Message from the Principal 

What a G.R.E.A.T. Term!

It’s hard to believe we are already heading towards the end of another G.R.E.A.T. term at Greenhills! There has been so much happening across our school, and the excitement is certainly building as we get closer to our school production. We can’t wait to see our students take to the stage and celebrate the incredible amount of work, creativity and teamwork that has gone into bringing the production together.

While the production is a wonderful highlight, there is also plenty of important teaching and learning continuing in every classroom. This week is our Review Week, with our teaching teams spending dedicated time looking closely at student learning and progress, reflecting on what has worked well this term and identifying the priorities for what comes next.

This review and planning process is an important part of the way we work at Greenhills. Our teams are already mapping out the learning for Term 4, ensuring we maintain momentum and make the most of the final term of 2026. There is still plenty of learning ahead, and we are looking forward to finishing the year strongly!

Learning Means Having a Go – Connecting to our HILATs

I read a recent article by educator Dr Nathaniel Swain last week that reinforces an important idea for both schools and families: students can’t learn if they don’t try. Swain describes two barriers to learning, a culture of opting out, where students avoid something because it feels difficult or uncomfortable, and a culture of perfectionism, where students are reluctant to try unless they know they will get it right. While these may look different, both can lead to the same outcome: students choosing not to have a go.

Learning requires students to take risks, attempt something new and sometimes get things wrong. Rather than removing challenge, our role is to support children to work through it. Mistakes are not something to fear or hide; they are opportunities to investigate, correct our thinking and improve. As Swain reminds us, practice doesn’t make perfect — practice makes progress. 

This connects strongly with our Greenhills HILATs (High Impact Learner Agency Traits). We want our students to develop the attributes that help them become increasingly confident and capable learners, particularly Pursuing Goals, where persistence, effort and responding positively to challenge are so important. Being a GREAT learner doesn’t mean always getting things right. It means being prepared to participate, ask questions, have a go, learn from feedback and keep going when learning becomes challenging. 

This is an important message we can reinforce together at school and at home: don’t aim for perfect, aim for progress. Every time our students have a go, make a mistake, try again and improve, they are not only learning the content in front of them; they are developing the HILATs and learning habits that will support them well beyond the classroom. 

As a staff team we are also trying to shift some of our language and messaging around this. At Greenhills, we want every student to feel safe, supported and connected, but we also know that great learning doesn’t always feel comfortable. That’s why we are increasingly talking about creating brave spaces for learning. A brave space is one where students feel confident to have a go, take a learning risk, ask questions, make mistakes and persist when something feels challenging. Rather than avoiding difficulty, we want our students to learn that challenge is an important part of growth. When students know they are supported, they can be brave enough to step beyond what they already know and discover what they are capable of.

LOST IN THE MOVIES REMINDERS & DISMISSAL

Here are some important reminders about our evening performances of Lost in the Movies next week. 

Both shows will commence at 7pm.

PREP TO YEAR 4 STUDENTS

Drop off – Woodstock Theatre Entrance (via Main Entrance)

Students should:

• Eat dinner at home before arriving.
• Arrive at the theatre at 6:15pm - no earlier.
• Bring a small snack and drink bottle.
• Have their hair styled according to their grade's instructions.

• Bring books, cards or drawing activities for backstage downtime

   

NO iPads/personal gaming devices or phones are permitted.

Pick-Up - Woodstock Theatre Entrance (via Main Entrance)

Students staying until the end: Approximately 9:30pm from the Woodstock Theatre entrance inside the foyer.

Students will be brought out to the foyer class by class. Year 5/6 students with a younger sibling will exit with their sibling through the foyer.

YEAR 5 & 6 STUDENTS

Drop off – Stage Door (at side of building – around to the right of the main entrance)

Students should:

• Eat dinner at home before arriving.
• Arrive at the theatre at 6:00pm - no earlier.
• Bring a small snack and drink bottle.
• Wear black pants and production tshirt to the theatre.
• Have their hair and makeup styled according to their grade's instructions.
• Bring books, cards or drawing activities for backstage downtime.

iPads/personal gaming devices: Students may bring these in at their own risk, provided they are appropriate for school and are not connected to cellular data. Students will only be able to use devices at designated times. Phones are not permitted.

Drop off and Pick-Up

Students will enter and exit through the Stage Door on the outside of the theatre (see below). Students will be dismissed by the class group, so please wait for your child’s class to be called before approaching the stage door.

*If your child has a younger sibling performing that night, they will be dismissed with their younger sibling, via the Woodstock Theatre in the foyer.

If it is not a student’s parent picking up and dropping off their child, please let your child’s teacher know via email.

LAST DAY OF TERM ARRANGEMENTS

With the performances taking place over two evenings, we recognise that many of our students are likely to be very tired. As Friday the 18th of September is also the last day of Term 3, we have made the decision to run a modified school program for the day.

Families are welcome to choose the option that works best for their child on Friday. This may include:

• coming to school at the normal time;
• having a sleep-in and arriving at school later in the morning; or
• having a rest day at home following the excitement and late night of the production.

Our School Policies – Keeping Our Community Informed

At Greenhills Primary School, our policies provide an important framework for ensuring our school is a safe, supportive and well-managed learning environment for every student. Families can access all of our current school policies through the Greenhills Primary School website. Our policies are developed using Department of Education templates and guidance, are regularly reviewed and, where required, approved by our School Council.

As part of our ongoing commitment to good governance and compliance, our policies are reviewed according to their required review cycles. Next term, they will also form part of our Minimum Standards & Compliance assessment, providing another opportunity to ensure our policies and practices continue to meet Department requirements.

While all of our policies are important, there are several that we particularly encourage families to be familiar with, including our Statement of Values and School Philosophy, Duty of Care Policy, and Student Wellbeing and Engagement Policy. These documents help explain the values, expectations, responsibilities and approaches that underpin the way we work together at Greenhills. We also communicate and highlight key school policies through our newsletter each year to help keep our community informed.

We want our policies to be accessible and understood by our whole school community. If you ever have a question about one of our policies, would like further clarification, or would like to suggest that a policy be reviewed, please contact me. Feedback from our families is always welcome and forms an important part of maintaining strong, transparent and effective school practices.

PARENT / CARER OPINION SURVEY

Don’t forget that our Parent/Caregiver/Guardian survey closes at the end of this term. At time of writing this, we have had 48 families complete the survey. The link has been sent out again to all families today.

TERM 4 DATES

OCTOBER

Monday 5th October - Term 4 starts

Wednesday 7th October – Breakfast Club

Monday 12th October – Year 5 Cultural City Excursion

Tuesday 13th October – School Council 6.45pm

Wednesday 14th October – Second Hand Uniform Sale from 3pm

Friday 16th October – Prep Swimming Commences, 2.50pm Assembly

Wednesday 21st October – 2027 Prep Information Session 6pm – 7pm

Thursday 22nd October – Year 1 & 2 Excursion Science works

Wednesday 28th – 30th October – Year 4 Camp

Friday 30th October – Assembly 2.50pm

NOVEMBER

Monday 2nd November – Curriculum Day

Tuesday 3rd November – Melb Cup Day

Friday 6th November – Choir performance at Salvation Army 1.45pm 

Monday 9th November – Prep Orientation #1 9.15am – 10.45am

Tuesday 10th November – Prep Melb Zoo Excursion, Year 6 High School Day

Wednesday 11th November – School Council 6.45pm

Friday 13th November – Assembly 2.50pm

Saturday 14th November – Working Bee

Monday 16th November – Prep Orientation #2 9.15am – 10.45am

Wednesday 18th November – Meet with Principal’s Webex 7.30pm

Monday 23rd November – Prep Orientation #3 9.15am – 10.45am 

Friday 27th November – Assembly 2.50pm

Saturday 28th November – Election BBQ

Monday 30th November – Prep Orientation #4 9.15am – 10.45am

DECEMBER

Tuesday 1st December – Years 3-5 House Swimming Carnival, School Council

Wednesday 2nd December – Greenhills Music Festival 

Thursday 3rd December – Meet the Teacher #1 (9.15am – 10.45am *Preps 9.30 – 10.30am)

Tuesday 8th December – Meet the Teacher #2 9.15am  - 10.45am *No 2027 Preps

Tuesday 8th December – Christmas Concert 6pm

Wednesday 9th December – Christmas Concert Back up 9.15am

Thursday 10th December – Class of 2026 Graduation

Friday 11th December – Gazillions Celebration Day, Assembly 2.50pm

Monday 14th December – Battle of the Bands 10am

Tuesday 15th December  -  Year 6 Park Day, Final Assembly 2.30pm

Wednesday 16th December – Year 6 Funfields, Class Parties

Thursday 17th December – Pupil Free Day

Friday 18th December – Last day 1pm finish (No Assembly)

HILAT Focus: Pursuing Goals

Week 9 – Reflection

If you could go back to the start of the term, is there anything you would do differently to help achieve your goal?

James Penson,

Principal.