment for students, staff and adults. I trust that you will continue to keep respect at the core of all interactions with school staff.
The Department of Education’s Respectful Behaviours within the School Community Policy describes the positive behaviour expected from parents, carers and other adults in Victorian school communities. The policy sets clear standards of behaviour to create a safe, respectful, and inclusive learning environment for students, staff and adults.
There are also resources to support safe and respectful relationships in our school community, including information about getting involved in the school, advice on how to raise a concern or complaint, and parenting support resources. To view the policy and these resources, refer to Building a positive relationship with your child's school.
Kind regards
Leanne Bradney