Principal's Column

As we head into the last two weeks of this term, some reminders:

• Wednesday 11th September: Westgrove Great Book Swap
• Thursday 12th September: 'R U Ok' Day
• Friday 13th September: Footy Lunch Day
• Wednesday 18th September: Monster Run For Fun
• Friday 20th September: Last day of Term 3 (students finish at 2.15pm)
• Monday 7th October: Term 4 begins (school starts at 9.00am)

2024 ATTITUDES TO SCHOOL SURVEY DATA

Each year in April/May Year 4-6 students participate in an Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS). This survey seeks students thoughts and feelings about our school in the areas of learning, teaching, relationships, safety, etc. This year our results were exceptional with 18 or 19 factors seeing an increase in positive responses. 

Here is a snippet of the Effective Practice for Cognitive Engagement Domain. Our school's results are in the orange. In comparison to last year, each factor below has increased positively by at least 5%. 

Please note that each of the factors have a few questions each that students respond to.

2025 PLANNING

The year keeps on flying by and we are already well into planning for 2025. One of our major planning factors is our student enrolments. Therefore, if you or someone you know are yet to enrol their child/children for next year please contact our office. Additionally, if your family is leaving us next year please also let our office know (this is not required for our Year 6 graduates).

MONSTER RUN FOR FUN

Less than two weeks to go until our Monster Run for Fun! Further information regarding this event will be posted to the community closer to this event.

Students are encouraged to register their fundraising profile. Students have received their sponsorship booklet and can now create their online profile at www.australianfundraising.com.au.

Big prizes are up for grabs! Unlock your first incentive prize simply by raising $10 online. The more your child raises, the more prizes they will receive. You can also share in $200k of extra prize credit, win a PlayStation 5 Gaming Bundle and become a Fundraising MonSTAR! ⭐

SCHOOL SAVINGS BONUS

In Term 4, 2024, families with a child enrolled in a government school from Prep to Year 12 in 2025 will receive the one-off $400 School Saving Bonus. The $400 School Saving Bonus provides families with support for education-related costs, such as school activities and/or school uniforms and textbooks.

Actions for parents and carers

Before 18 October 2024, the Department of Education is asking parents and carers to:

• Complete enrolment: If your child, or children are changing government school for Term 1 2025, or starting Prep or Year 7 in 2025. For more information, read about Enrolling in School. 
• Check your contact information: Ensure your email address and phone number is up to date with us. You can check this information by contacting us directly.

The Department of Education will email you twice:

• in October, to verify your email address
• in November, with your $400 School Saving Bonus and access to an online system.

To learn more about the School Saving Bonus, download the School Saving Bonus Information sheet for government school parents and carers or visit vic.gov.au/school-saving-bonus. 

Please note: The School Saving Bonus is not available for full-fee international students, home schooled students, TAFE students and students attending kindergarten in 2025.   

PARENT/CARER SURVEY

The 2024 Parent, Caregiver and Guardian Opinion Survey is available to complete online until Friday 20th September. If you are choosing to complete the survey please see Compass or Class Dojo for details. Please remember only one survey is to be completed per family. 

Thank you to the families who have already completed the survey, we currently have 109 surveys completed.