Message From the Principal

Dear Families, 

My mentor and former principal of three of my previous schools, Steve Warner, recently passed away after a short illness. Steve has had an incredible impact on my career, and also on my life in general. He has been instrumental in improving schools in Western Melbourne and has developed so many staff into leadership roles. Steve visited Dinjerra a few times and was always a great man of advice and wisdom. 

I had the honour of speaking at his funeral this week, where I was able to share the positive impact that Steve had on so many school staff, students and families. 

Celebration of Learning - Friday 27th June

We are looking forward to welcoming family members into classrooms next Friday 27th June from 9:05am for our Term 2 Celebration of Learning. As always, our students will be showcasing their learning from their Term 2 Concept Units. See you there! 

Junior School Council                                 Fundraising - Cake stall thank you!  

Thank you to the Junior School Council for organising our first Cake Stall! Our Junior families took this task very seriously and baked such a variety of sweets to be used as fundraisers! We raised $582 on the day, which will be going towards our 2025 fundraising target and goal for outdoor spaces. Thank you to all the families who either baked goodies or bought a slice or two. We are looking at having another Stall in Term 3. We know that some students missed out on the sales, and we have refined our processes so that the next Cake Stall will be even bigger and better.  

Evacuation Drill - Code Pink Drill                   Tuesday 3rd June 

On Tuesday 3rd June, our community participated in our Code Pink Evacuation Drill, which was a Shelter In Place Drill. For this drill, students, staff and visitors gathered in our BER building, which is our indoor Shelter in Place location. Each term we practise a different type of drill, so that in the event of an emergency, we have clear procedures in place. 

Traffic Safety - Drop off and Pick up Guidelines

Things are getting very busy and unsafe in the mornings at drop off time and in the afternoons at pick up times. I have had a number of parents approach me and let me know of some unsafe behaviours out on South Road. I have also witnessed this myself.

At drop off times in the morning before school, please do not park at the front of the school on South Road. This includes in front of the school, in the driveway for the garbage bin, or in the driveway for the staff car park.

The drivers who are doing this are parking illegally, and then after dropping students out of the car, are doing things such as u-turns and taking off quickly, which is causing a huge traffic build up and risking the safety of our students and families.

Please park in nearby streets, Garden Drive, Melon Street and then walk into the school. Alternatively, you can park in West Central Park Avenue or in the South Road service road and then use the supervised crossing at the traffic lights to walk across South Road safely.

Please see the attached diagram to help illustrate the safe ways to drop off and pick up at Dinjerra.

Prep 2026 - siblings - enrolments 

If you have a younger child who will  be beginning Prep at Dinjerra in 2026, please see the office and complete an enrolment form by the end of term.

Thank you,

Natalie. 

Coming Up

Semester Reports 

In Week 11, families will receive copies of your child’s Semester 1 Report. This will include:

• Progression point allocation to the Victorian Curriculum subjects (the dots)
• A general comment and gradings for effort and behaviour written by the classroom teacher
• Progress comments for Cycle 1 and 2 Individual Goals 
• Student Self Reflection

You will received a hard copy in a sealed envelope and you will also be able to download a digital copy of the Semester Report from Compass. 

Coming Up in Early Term 3:

Term 3 Week 1 - Student Led Conferences 

On Wednesday 23rd July, which is the first week of Term 3, we will hold our Student Led Conferences. These are similar to our Parent Teacher Interviews, but the process has changed. You will still book in for 10 minute appointments, however the students will be leading the conferences. Each student will present their reflection of their Semester 1 learning to their parents and teacher. This is a great step in the direction of ‘Learner Agency’ where the student directs their learning. Students have been preparing some work samples that they would like to share with their parents. Having parents connected to their child’s learning and progress is an important partnership. There will also be a brief amount of time towards the end of the appointment for the parent and teacher to discuss any other important matters. 

The day is our fourth and final curriculum day for 2025 and it is a student free day, apart from the Student Led Conference time. Bookings will open next week on Compass. 

Term 3 Week 2 - Prep to 6 Athletics Day 

We are excited for our annual Athletics Day Carnival, which will be held on Wednesday 30th July (Term 3, Week 2). For the first time, we will be taking the whole school to Moonee Valley Athletics Centre for the day. We would love families to come along for the day to cheer, and/or to volunteer help. More information will be coming soon, but for now, you may want to make sure your child has a t-shirt in their House Colour. 

Term 3 Weeks 7 and 8 - Year 3-6 Swimming Program at MAC

Term 3 is a 9 week term with lots of fun learning experiences. Our Year 3-6 students will be participating in their swimming Program in Weeks 7 and 8 at MAC. More information will be coming soon. 

Thank you - Parent Payments                     Curriculum Contributions

Thank you to the families who have been able to pay their Voluntary Parent Payments already. This has allowed us to provide necessary materials, resources and subscriptions for our students. Whilst the payments are voluntary, the payments make a big difference to the functioning of our school. If you are able to make payment, please do so via Compass, or contact the office. Payment plans are also available. 

If you would like further details of the parent payments and the policy, please visit our website link: DPS Parent Payment page.