From the Principal's Desk

Welcome to Term 2

We're off to a flying start at school this term with students settled right into their learning. After a first week back that was quite disruptive for both students and staff with a public holiday on either end that week, attending school for three days resulted in more tiredness than usual.  However the students have really bounced back and now everyone seems like they are right into the swing of things.

Learning

Across the school, each year level is focussing on different areas of the Humanities Curriculum with P-2 looking at Geography and Digital technology with early elements of what and how to utilise technology safely. Within the Geography space, our students are also learning about the First Nations peoples history in this area as well as the significance of the major special places around Moriac. Our Year 3/4 students are currently learning about Civics and Citizenship which is based on the levels of Government and how democracy is the foundation of the Australian Political System- timely as we have just completed a Federal Election. Whilst our Year 5/6 students are working on Economics and Business as they make their way towards the annual 'Market Day' which is the culmination of their learning in this term. These students work on a mini business model and create a stall where they sell their goods based on this work.

We look forward to hearing more about what our students are learning about as the term progresses.

New staff

Recently I pushed out a message on Compass introducing a few new staff to our community and their backgrounds and previous experience. Dani Mather- our new Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader began last week and works Wednesday and Thursdays. Dani will support Erin in the wellbeing space as she takes on other administrative tasks for the school in her role as Assistant Principal. As a smaller school it is really important to continue to provide access to the supports our students need and Dani has hit the ground running getting to know many students and a few families already. Please reach out as normal to the school via the office or compass email if you need any support in this space as normal.

Mothers Day

 I would like to wish all the mums at our school a wonderful Mother's Day coming up on Sunday 11th May. I hope you are all treated in some special way on the day whether that is a gift, a cup of tea, breakfast in bed or perhaps a few hours of uninterrupted quiet time. Being a mum is one of the greatest gifts in life, however we know the work, the worry, the mental load of being a mother is sometimes hard to put into words really! So whatever it is you will be doing, I hope it is a relaxing one.

Prospective Preps 2026

At the end of Term 1 I began to send out information regarding the 2026 Prep process with the addition of some tours again this year which will be run by our student leaders and a small informal information session. 

We are currently taking information from families wishing to enrol their children in our school for 2026 and are sending out enrolment forms to existing families and application forms to new families.

If you have a child at home that is going to attend our school in 2026 and are yet to make contact with us, please call the office on 5266 1298 when you can.

Education Week

Please see below details for the upcoming Education Week open classroom afternoon. All family members welcome!

Indigenous Murals

The school recently commissioned local indigenous artist Nathan Patterson to complete some art works for our school in the form of some murals. Nathan also happens to be the parent of Diwana who is currently in Year 2 and Iluka who was a previous student of our school.

Nathan was working on the murals for a week and in addition to this, all classes were able to visit the art room and see the works in progress, talk to Nathan about his culture and background, listen to him play his didgeridoo and even look at the many AFL footy guernseys he designed for many different AFL teams. 

The murals I am please to say have come up amazing and after some final treatment, will be fixed to the external part of a school building, likely the brickwork under the staffroom windows for our whole community to appreciate.

Below are some pictures of the works- 

Anzac Day 

Last week as a school we had a special ANZAC day assembly. Our student leaders were able to present a more formal assembly to our school community which included a history of the importance of ANZAC day, flying our flags at half mast, presenting a student created ANZAC wreath and artwork, playing of the Last Post and Rouse and then flying our flags at full height as part of the tradition. 

All the students present at the ceremony were highly respectful and this was noted in particular during the minute's silence. It is important as a school we commemorate such occasions so that our students have the opportunity to be part of and learn about Australia's history during difficult times and wars. Thank you to all the students for their respect and participation during this assembly. 

Scholastic Book Fair

Coming up soon is our scholastic book fair school fundraiser that will  be held in our multi-purpose room as in previous years. The week it will be held is Monday 26-30 May and will be open for families to visit with their children to peruse the many books and small other items for purchase.

Our PnF crew will likely reach out shortly for volunteers to run the fair and families are encouraged to sign up for a short shift to support this fundraiser. The school receives points which can be used to purchase books to top up our library or books that are relevant and aligned to learning in the classrooms, so well worth supporting.

Parents and Friends

What a great community we have surrounding our school that can throw together a fundraiser bake sale and sausage sizzle at such short notice! To raise funds to the tune of $1,900 so quickly is a real testament to the families that support our school and the local community who also came to vote and spend as well. Thank you so much for your work putting it all together. 

Lastly, thank you to Caitlin Ovens- mum of Millie and Ivy (Prep A) who recently approached the school and wanted to replace some of the trees on the front border of our property with the exact trees that have sadly died over time. Those who know me know I do not have a green thumb so any help in this space is absolutely welcomed!  The school have the plaques with the names of the species and Caitlin is now on the lookout to for more trees to continue. The family planted the tree on a weekend and we are so grateful for this!

We have had many new families asking how they can get involved in the PnF group and support the school and there is a flier with information coming soon so that others can join in the fun. We will post this via Compass when it is ready to go. 

Have a great weekend everyone and go Cats!

Melissa Maccora