David's Message

Dear Sunshine Heights Parents and Carers,

We are in our final week of term and getting ready for a restful holidays period for students, families and our staff. As I shared at the Festive Concert and Art Show, there is a bitter-sweet end to every year as we step into our new beginnings. We have an amazing group of grade 6 students who are about to graduate from our school and head to local secondary schools and colleges. Many of their parents have been with us for 7 years (or even a few more if they have older siblings), and this draws to an end their journey with our school. At the same time, as I write this I can hear the new 2026 preps getting to know each other and our school playground with our playgroup. Each year brings a new groups of students into our fold, along with their families, aspirations and possibilities. I want to extend my warmest thanks to each of our families for the time they spend with us and the contributions they make. It really is the life-blood of our community to have these connections. 

This year has been an epic one for us. We have grown our staffing team to include our Allied Health Staff, a number of new Education Support Staff, and we have also been able to complete our staffing for 2026, with a few key changes. We warmly wish Miss Sophie a very safe arrival for her baby, due in Early 2026, and look forward to some cuddles when she is able to visit. We also welcome Bella Volani to our staff team, who originally comes from NSW but who has been in Victoria for around 6 months. Already she has made great connections and is an experienced Prep teacher to add to our staffing. Emma Probert also joins our team as a teacher having previously been an important part of our Tier 2 Tutor Program. The teams for 2026 look like this:

Prep - Thomai Tokoglou,  Bella Volani

Grade 1 - Leanne Vella/Christine Forrest (Learning Specialist), Brigid Clamp

Grade 2 - Jade Divers, Rose Krajacic/Sonia Papadopoulos, Cinnamon Melling

Grade 3 - Baylee Byres, Jake Backus

Grade 4 - Paige Stokes, Emma Probert/Daniela Cami

Grade 5 - Jamie Sturzo/Samuel Allardice (Learning Specialist), Chau Nguyen

Grade 6 - Seher Salih/Angela Truong, Britta Hansen

Specialists - Lauren Jamieson (Art) Dane Barun (PE), Jasmine Luong (Performing Art), Elliott Coates-Cowley (STEM), Spanish (To be announced very soon)

We are all beyond excited for 2026 and have big plans for the new year and your child's learning.

Watch out in the coming week for the 2026 Calendar and other key information to get you all ready for the next year. 

Best wishes,

David and the entire Sunny Heights Team