Principal's Message 

Last fortnight's reflection...

What an amazing last two weeks we have had at Ceres PS. It has been jam packed with a wide ranging list of events and happenings.

Swimming last week was completed in a one week format for the first time and seemed to go off without a hitch. As a staffing group, we will reflect upon this and to support our review, we value any parent feedback so feel free to let either myself or Mr James aware of anything that may assist 2025 planning.

The F/1's enjoyed a Teddy Bear Picnic local excursion this week and did extremely well to have their day fall between a heat wave and the first bit of rain we have seen in two months. Well planned F/1 team!

School photos began on Wednesday and, unfortunately, the weather did intervene. Portraits were taken with class photos to be taken later this term. With NAPLAN assessments beginning on the same day, we were short on space so a future date will be organised and hopefully, an outdoor scene will be an option for us when we try again. 

Yesterday, Mr. Murrell organised a wonderful excursion for our Junior School Council members to GMHBA Stadium for a tour of the facilities and a leadership and values discussion. It was a terrific excursion and reinforced the importance of upholding our values as leaders and being role models for others.

Just when you think the term couldn't get any busier, think again with a jam packed final fortnight ahead. Please refer to the Dates to remember for more details.

Parent open afternoon today

Today @2pm we are having a Parent Open Afternoon where parents can join their child/ren in their classroom to participate in a class activity, and or view some work samples from the year thus far. It might also be a nice chance to have a quick chat with your child's teacher if need be too.

Our whole school assembly will follow this open classroom session at 2:30pm. 

New sports tops

Last year we held a competition to design new sports tops for our school. Julia D designed the winning selection and, after a bit of a wait, we received our new tops today.  They look fantastic and will be debuted at the SSA Cross Country in the last week of Term 1. 

Big thanks to Mrs. Sanders and Serena for their efforts in getting these tops produced. 

School Council Annual General Meeting

Next Tuesday, March 19th at 5:30pm we will hold our Annual General Meeting where we hope to table our 2023 Annual Report and will appoint office bearers to key SC roles. All members of the school community are welcome to attend. If you plan to attend, please inform Claire in the office so we can choose the appropriate room to hold this meeting. 

The first Governing Council Meeting with our 2024 School Council be held directly after the AGM.

Dogs on school site

Ceres Primary School recognises the positive influence that pets, including dogs, can have in the community and in particular, on a child’s life. While the school appreciates this and values pet ownership as an educational experience, it also acknowledges that other children and adults can find contact with dogs stressful. 

To ensure the safety of all students, adults, and animals while supporting the choice of families within the community to walk their dogs to and from school please read the points below.

• All dogs entering Ceres PS grounds must be on short leads (not extendable leads)
• Only adults are permitted to be in charge of dogs on school premises and they must be responsible for their dog at all times which means making sure the dog is kept a safe distance away from students (including line-up areas) and other dogs in the school grounds.
• Dogs are NOT permitted to be tied up and left unattended.
• It is the responsibility of the dog owner to clean up after their dog (and remove from school property).
• Incidents involving dog bites or injuries to children, adults, or other animals will be reported to the City of Greater Geelong Shire.

We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

Highlights and Challenges of the previous four years @Ceres 

We value our community's voice and as part of our upcoming strategic review process in early Term 3, where we set new school learning and wellbeing goals for the next four years, we need to look back at the previous four year period and identify highlights and challenges from this time, particularly in the areas of learning and wellbeing. 

Reflection such as this provides an opportunity to celebrate our successes and growth as a school while also identifying areas of development that could form goals in our next Strategic Plan. 

If you wouldn't mind contributing your ideas to the questions in this survey, that would be greatly appreciated. There is the option for your child to enter their thoughts also if they wish.

The survey will remain open until early Term 2.

Save the date

There are a couple of key dates early next term that families need to be aware of and enter in their diaries.

Thursday, April 25th is the ANZAC Day Public Holiday and the week after on Monday, April 29th a Pupil Free Day will be held for staff to complete some Wellbeing Professional Learning. 

Prep Enrolments and Tours

Expressions of interest and tours for 2025 Foundation students have begun and there has been plenty of early interest. 

If you have a sibling of a current student needing enrolment next year we ask that this is submitted as soon as possible to give us a clear indication of potential numbers. 

If you know anyone looking to enroll at Ceres, please ask them to book a tour or pick up an expression of interest pack.

Subscribe to our Newsletter 

Our newsletter is private to our school community and is not shared on our website or Social Media.  However, you may want to have a grandparent or other family member be able to receive our newsletter.  If you do, you can subscribe to our newsletter with the link below and then when the newsletter is published it will go to them.  You can also subscribe if you would like to receive the newsletter directly into your email instead of via Compass.

Subscribe here

Reminder: Our student led Assembly is on today at 2:30 pm.

Our assembly is a very important part of our school. It is an opportunity to proactively reinforce our school culture and expectations through the acknowledgement and celebration of our students and school. 

Have a great fortnight.

Tim Callaghan

Acting Principal