Principal's Report
Farewell Mrs Pitts
At our Whole School Assembly yesterday the school community had the opportunity to acknowledge and thank our brilliant Assistant Principal, Julie Pitts, for the contribution she has made to Gardenvale Primary School for the past 27 years.
In her time at Gardenvale Julie has taken on many roles and done them all with distinction. Her legacy will see her many initiatives and programs that she developed at Gardenvale continue on, as they have become the fabric of the school.
Some of the roles and responsibilities Julie has undertaken include:
- Being an outstanding classroom teacher. Many of the programs Julie initiated in Year 6 are still run now and are highlights of the year such as Leadership Responsibilities, Debating, the Billy Cart Grand Prix and Book Club.
- Leading Student Well-Being with care and compassion. Julie has largely been responsible for creating the school we have today with well behaved, inclusive and happy children. It was Julie that led the school through the process of developing our School Values of Honesty, Empathy, Responsibility, Respect, Resilience and Be yourself. These values are integral to how we all interact and communicate with each other, whether we be young or old! We often comment that Julie is the mother of ‘HERRRBy’ – even though Julie maybe retiring HERRRBy is not!
- Leading the Building and Grounds Team ~ our facilities would not look the way they do now without Julie at the helm.
- Writing, producing and directing 14 Musical Productions, all of which seems to get bigger and bigger and more exceptional each time! Julie has also brought Tom to Gardenvale, and to watch them work together is sheer joy!
- Managing the Junior Campus brilliantly. Julie has instilled her love for performing in our younger students and this continues on with them throughout their lives!
Julie’s impact on students, colleagues and the wider school community has been immeasurable. We can not thank her enough for all that she has done for our whole school community and for the joy and happiness she brought to us all.
Julie will be greatly missed but we are so grateful that she has been with us at Gardenvale for the past 27 years. Now it is Julie’s time to fully enjoy life on the ‘farm’ with her husband, Graeme, the dogs, horses, chickens, bees and importantly her children and granddaughters!!
Congratulations and heartfelt thank you Julie!
Year 3 Working Bee
This Sunday, 20th October, is our Year 3 Working Bee from 9.00 to 11.00am. We are asking our Year 3 families to spend an hour or two at the Senior Campus helping us to undertake necessary maintenance so that the grounds are nice and tidy for the remainder of the year. We really appreciate the cash donations made to our Buildings and Grounds by those families that are unable to attend the Working Bee.
If you are not a Year 3 family but have an hour or so to spare this Sunday morning, we would love the extra help!
Japanese Day
A reminder Japanese day is next Wednesday 23rd October. The children are asked to dress up in a Japanese theme (a touch of flag colours, favourite characters, cultural icons, landmarks, food, sports, anime, and transport). The children will be involved in multi-age activities for the day and enjoy a sushi lunch (for those you have ordered)!
Classes for 2025
In preparation for the 2025 learning year, we ask parents to put in writing, addressed to Dimi Sfetsas dimitra.sfetsas@education.vic.gov.au any concerns, or social/emotional issues around the placement of your child into a class group for next year. Please include your child’s name and current class in your request. Please note teacher requests will not be considered. Friday, 1st November is the cut-off date for the lodgement of these written requests. Written requests received by the above date will be considered along with teacher judgement. Families who are not returning to Gardenvale PS (apart from Year 6 students) in 2025 are asked to inform the office in writing. This will assist with forward planning and class structures for the coming year.
Have a lovely week,
Janine