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 this fortnight’s newsletter where so much is shared about our wonderful school.

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.

Council of International Schools (CIS) Update

As communicated in a recent Compass Post, this week and next I have the pleasure of being asked to assist two other CIS schools in their quest of being re-accredited with the Council of International Schools. As you may be aware, our school is also accredited with the CIS, and it is a real pleasure and privilege to be involved in a world-renowned and leading educational institution. 

I look forward to sharing more about my time at the Adelaide Secondary School of English and Serpell Primary School in our next newsletter. 

Congratulations to our School Chess Team

The children who represent our school in various tournaments continue to do exceptionally well. Recently they participated in the following tournaments and their results are as follows:

Northern Star Zonal – congratulations to:

• Naveen (Year 3) – received a Distinction certificate and was awarded the Year 3 and 4 Bronze medallion 
• Lesara (Year 4) – received a Credit certificate and qualified for the Primary Open Semi-Final and Primary Girls State Final 
• Sandaru (Year 3) – received a Credit certificate and qualified for the Primary Open Semi-Final
• Shayana (Year 4) - – received a Credit certificate and qualified for the Primary Girls State Final and 
• Jamie (Year 3) - – received a Credit certificate.

Chess Victoria Tournament 

The other chess tournament the children compete in are run by Chess Victoria. Last Tuesday the first of these events for the year was held and our school was represented by the following children:

I am very proud to report that GWPS Green Team placed 1st and White Team placed equal 5th. As a result, both teams have now qualified for the state semi-final.

Well done and thank you to all of the children who represented our school as all of you should be incredibly proud of yourselves! May I also take this opportunity to thank the parents who assisted throughout the day as your support is appreciated immensely. 

I look forward to hearing how the children go at the next tournament. 

Education Week Update

On Tuesday morning our community came together to celebrate Education Week. As part of the "A spotlight on STEAM" theme, students across the school presented their Inquiry Science projects. There was a wonderful hum of joy and learning in all the rooms. From Prep to Grade 6, the students had diligently prepared and rehearsed. It was remarkable how much knowledge they shared. There was a great sense of pride, and we were so fortunate to have over 300 parents attend. Congratulations to our Science Captains, Shaya and Naysa, who delivered the welcome speech. 

Parent reflections

“I was very impressed the way classrooms have been set up with charts and learning materials.”

“The kids are looking happy and well organised.”

“The children were calm and ready to welcome the visitors.”

“The children so patiently waited for their turn to explain their project.”

“There was a focus on a sustainable environment and flora and fauna.”

“The students were very creative in designing their projects.”

“The children had selected a wide range of topics and they were enjoying it.”

“The children loved to learn about everyday chemicals.”

“They have learnt many facts and found creative methods to remember and display them.”

“The students understood and were able to clearly explain their topic of choice.”

Simultaneous Storytime

On Wednesday we celebrated Australian literature with participation in National Simultaneous Storytime. This event is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association. Each year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. This year, Aura Parker’s Bowerbird Blues was read in all our classrooms at 12noon. This acclaimed picture book has been nominated in the category of Picture Book of the Year by the Children’s Book Council of Australia who offer this blurb:

“It's a moving story of longing and connection, that unfolds as the bowerbird's search sends him soaring across the sea, sky and city. He swoops and snatches vibrant treasures for his collection, and soon his bower a mix of natural and unnatural objects attracts something greater and more fulfilling than he could ever have imagined.”

Congratulations to Kyna 

Kyna (Year 5) recently participated in the Rotary Club of Glen Waverley’s Multicultural Inclusion Day where she  proudly danced a traditional Indian Kathak dance. She has been learning kathak for more than 2 years and really likes the mudras (hand movements) because they are very elegant and look great when performed well. She informed me that she was very proud to perform at the event and looks forward to other events in the near future.   

Congratulations to Sineysha

Sineysha (Year 3) recently sent me this beautiful letter:

Dear Mr. Catalano

I am writing this to you about my donation. I wanted to follow my sister’s footsteps and donate my hair. I donated 30cm of my hair and I received an award too.

The reason I wanted to do this is because I want to help make a difference to someone’s life. However, instead of going to the hairdresser and cutting my hair, my mum did it at home and it took a really long time, but I know it was worth it.

My sister, Akeesha, donated 44cm of her hair in Year 1 and she also donated some this year. Also, I want to ask if I can share this at the next assembly?

Sineshya, on behalf of our whole school community, well done and thank you for wanting to make a difference by helping others. I can’t express how proud I am of you and yes, we all look forward to you sharing this amazing news at assembly! 

Thank you Nazreen! 

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Nazreen and her family, parent of Nafeesa in 3B and Nairah in 1B, for her generous donation of a Yamaha keyboard to our Music Room. Your timely contribution is appreciated, as one of our keyboards had recently broken and was due for replacement. This donation will greatly benefit all our students. Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our school community!

Kiwanis and Heart Kids Foundation Visit

As you would be aware, at our school we proudly support various organisations as it is important that the children learn that together, we can all make a difference to those that are less fortunate than us. One of our school partners is the Kiwanis Club who willingly support the Terrific Kids program at the end of each term. One of the organisations that they support is the Heart Kids Foundation, hence every year our school implements a fundraising initiative to support this exceptionally proud and important organization. 

Last Monday, our school welcomed Anne from the Kiwanis Club and Tracey from the Heart Kids Foundation as they wanted to thank our school community for raising $1428.50 to support the amazing work the Heart Kids Foundation do. Tracey mentioned that congenital heart disease is the most common congenital disorder in newborns. The birth rate prevalence of congenital heart disease is understood to be approximately 8 – 10 cases per 1,000 live births.

Principal Awards

Congratulations to the following students for receiving a Principal’s Award recently: 

Prep A

• Ashley, Aadit, Tanisha and Durga for learning all about graphs. Well done and keep it up!Q

Prep B

• Luna and Dinaya for sharing their amazing education week posters about looking after our environment. 

• Anaira for making excellent progress with her swimming skills where she has rapidly moved from level 5 to 6

Prep C

• Sophia, Tehan, Bavitran and Abhi J for learning about the importance of saying please and thank you as part of their gratitude learning. 
• Aura, Johannah and Anastasia for little all about ‘tricky words’ – words that you can’t spell out!
• Bavitran for being awarded first place in the Kobe Osaka Karate League. For his excellence in performing his Kata. 

1A 

• Coral and Shammikka for being really responsible members of our school community 

1C

• Gia also for being a really responsible member of our school community 

1E

• Kezia and Tejas also for being really responsible members of our school community 

2C

• Yashora and Yasheli for continually working hard to learn, practice and perform new dance steps 
• Lyneta for making lots of Mother’s Day cards 
• Melodie for being a wonderful friend 
• Lyneta for working so hard to learn about recycling and for producing an amazing project

2D

• Jamie for making outstanding progress with his writing skills as featured in the Kids Corner section of this newsletter 

• Ayaan for writing a detailed report about the lifecycle of a T-shirt. 
• Soha and Ella for outstanding science projects 

• Thenura and Thidas for creating outstanding science projects 

3A

• Sehansa and Johana for being really responsible members of our school by returning a lost badge to the office. 

3C

• Ananth for working hard to improve our school environment 
• Arnav for making excellent learning and behavioural choices 
• Riddota for being a wonderful friend 

4B

• Ivan for learning a great deal about volume and capacity 

4C

• Radinsa for panting a beautiful picture of flowers representing the importance of world peace 

4E

• Sasen for helping Mrs Hassiotis cut out the late passes for the office

5C

• Ngo Shun and Meshavi for making amazing progress with their learning as featured in the Kids Corner section of this newsletter 

Wishing everyone a safe and happy fortnight, 

Frank Catalano

Principal