Hello Everyone,

With just 4 weeks left of the school year, we are all getting excited for our whirlwind of end-of-year events. Please put the dates for these events (from the upcoming events page in this newsletter) into your family calendars! Year 6 are currently on camp and upon their return will be putting the final preparations on their graduation projects. We wish them all the very best as they prepare for their big move to secondary school!

Rehearsals are well under way for our end-of-year concert on Thursday the 12th December. We are hoping all our families are able to attend to enjoy the festivities and performances. Dust off your picnic blankets and camp chairs and get ready for a night of fun and laughter!

We will be running a raffle on the night so please bring along some loose change to purchase raffle tickets! The major prize is an electric scooter. We also have a family pass to Melbourne's Christmas Wonderland up for grabs, along with hampers and much more!

If you or any business you know would be able to donate a prize to us to include in our raffle, we would really appreciate it. Please bring any prizes or donations for us to include in hampers to the school office.

I would like to thank our community for their support in our efforts to ensure student safety before school, by adhering to our gate opening times. We are already noticing a difference with a reduction of before school incidents and reduced level of anxiety for many students at the beginning of the school day. We are looking into the logistics and requirements for a breakfast club in 2025, which will help families who need to drop students slightly earlier than the gate opening time and also provide students with a nutritious start to the day. To run a breakfast program effectively, we are going to need parent or community volunteers, so if you are a morning person looking for a way to be involved in supporting your school, please email me, or leave your name and email details at the office and we will be in touch.

TERM DATES and STUDENT-FREE DAYS 2025

For the purpose of organisation, school council have approved the dates for all curriculum days and professional practice days for 2025. A decision has been made and endorsed by school council to provide an additional student-free day (the last day of the school year) in lieu of finishing early on the last day of each term. We are hopeful that the move from a tradition of early finishes on the last day every term will assist our working families who have set routines and arrangements for collection of students at 3.30pm. We have also tried to align our student-free days prior to or following public holidays so that families can make the most of a long weekend.

Please put these dates in your diaries and calendars for next year:

TERM 1

Tuesday 28th Jan - Staff Return

Wednesday 29th Jan - Student-Free Day

Thursday 30th Jan - Students return (year 1-6)

Friday 7th March - Curriculum Day

Monday 10th March - Labour Day public holiday

Friday 4th April - Last day term 1, 3.30pm finish

TERM 2

Tuesday 22nd April - First day of term 2

Friday 25th April - ANZAC Day public holiday

Friday 6th June - Curriculum Day

Monday 9th June - King's Birthday public holiday

Friday 4th July - Last Day term 2, 3.30pm finish

TERM 3

Monday 21st July - First day of term 3

Monday 11th August - Curriculum Day

Friday 19th September - Last Day term 3, 3.30pm finish

TERM 4

Monday 6th October - First day of term 4

Monday 3rd November - Curriculum Day

Tuesday 4th November - Melbourne Cup public holiday

Thursday 18th December - Last day for students, 3.30pm finish

Friday 19th December - Curriculum Day

CLASSES 2025

Composition of classes and assigning of teachers to year levels for 2025 is well underway. Due to this, no further parent requests can be accepted. Next year we will run 37 classes. 6 grades at each of prep and year one and 5 classes at all other year levels (grade two to grade six). This is an increase of one class which means an additional classroom will be created in the current performing arts room (at the back of the PAC, off the staff carpark). You will see some concreting and fencing work off the back of this room to create a barrier from the carpark to ensure there is a safe place for parents to drop off and pick up their children.

Performing Arts classes will run directly from the PAC next year and Auslan will continue to be taught in classrooms. Science and Digital Technologies will be taught by classroom teachers next year as a regular part of classroom programs. I am pleased to report that Music will be returning to Courtenay Gardens in 2025 with Mr Jordan Rundle returning to us as well as the appointment of a second Music teacher as well, meaning all students will participate in music lessons for the entire year. There are no changes to the Art, Performing Arts, Physical Education or Auslan programs in 2025.

CONGRATULATIONS

I would like to congratulate Mr Ash Fenech (Phys Ed teacher) and his wife Tayla on recently becoming parents, with the safe arrival of baby Kai.

A final newsletter will be published in the last week of term, outlining all staff changes and the leadership and support structure for 2025.

Take care everyone,

Alison Lough

Principal

Senior School

AT A GLANCE - Recent teaching and learning highlights