Principal's Report
By Frank Catalano
Dear Members of the Glen Waverley Primary School Community,
I trust all is well with you and your family and welcome to this fortnight’s newsletter where so much is shared about our wonderful school.
As per usual, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to see me at school or contact me on 9802 9938 or via email at frank.catalano@education.vic.gov.au
Congratulations to Mrs. Stefanidis and Ms. Shi
I am very pleased to report that Mrs. Stefanidis gave birth to baby Sophia on Thursday 20th August. Mum and Sophia are at home and ‘doing well’. Attached are some photos of the newest member of our school family and we look forward to meeting Sophia as soon as possible!
And I’m equally excited to report that Ms. Stacey Shi has also given birth to baby Audrey, who was born on August 31st. Mum and ‘bub’ are both doing well, and the entire family are absolutely over the moon. We look forward to meeting Audrey soon as well!
Victorian State School’s Spectacular (VSSS)
Wow, wow, wow! What an amazing, colourful, exceptional and creative VSSS that was held on Saturday! This year’s theme was “Together We Shine”, and our students certainly did just that.
I was incredibly proud to see so many of our GWPS students take to the stage and represent our school, their families and themselves.
The VSSS provides an opportunity for the children to showcase their talents and this year our school had:
- Akshara (Year 6) was selected as one of the Principal Vocalist for the second year running,
- Theo (Year 5) was also selected as a member of the VSSS Choir for the second consecutive year and
- Aadhya proudly represented GWPS as a member of the VSSS Band.
These are all wonderful achievements and we are extremely proud of all three students.
Adding to the excitement were our 24 students who participated in the Mass Choir and 16 students who took part in the Mass Dance. Watching our students perform alongside hundreds of other Victorian government school students was a wonderful celebration of talent, creativity, collaboration, commitment and persistence.
May I take this opportunity to thank our parent helpers, who generously gave their time to support our students, and to our dedicated GWPS staff (Ms. Cecconello, Ms. Aung and Mrs. John), whose commitment to rehearsals, preparation and supporting the children made the experience possible.
Events such as VSSS provide our students with memories and experiences that they will carry with them for many years to come and I trust this year’s VSSS did just that not only for the children but their families!
Congratulations to all of our wonderful performers as you certainly made GWPS shine!
Student Voice and Agency
When I reflect on how schools have changed in recent times, one of the most significant developments that comes to mind is the growing emphasis on Student Voice and Agency. This is about ensuring our students have meaningful opportunities to share their ideas, express their perspectives and take an active role in their learning. At GWPS, we want our students to feel that their opinions are valued and that they have a genuine influence on their learning experiences and our wider school community.
This includes encouraging students to make choices, set goals, reflect on their learning, contribute ideas and take greater responsibility for their actions. When students are given opportunities to have a voice and exercise agency, they become more engaged, confident and independent learners. Most importantly, they begin to understand that their ideas matter and that they can make a positive contribution to both their own learning and the life of our school.
Another wonderful example of Student Voice and Agency in action has been the planning of our upcoming Movie Night and the development of our new sensory garden. Our children have had the opportunity to use their voice to select the movie they would like to watch, as well as contribute ideas and choose the various elements they would like included in the sensory garden. Our School Captains have also demonstrated wonderful agency by taking responsibility for planning and organising the Movie Night. These are great examples of how we can provide our students with genuine opportunities to have a voice, make decisions, take responsibility and play an active role in shaping our school community.
A reminder that Movie Night is planned for Thursday 10th September as follows:
- Years Prep to Two: 3:45 to 5:15 and
- Year 3 to 6: 6 to 7:30 pm
I look forward to sharing photos of the Movie Night in our next newsletter!
Best wishes to Aneel and Thesara
As written in last fortnight’s newsletter, Aneel (Year 5) has decided to walk 38 kilometres to raise funds for the Royal Children’s Hospital. Last week Aneel provided the children with an overview of she and Thesara are aiming to achieve, I was so moved by their efforts that I thought to share it with everyone:
Dear Mr Catalano. Teachers, parents and students. My name is Aneel and I’m in Year 5, today I have some exciting news to share with you.
Over the weekend of 17-18 October, weather permitting, I am going to try and walk 38 kilometres from St. Kilda to Frankston to raise $3,800 for sick children at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
I’m also very lucky to have a friend, Thesara, joining me in this campaign. Together, we will be encouraging people to support this important cause and help spread the word. I’m very grateful to have her by my side on this journey.
Now, as soon as I tell people about my challenge, they ask the same question: “Why, why, why? Why are you doing this? Did your mum force you, or have you completely lost your mind?”
Well, I can promise you, its neither of those things.
Children do not get to choose whether they become sick. They do not choose pain, hospital visits or having to miss out on school, sport and time with their friends. They just have to face these difficult things, even when they are scared.
I have been very lucky to grow up healthy, surrounded by love and supported by my family and friends. I know that not every child has the same experience. That is why I want to use this challenge to help sick children and their families.
“But how can I help?” you may ask. I’m glad you asked! You can help by donating to my challenge. Even a small donation can make a difference. Maybe it is the price of a lolly, a juice or one less takeaway coffee for the adults.
And if you cannot donate, you can still help. You can tell your friends and share my fundraising page. So please support and encourage us – together we can help give sick children the care, hope and brighter future they deserve.
We even wrote a poem:
Every step you take
Is one small wish we can create
For children facing their most difficult days
We’ll help and support them in the most interesting ways
38 km’s step by step
With courage, kindness and no regret!
Please consider assisting Aneel by donating at:
100% of all public contributions flow securely and directly to the Royal Children's Hospital Foundation.
Congratulations to Akira
I am delighted to report and acknowledge the outstanding achievements of Akira in Year 6, who continues to establish herself as a phenomenal table tennis player. Akira recently travelled to Queensland to compete in the TTA Tour, which unfortunately meant that she had to miss her Year 6 camp. This was understandably disappointing for Akira, however, her commitment to her sport and the opportunity to compete at this level required her to make this difficult decision.
Her dedication certainly paid off, with Akira winning Gold in the Under 11 Girls Singles category. She also performed exceptionally well in the Under 13 and Under 17 Girls Singles competitions, progressing through to the quarter-finals in both age groups.
Akira’s achievements across this year’s four TTA Tours have been remarkable. She has won three Gold medals and one Silver medal in the Under 11 Girls Singles category, taking Gold in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and Silver in Western Australia. This is an extraordinary record and a wonderful reflection of Akira’s talent, commitment and determination. Well done, congratulations Akira as we are incredibly proud of you!
Book Week
May I take this opportunity to thank the entire school community for the manner in which you embraced the various Book Week activities and dress up day. It was wonderful to see the children thoroughly enjoy the week as indicated by Mrs. Bailey’s post below:
2026 Book Week was a week filled with sharing the joy of reading, speaking about favourite books, writing stories collaboratively with buddy classes and dressing up as favourite book characters. I would like to take the time to thank our wonderful library captains, Ellie, Yashen, Erin and Myra for planning, organising and running the Book Week events throughout the week. Please continue reading below for a more detailed look at what happened and some comments from students!
Book Week Assembly
On Monday the week started off with a bang! The library captains presented a fabulous assembly presentation, which encouraged students, parents and teachers to spend the week sharing in the love of books and reading. During assembly, the children listened to and watched the story of ‘Allegro’ and answered numerous questions about the book, all facilitated by our amazing captains.
Reading in the Library with the Library Captains
During lunchtime on Monday, Myra and Ellie read ‘The Bad Seed’ to students from Prep, Year 1 and Year 2. The children enjoyed their time in the library reading with the captains. Unfortunately, due to wet weather on Friday, the reading session for children in Years 3-6 had to be cancelled.
Myra Year 6- I enjoyed reading with the Prep-2 students because they were really observant and were keen to know more about the book by asking questions.
Storytime with Mr Catalano
During lunch eating time on Tuesday, the students listened to a story called, ‘My Nonno Loves’ read to them by Mr Catalano. There was even a special guest appearance from Michael, who is also a Nonno. Mr Catalano and Michael reflected on the joys of being a Nonno and made text to self-connections with some of the experiences in the book.
Samaira Year 2- I liked hearing Mr Catalano read the story and it helped spark my imagination to write my own story with my buddy.
Bookmark Making in the Library
During lunchtime on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the students made bookmarks in the library with the captains, with some choosing to colour in predesigned bookmarks and others deciding to show their creativity by creating their own designs. There were many fabulous and colourful bookmarks created, with some being taken home and others used for their class novels.
Aishira Year 3- Bookmark making was relaxing and helped me to do something calm instead of playing outside.
Erin Year 6- I really liked bookmark making as I was curious to see how creative the Prep-2 students were, using lots of colours and pictures for their designs.
Collaborative Writing Buddy Sessions
Throughout the week, each class met with their buddy class to collaboratively write a story together. There was much excitement and creativity flowing as the children enjoyed time with their buddies. Each buddy class will select two stories to be included in a book that will be displayed in the library once they are all finished and collated.
Arvin Year 2- It was fun to write with my buddy, and we even finished it on time. My story was called, ‘The wrong song’ and it was about it was about a character named Michael who played a wrong note in his song.
Book Week Dress Up Day
The week finished with the 2026 Book Week Dress Up day on Friday 28th August. There were many fabulous book characters to be seen, from Harry Potter to bright coloured fish at the front office, and even a horrendous headmistress lurking around the school. Thank you to the school community for their efforts to make this such a wonderful day with so many outstanding costumes!
Devindu Year 2- We all dressed up as different characters and there was even a person (Arvin) dressed up as a dictionary. We learnt about different books and the stories that our classmates liked reading.
Tehan Year 3- I liked how people shared about the books they liked as it gave me the opportunity to try reading different books that I heard about.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED A PRINCIPAL’S AWARD RECENTLY:
Prep
- Kyra, Japnaaz and Hrushi for making amazing progress with their writing skills
Year 1
- Fateh for working really, really hard to become an outstanding speller
Year 2
- Kiyan and Gavindu for writing the most amazing and descriptive book about reptiles
- Devindu and Binol for making amazing progress with their writing
- Foram for competing in the Aerodynamix gymnastics competition where she received
- Excellence in Bars, Trampoline, Floor and Rings and
- Very good in the Beam event and was awarded 2nd place in the Under 8’s group
- Tatiana recently competed at a Waverley Gymnastics Club competition, participating in beam, floor, bars, trampoline and rings. I am very proud to report that she achieved 3rd place overall in the Under 8s section as well!
- Binol for writing a very clever, creative and forceful persuasive text that highlighted his opinions exceptionally well
Year 3
- Nairah, Sasavi and Ava for working very hard to develop her English skills
- Savik and Ethan for writing a very creative piece about a robot on the beach
- Raghavan and Nithish for learning how to use the words gleam and endlessly
- Nithish for learning a great deal about Iron!
Year 5
- Navesha, Vidhi and Akithra for working hard to learn about the importance of democracy and how these impacts on our everyday lives
- Eesa for assembling a Lego Dodge for our display cabinet
Year 1 and 4 (Buddy Class)
- Vandan and Jackson for writing a fabulous narrative for Book Week as part of their buddy class program
- Jithu and Delvin also for writing a terrific narrative for Book Week, the children chose to write about Cinderella and Mia, in the end fake Cinderella turned into an evil and scary villain!
Wishing everyone a safe and happy fortnight,
Frank Catalano
Principal