Message from the Principal 

SCHOOL WIDE POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT (SWPBS)

Our staff team had a terrific professional learning day last Friday in preparation for our whole school launch of the School Wide Positive Behaviour Support program this week. You can read more about the Student Wellbeing part of this newsletter and our Two Minute Tuesday this week was a special feature about the program as well.

As part of our whole school launch, our Principal team are running lessons in each of our classrooms focused on introducing our SWPBS Matrix. The Matrix outlines our three core expected behaviours which are “Be Safe, Be Responsible and Be Connected.” The photos show our students working in small teams trying to put the Matrix, which has been broken up into puzzle pieces back together. 

CAPITAL WORKS PROJECT UPDATE

It has very long time coming but we are getting very close to being able to access the gym. At this stage it looks like it is only 4 weeks away. The final landscaping works around the amphitheatre and decking are due to be completed this week. Final works inside are due to be completed over the next two weeks. Once these have been finished, the Building Surveyor will need to give the sign off for us to have permission to occupy.

The works to reinstate the Tigerturf will be scheduled after this. During this time, the temporary fencing will remain in place. Once this have been completed, there will be asphalting works which will impact on the school for a short period.

The temporary fencing on the grassed oval will remain in place. This area will be very muddy and not suitable for students to access. Once the Tigerturf has been fixed and students can access this space, we will organise for the full refurbishment of the grassed oval. The great news is that we will be managing this project ourselves! The aim for this is for these works to start in the next school holidays with a period after that where the grass will need to grow and as such remain fenced off. Hopefully, this means everything will be completed and ready for 2025!

YOUR PARENT CONTRIBUTION IS APPRECIATED BY OUR STAFF & STUDENTS

We take the opportunity in this newsletter to thank our families that have paid voluntary parent contributions this year. To date, we have received 37% of the total amount that this would be. This 37% totals $104,834 which is important to our school and the opportunities and experiences this provides our students. These funds enable us to provide consumables such as paper, printing, art supplies and other equipment across our specialist’s areas. It also extends to first aid supplies, library resources, furniture and offsetting the costs of running our canteen.

We also understand the financial pressures that continue to build on families and will continue to ensure that we manage our budgets as sensibly as possible so that we can continue to offer and provide such an array of learning opportunities for our students. School Council have also discussed ways in which we can better communicate the total costs of events such as excursions and incursions each term. I will outline this further in future Two Minute Tuesdays with a plan to provide a draft summary of potential costs that may be required in Term 4 and then another communication in preparation for 2025 that presents a potential summary for a yearly cost at each year level across the school.

CHILDRENS BOOK WEEK – DRESS UP PARADE

At Greenhills we love to celebrate all things reading. A highlight of this is our dress up parade as part of the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Annual Book Week. This will be held on Thursday 22nd August at 9.15am on the Tigerturf.

The theme for this year is Reading is Magic. Time to start thinking about that costume!

WE WANT OUR PARENTS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!

Our school is conducting a survey to find out what parents think of our school. The Parent Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is conducted amongst all parents. It is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of parents’ perceptions about your child’s learning, teachers at the school and general satisfaction with the school. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies. 

All parents will be invited to participate in this year’s survey. All responses to the survey are anonymous. This year, the Parent Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 29th July to Friday 30th August.

The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek.

An invitation to the survey with a link and password was sent out via Compass yesterday. Please contact me if you would like more information:

james.penson@education.vic.gov.au

MID-TERM THREE MEET WITH THE PRINCIPAL TEAM

Our next Mid-Term Meet with the Principal Team is next Wednesday 7th August at 7.30pm via Webex. The meetings are held at the mid point of each term with the aim of helping to keep you in the loop with things that are happening across our school. They are also another forum to ask questions, provide feedback and suggestions and continue our strong home school partnership. 

Here is the link:

https://eduvic.webex.com/eduvic/j.php?MTID=m07273d042e573818557defe5d7eede38

James Penson 

Principal