School News
On Friday 27 March we will be celebrating Harmony Day at PPS.
This is a celebration of Australia's cultural diversity, promoting inclusiveness, respect, and a sense of belonging for all Australians.
The theme for 2026 is "Harmony - everyone belongs!" and encourages everyone to actively participate in creating a harmonious and inclusive society.
To mark this day, we invite all students to come to school on Friday 27 March, wearing a touch of orange. Whether it's an orange accessory, a ribbon or orange socks, let's show our support for unity and diversity by adding a splash of orange to our attire. School uniform must be worn as well.
Why orange? On the official Harmony Week website, it tells us that ‘orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Week’ as it ‘signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.’
During the week, our students will taking part in a whole school collaborative art project with Mackenzie Sensei and Mami Sensei and on Friday 27 March the finished project will be shared at our 3pm Assembly, (parents are welcome to attend).
Call for Second-Hand Uniform Donations
We are currently seeking donations of second-hand school uniforms.
All donated uniforms must be in good condition and fully wearable, clean, undamaged, and suitable for immediate use.
If you are able to contribute, please send items into school with your child or drop them off at the school office.
Head Lice confirmed across our school grades.
There have been confirmed cases of head lice across four of our seven grade levels this week.
We ask all parents to regularly monitor their hair's hair. If everyone co-operates by conducting appropriate checks, we will hopefully be able to limit the head lice from spreading further. Detection/treatment information can be found on the Department of Health website, please click HERE.
Whilst head lice are a community problem, it is a parental responsibility to ensure that your children are free from lice.
We ask that if your child has head lice, they do not return to school until treatment has commenced.
We need all families to be vigilant in checking your children's hair and also in treating head lice promptly and properly. Thank you for your assistance.
Before and after school supervision
Student safety at Parkdale Primary School is our highest priority and the safe and appropriate supervision of students is an important element of our duty of care to students. Part of this duty is ensuring parents and students are aware of our student supervision arrangements before and after school.
Before school: School grounds are supervised from 8.50am
After school: School grounds are supervised until 3.40pm
Students on school grounds outside these times will not be supervised (unless they are attending a before or after school care program or supervised extracurricular activity).
Parents/carers are requested to ensure that students do not attend school outside of these supervised times unless they are attending before or after school care, or a pre-arranged supervised activity (i.e. sports practice).
Families are encouraged to contact TheirCare on 0436 333 138 or refer to theircare.com.au for more information about the before and after school care facilities available to our school community or if you would like any further information about our student supervision arrangements.
Child safety and wellbeing at PPS: information for families and the school community
Parkdale Primary is committed to providing an environment where students are safe and feel safe.
Our child safety framework explains how we support and maintain child safety and wellbeing at PPS. It includes our:
Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
Child Safety Reporting and Responding Obligations Procedures, and
Child Safety Code of Conduct, which outlines acceptable and unacceptable behaviours for all staff and volunteers at our school.
Our students and families are important partners in providing a child safe environment. These regular newsletter reminders are one of the ways we ensure our school community is aware of:
our commitment to child safety, and
how to provide feedback or raise child safety concerns.
If you have any concerns about child safety at any time, please contact Tracy Richards on 9580 1451. Any child safety complaints or concerns are treated seriously. For more information about our school’s complaints process, see our Complaints Policy.
We also welcome your ideas on ways we can improve our approach to child safety and wellbeing. If you have any suggestions or comments please contact Leanne Bradney or Tracy Richards at parkdale.ps@education.vic.gov.au