From the School Leadership Team
What an amazing fun filled week it has been in our school community!
Early Learning Centre Update
As our school families would be aware, we applied for a federal government grant of up to $3 million through the Australian Government's Building Early Education Fund, in partnership with Good Shepherd Lutheran School Para Vista. We are again grateful for the willingness of the Good Shepherd community to partner with us in this venture. A successful application would have funded a purpose-built, 66-place ELC on our oval catering for children from birth to five years. I am sorry to share that our application was unsuccessful.
While this is disappointing news, it is not a setback that leaves us without a path forward, and indeed in many ways, the work we have done this year has strengthened the position we are now in to progress our original ELC plans.
I am pleased to advise that our Development Application for our original plan to provide an ELC through refurbishing our existing GGOSH space has been approved by the City of Tea Tree Gully Council. This is a significant milestone and means we can now move forward with confidence toward opening our Early Learning Centre. Our plan is to progress to tender for the building works as swiftly as practicable.
We will also be advertising for an ELC Director in the near future, which is a role that will be central to shaping the culture, program, and community of our new centre. We are targeting an opening in middle of 2027 and will keep you informed as key milestones are reached.
Our ELC will provide places for three and four year old children in a refurbished space in our current GGOSH area, with GGOSH relocating into the adjacent space in early 2027. While this is a different outcome to the purpose-built facility we had hoped the grant would make possible, it remains a genuinely exciting development for our school community - one that will extend our care for children and families into the early years and strengthen the continuum of learning from ELC through to Year 6.
I want to acknowledge the significant effort that has gone into reaching this point from the grant application process, to the Development Application, to the planning and policy work that has been happening behind the scenes. I am grateful to all who have contributed and to our families for your patience and support throughout.
Author Visit: Heather Freeman
A highlight of Book Week for our Foundation classes was a visit from local children's author Heather Freeman, creator of the much-loved Little Australian Stories series. Heather is based right here in Adelaide and writes gorgeous stories celebrating the Australian bush and its wildlife. Her books bring native animals and Australian landscapes to life for young readers, and it was wonderful for our Foundation students to meet the storyteller behind them and hear about how her books are made.
A big thank you to the generous school family who supported this special opportunity - this kind of community support brings extra magic to our students' learning.
Congratulations, Leila Mattner
It was a pleasure to travel to Waikerie on Sunday to see Leila Mattner, previous Principal at St Paul, Blair Athol, installed as the new Principal at Waikerie Lutheran. Congratulations, Leila and we wish you all the best in this new chapter!
Kimochis Visit for Foundation to Year 2
Thanks to our Chaplain, Joel Schiller, for arranging a Kimochis visit for our Foundation to Year 2 students. Kimochis is a social-emotional learning program that uses playful plush characters to help children identify and express their feelings, build empathy, and develop positive social skills. We appreciate P&F's support in making this opportunity possible.
P&F News
P&F met on Monday and thank you to everyone involved as we celebrated anaamzing quiz night. We are looking forward to the Sports Day barbecue, and in Term 4, a family picnic afternoon and end-of-year fun day. We'd love to have some more volunteers join P&F - if you're interested, please come along. The next meeting is Monday 19 October, 7.00pm.
Thank you also to P&F for their efforts in securing an AISSA grant to host Mark Le Messurier this Thursday at 7pm. Mark will also be providing a free copy of his book to everyone who attends.
Father's Day Stall
A huge thank you to Sarah Harry and the class carers team for organising our Father's Day stall. We wish all of our fathers, grandfathers and father figures the very best for an enjoyable day on Sunday.
Children's University Gowning
Congratulations to our Children's University students on their gowning! We're now getting ready for graduation next term. Students, please remember to log your online hours and bring in your passports by Monday 14 September.
SACSA AFL
It was great to see our Years 3–6 students representing the school at SACSA AFL on Thursday. Well done to all involved!
Principal Tours
Principal tours are coming up on the morning of Wednesday 9 September. There are still a handful of spots left on this tour, please feel free to refer your friends.
R U OK? Day and Sports Day
Our Year 6 Wellbeing Leaders are working on a special day for R U OK? Day on Thursday 10 September.
Special Persons Afternoon
We're looking forward to our Special Persons Afternoon on Friday 18 September.
1.15pm - 2.00pm - Cncert in the Worship Centre
2.00pm - 2.25pm A-M visit classrooms
2.30pm - 2.55pm N - Z visit classrooms
Afternoon tea is available in the courtyard from 2.00pm - 2.55pm.
Parent Workshop – Thursday 3rd September
We welcome Mark Le Messurier, presenting a Parent Workshop:
"The Intriguing 'ART' of Managing Tricky Behaviours Kindly and Effectively" Thursday 3rd September, 7pm, Worship Centre
Whether you're a parent, caregiver, or grandparent, we all share the same goal: raising happy, confident and resilient children. This workshop focuses on those tricky moments when we need to hold a boundary or follow through on an expectation.
You've probably heard the term "gentle parenting" — and there's often confusion about what it really means. Mark will explain the important difference between permissive parenting (which avoids rules and conflict, but can leave kids feeling anxious and under-supported) and gentle parenting (which leads with kindness while still maintaining clear, consistent boundaries). The "gentle" part isn't about giving in — it's about how we respond to a child's reaction, with leadership, care and connection.
As a token of appreciation for braving the cold winter evening, every parent who attends will go home with a free copy of Mark's book, Parenting Tough Kids!
We'd love to see as many parents, caregivers and grandparents there as possible.
Sports Day - Friday 11 September
We are looking forward to Sports Day on Friday, 11 September. It is always a real highlight of our school calendar and a wonderful community event. Despite an unusually wet August, the oval is drying out well. We are hopeful this trend continues and will keep you updated if there is any further wet weather impact. If significant rain means we need to reschedule, the new date would be Friday, 16 October (the first week of Term 4).
The Great Book Swap
The Great Book Swap ran this week and thanks to all of our students and school families who supported this. We are pleased with a good level of donations that will all go to support the the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Thanks to Mrs Carter for arranging this opportunity.
LLL - Charitable Donations Program
We're thrilled to partner with LLL Australia to bring you a meaningful way to support our school through their Charitable Donation Program.
Your generosity in making a deposit with the LLL through a Charitable Facility Account which will assist us in upgrading our Foundation playground.
The funds you hold in your Facility will generate notional amounts of interest that is retained by LLL who will make a regular allocation to us to further our project, while your original investment remains completely untouched.
Our partnership with LLL Australia makes it simple and secure by:
- Opening a new LLL Charitable Facility.
- Nominating Golden Grove Lutheran Primary School as the preferred beneficiary of the interest your facility will forgo.
That's it! You can rest easy knowing your money is making a meaningful difference in our community—all with zero fees or charges to you.
If you would like to know more, please contact Tanya Rowland, our Business Manager.
The link below enables you to open an LLL Charitable Facility and nominate our school.
Your investment helps us build a brighter tomorrow, together.
A few reminders
Please be reminded of some of our key events:
Term 3
Week 7
Thursday 3 September – Mark LeMessurier Workshop 7.00pm Worship Centre
Friday 4 September – Pupil Free Day
Week 8
Wednesday 9 September – Principal Tour 9.15am
Friday 11 September – Sports Day
Week 9
Thursday 17 September – Year 5 Celebration of Learning
Friday 18 September – Special Person’s Afternoon
Week 10
Tuesday 22 September – Year 2 Sleepover at AFL Max
Tuesday 22 September – Year 6 Exhibition
Friday 25 September – Closing Service 8.50am
Our full school calendar can also be viewed on the school website.
Will Wallace
Principal