Principal's Message

Please take the time to read each page of our newsletter, as we provide you with information updates across our school. 

As we publish this newsletter, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude and thanks to our amazing community. 

The kindness and thoughtfulness within the messages, cards, letters, phone calls, and in-person handshakes/hugs which our staff have received over the past fortnight are a huge motivator for us moving forward. 

Upwey South Primary School truly is a great place to belong. 

Our best wishes go out to the following families who are leaving Upwey South Primary School to undertake the next stage of their educational journey.

A Year Six Graduation is always a wonderful evening of memories, reflections, celebrations, recognition of achievements, and just a really awesome party for our graduates!

A huge thank you to the families below, to whom we are grateful to have played such an important role in your child/ren's primary education: 

Andrews, Burrage, Godbehere, McKinty, Czencz, Dixon, Finnegan, Hutchings, Macknamara, McCulloch, Obregon, Trofimiuk, Bisiani, Clarke, Ennis-Matheson, Girginis, Millar, Sarkies, Wallace

School Report access for students finishing their schooling at Upwey South Primary School

Please note, all students leaving Upwey South Primary School will not be able to access their Compass profile from 5:00pm Thursday 21st December 2023. Therefore, should you wish to download copies of your child's primary school reports you will need to action this via the Compass App prior to this date. 

Parents' Association 2024

In 2024, our Parents and Teacher Association will be rebranded as the "Parents' Association" with a focus upon providing; 

• social opportunities for parents/families to interact beyond the classroom
• opportunities for parents/families to become involved in school events
• fundraising support for School Council initiatives
• support for Student Representative Council (SRC) initiatives

The distribution of our PA Survey will now be distributed in early Term One.  We are excited to hear from you, and can't wait for 2024. 

2024 Continuous Improvement Structure

Over the last fortnight it has been so rewarding to see our students/parent/carers reach out and welcome new members of staff who will be joining our school in 2024. 

The information attached below was sent out to families via Compass on November 30th, 2023. Thank you to everyone for your ongoing support, and excitement, about our continuous improvement structure:

2024 Start of Year Information

Please be aware that all staff will be back on-site from Monday 29th January 2024. 

Below are the 2024 term dates for Upwey South Primary School. 

Term One, 2024- Hours of Schooling for Foundation Students

Foundation students commence school at 9:10am on Thursday 1st February 2024.

Hours of schooling for Thursday 1st February 2024 and Friday 2nd February 2024 are 9:10am-2:00pm, with pick-up and drop-off to occur from the double glass doors leading to the classrooms.

Commencing Monday 5th February 2024 hours of schooling are 8:50am- 3:30pm, with pick-up and drop-off to occur from the double glass doors leading to the classrooms.

For the first six weeks of the 2024 school year, Foundation students will attend school 0.8EFT (four days per week). During this time, Foundation students will not attend classes/school on Wednesdays (each Wednesday leading up to Labour Day weekend).

Please note that Foundation students are not required at school on the following dates in Term One, 2024:

• Wednesday 31st January
• Wednesday 7th February
• Wednesday 14th February
• Wednesday 21st February
• Wednesday 28th February 
• Wednesday 6th March

These Wednesdays are allocated for Foundation teachers to conduct the Early Years Entry Assessment, which is a one-one interview/assessment with each enrolled Foundation student. 

Celebrating student achievements beyond the school gates

We have the most amazing students at Upwey South Primary School, and quite often their brilliance extends beyond the boundaries of our school fence. With community sport, artistic endeavors and other events back in full-swing we are wanting to use our newsletter as another chance to celebrate the achievements of our students beyond the school gates. 

If you know of a student who has achieved something beyond the school gates which should be celebrated, please email damien.kitch@education.vic.gov.au 

Communicating with the Principal

We look forward to partnering with you in 2023, and welcome your input: 

Damien Kitch (Principal)  damien.kitch@education.vic.gov.au