Principal's Report

PRINCIPAL’S NEWSLETTER – 8 May 2026

Enrolments and School Tours

Our Foundation 2027 tours are well underway, with strong interest in our school. We encourage families to complete enrolments online by July 31st and call the office if you needed assistance or additional information.

Facilities and Grounds Update

We are working closely with the Department regarding planned roof works, which are now scheduled to begin in June. We’ve had some leaks in classrooms, so we moved the classes out whilst the department completes the necessary repairs.

The basketball court upgrade is now expected to commence in September due to contractor availability.

Students have also been actively contributing ideas for the design of a new bike shed. To support this project, our School Captains have organised a Pyjamas and Popcorn Day fundraiser.

Community Events and Fundraising

Our recent Bunnings BBQ was a great success and a wonderful community event. With our Parents and Friends Committee (PFC) currently in recess, the School Council Sponsorship and Grants Team did an outstanding job organising and running the event. It was wonderful to see so many volunteers, so many donations of drinks and so many families visiting us. We are making plans for an upgrade of our playground—stay tuned for more information.

We are continuing to share the responsibility of event coordination across our school community:

• School Council Sponsorship Team: Bunnings BBQ, Colour Run, Election BBQ, Singalong BBQ
• Student Captains: Casual Dress Days each term to support student-led improvements
• Caitlin Rossi (ES): Coordination of key events including Foundation BBQ, Easter Parade, Mother’s Day, Book Week Parade, Footy Parade and Grandparents Day
• Student Engagement Leaders: Jump Rope for Heart, upcoming Krispy Kreme, Donut and Slushy Day, and Election Day BBQ
• Jess Moran: Management of the Uniform Shop, with support from volunteers

We appreciate the collective effort—many hands truly do make light work. If you are interested in organising or supporting an event, please contact me to discuss possibilities.

Mother’s Day Event

Today we welcomed our mums and special guests for a relaxed on-site Mother’s Day event. With the PFC in recess, we took the opportunity to create a community-focused experience including coffee, scones, a school tour and classroom visits. Thank you to Caitlin Rossi, our Education Support staff, and Ray White for supporting the event. We welcome feedback and are considering a similar event for Father’s Day.

Student Safety

Student safety remains a top priority. We ask families to:

• Avoid parking on school grounds during school hours
• Not walk children through car parks
• Use designated WAIT ZONES and ensure children remain behind the fence until pick-up
• Use the school crossing and lights to safely cross the road

We have had two recent near misses involving parent vehicles in the staff car park, highlighting the importance of these expectations. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping all students safe.

School Council and Strategic Planning

School Council members recently completed governance training alongside Woodlands and Langwarrin School Councils, strengthening our shared knowledge and collaboration.

Our Leadership Team is currently working with reviewers to develop our next four-year Strategic Plan, with a strong focus on student learning and wellbeing. Teachers are also in the process of collecting and analysing data in preparation for student reports.

Industrial Action

A number of our staff, as members of the Australian Education Union, are participating in ongoing industrial action. This supports efforts to achieve fair and equitable wages and improved funding for Victorian schools, aligning with other states. These matters have a direct impact on the resources and opportunities we can provide for our students. Currently the stop work action for the next 2 weeks has been suspended.

Events and Deadlines

We have strengthened our planning processes this year to ensure excursions, incursions and camps are well-organised and communicated clearly. They are on COMPASS, posters at classrooms and in the FINANCE section of our newsletter.

Key points for families:

• All events are published via Compass with notifications and email communication
• Reminder notices are sent prior to closing dates
• Deadlines must be adhered to due to external provider requirements and organisational logistics
• Payment plans are available for families

Once an event is closed and we have sent details off to the external providers it is very inefficient to reopen it and complete the logistics and invoices again. External providers require 2 weeks prior notice (at least) for logistic planning such as staffing and groups. We have many events running simultaneously at our school across the year levels so we must be efficient with our processes. We ask parents to be diligent with checking their COMPASS Parent Portal and following up reminders so that students do not miss out on events. This helps ensure all events run smoothly and avoids additional administrative and financial challenges. It is very rare that we can approve a late consent/payment, so we ask you to work with us by building a routine to check COMPASS each week.

Important Reminders for Families

Parking

Parent parking is not available onsite during school hours. School car parks are reserved for staff, or for parents attending scheduled swimming sessions only.

Please also be mindful of neighbouring facilities, including the Pre-School and Health Centre, which have limited parking.

Families are encouraged to use our multiple access points—North Gateway, Jackson Drive and Bush Court/Burgess Drive—to assist with safe and efficient drop-off and pick-up.

Thank you for your continued support of our school and community.

Kind regards,

Deb HaddowPrincipal