Principal's Report

Dear Members of the Glen Waverley Primary School Community,

I trust all is well with you and your family and welcome to another edition of our school newsletter. 

As per usual, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me on 9802 9938 or via email at frank.catalano@education.vic.gov.au.

Australian International Education Conference

From Tuesday 10th to Friday 13th October, Mrs. Bennet, Ms. Dell’Aquila and I had the pleasure of attending the Australian International Education conference in Adelaide. Overall, it was an invaluable experience as it provided us with the opportunity to learn more about the importance of internationalising our curriculum and also the future trends of education. We have compiled a report for your perusal which is located within this newsletter. Please do not hesitate to see one of us if you have any questions. 

Warm Weather

As everyone would be aware, the weather is beginning to warm up hence we strongly encourage all of the students to ensure they bring a drink bottle to school, some sunscreen and naturally their sun smart school hat. A water bottle on the desk will enable the children to have a quick drink and alleviate the need to leave the room and interrupt learning time. If a child does not have a sun smart hat at school, they will be required to play under the stage area, remember “No hat no play!” 

Basketball Court Cover

Thank you to the numerous parents who have commented about our newest facility. Over the last few weeks we have added lights, a PA system and post pads; shortly we will add some netting to prevent birds from nesting. Once again, this project would not have been possible if it were not for the contribution of our school community – thank you everyone as we should all be very proud of our achievement!   

Our Sponsored Children

As a proactive learning and internationally minded organisation, it is imperative that we demonstrate to the children the importance of supporting and giving to others. As a result our school proudly sponsors the following children:

• Caspian a 5 year old Australian child through the Smith Family and
• Charlotte an 8 year old child who lives in Zimbabwe, through World Vision.

Attached are additional information about the children or the sponsoring organisations. 

2024 Student Leaders 

There has certainly been a little more “excitement and trepidation” in the air as the Year 5 children are currently undertaking the process of nominating for the various student leadership positions for the 2024 school year. May I take this opportunity to wish all the children well and we look forward to announcing the 2024 Student Leaders on Monday 4th December. 

Eastern Metropolitan Region Athletics Championships 

Congratulations to Hirun, William and Shiv who represented our school and district at the Eastern Metropolitan Region Athletics Championships last week. Please refer to Mr. Parker’s report as he outlines some outstanding achievements.

2024 Class Requests

As mentioned in a recent Compass post, our school is currently in the process of creating classes for the 2024 school year, if parents have a particular preference for their child which pertains to educational or wellbeing (friendship) issues, please see me at school or send me an email at frank.catalano@education.vic.gov.au.

Please ensure this is completed by tomorrow, Friday 27th October.  

Please note that we do not keep requests from last year and we do our best to accommodate all wishes, however there may be times in which this is not possible. 

2024 Enrolments 

I would like to remind families with children who will be beginning school in 2024 that we are taking enrolments now and that they are also closing rapidly as we only have a very small number of positions available. I strongly encourage you to ensure you return your child’s enrolment form to Daniel, Daria or Julie in the main office as soon as possible. 

We also ask that members of our school community assist us by informing any of their neighbours of the enrolment procedures and direct them to the office to collect an enrolment form or our school website – www.glenps.vic.edu.au . School tours are available every Tuesday morning commencing at 9:30 and also upon request.  Please call the school on 9802 9938 to book a tour.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED A PRINCIPAL’S AWARD RECENTLY: 

1A

• Eric and Thenura for making amazing progress with their writing 

1D

• Liam and Mevinu for being really responsible and honest members of our school community 
• Samiksha for making outstanding progress with her writing 
• Advika and Samiksha for drawing the most amazing pictures of anime girls 
• Shenelle for participating in the state Junior Victorian Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship which were held at the Geelong Arena, where she placed 1st in "freehand style" and "Ball" Level 1. Well done and congratulations Shenelle as this is a fabulous achievement. Keep up your passion for rhythmic gymnastics as we look forward to hearing how you go in future tournaments! 

Here is a copy of Shenelle's speech that she presented at our whole school assembly on Monday 23rd October. 

Hi Mr Catalano, teachers, parents and students. My name is Shenelle from 1D. Last Saturday i participated in the Junior Victorian Gymnastics Championships at Geelong Arena. I won 2 gold medals in freehand and ball routine in Rhythmic Gymnastics. It was an amazing moment for me because this is the first time i competed in a championship. Thank you for listening. 

1E

• Thenuli and Tyler for making excellent progress with their learning in Chinese class 

2A

• Arjun for running 3 kilometres in the Melbourne Marathon. He ran in 26 minutes and 4 seconds. He ran with his mum and sister. 

• Manuth for being a wonderful friend 
• Arjun, Sid and Shlok for writing the most amazing and very interesting narratives! 
• Hansen, Grayson, Aiyana and Aadhavan for enthusiastically learning about probability 

2E

• Sai and Bhoomin for writing very persuasive pieces about why they would like to change the tables in their classroom to rows 

3C

• Veer for competing in the State karate championships and placing first in the under 8/9 Dojo section. This is an amazing achievement and something that we are all incredibly proud of! 

3D

• Akshara for competing in the grand final of the ‘Take the Mic’ singing competition. Akshara performed exceptionally well and was praised by the judges for her monumental effort, in fact they called her, “Little Sia” 

• Tevin and Asees for being wonderful friends
• Joshua for writing the most amazing and interesting story about King Joshua and how he wins the battle 
• Asees for making amazing progress with her writing and overall English skills 

3E

• Raneth for writing a very detailed and creative book about birds 

Take care everyone and wishing you a safe and wonderful fortnight. 

Frank Catalano

Principal