Message from the Principal 

Welcome to the last newsletter for this term!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION AND CONTRIBUTION TO YOUR CHILD’S EDUCATION

Looking back over the term really highlights the very active participation and contribution of our parents, carers, grandparents and local school community members. At Greenhills, there are so many opportunities to be part of your child’s education and we really value your contribution and support. 

Thank you to everyone who has been involved across our school. This includes our classroom helpers, members of our Parent Association & School Council, excursion helpers and of course all those that have helped to support our whole school production! 

ONE MORE SLEEP!

Tomorrow and again on Thursday, we are looking forward to putting on a very special whole school production of Jungle Book. Our cast have been rehearsing extensively and if our dress rehearsals on Monday are anything to go by, the shows will be amazing.

We have sent home lots of communication about drop-off’s, pick-ups, times etc. and we ask that you make sure you have read all of these so that you can help make sure everything goes to plan. Organizing events like this are a massive undertaking and your support is critical.

Without giving too much away, one of the very special highlights are our Prep’s who are the very first dance act! 

Thank you to:

Vinci Chan Duffell, Jackie Passeri, Jane Culvenor, Laura Powell, Noel Skrzypczak, Beth Costello, Stephanie Li, Tina Lopatynskyi, Barry Lo, Ivy Lee, Bree Gellard, Jess Higgins, Jess Constanzo, Ebony Killmister, Elissa Hunter and Miriam Pekolj. This group of parents and volunteers have assisted with make-up, costumes and dance teaching.

 STUDENT AGENCY CONFERENCES

We are really pleased with our Student Agency Conferences that were held last week. Feedback from students, parents and staff has been very positive. These conferences have been continually developed and fine-tuned over the last couple of years with a renewed commitment and energy around collaboration between the student, parent and teacher. 

This focus on learning, engagement across curriculum areas and goal setting is a very big part of how our school team is working to communicate your child’s progress with you. The conferences provide an authentic and powerful way to be involved with your child’s education. Our teachers regularly hold conferences with individual students across the weeks and terms and we provide you with two formal opportunities each year to join in.

NAPLAN NUMERACY RESULTS

YEAR 3 NUMERACY 

YEAR 5 NUMERACY

Like our previous reading and writing results that we shared last week, we are also pleased with our 2024 NAPLAN Numeracy results. In both Year 3 and Year 5 we have a high percentage of students who achieved results in the “Exceeding” or “Strong” bands. This was 78% in Year 3 and 84% in Year 5. 

Our next challenge is to ensure that we have a guaranteed and viable maths curriculum in place. The key to this is making sure that all of the concepts are covered in a deep and sequential way with real life and authentic connections. We have already started this work by developing Scope & Sequences for each year level based on the new Maths 2.0 Curriculum that schools are required to implement and report against in 2025. 

TRANSITION INTO 2025

During the upcoming break we will be spending some time crunching the numbers and developing our school structure for next year. 

I will provide an update to families around what this all means for our school and our class structure for next year at the next Meet with the Principal Team Mid-Term 4 Webex event on Wednesday 13th November at 7.30pm.   

PARENT REQUESTS FOR 2025

As we begin the process of finalising our school structure for next year, considerations around the social, emotional, academic and physical needs of each of our students will form part of this process. Parents and caregivers are able to make requests for consideration when placing their child into their 2025 class. These requests will only be accepted in writing via email and must be received by me by Friday 18th October. Please note that requests with respect to specific teachers will not be considered and also note that in making a request, there are never any guarantees that these will be granted. 

Our staff team under the guidance of Janine and Brad will use this information as part of all the different considerations taken when building our grades. These factors include the social, emotional, physical and academic needs of all students. It is a complex and time-consuming task as we try to ensure that we set up the best possible structure for a successful 2025. During this entire process our decisions are always guided by one major factor and that is the best interests of our students. Details relating to the school organisation, classes of children and the allocation of teachers will be released to students on our first “Meet the Teacher” session between 9.15am and 10.45am on Thursday 5th December. 

TERM 4 DATES

Monday 7th October - Term 4 starts

Friday 25th October – PA Disco

Monday 4th November - Curriculum Day

Saturday 23rd November - Trivia Night

Wednesday 4th December – Greenhills Music Festival

Thursday 5th December – Christmas Concert

Thursday 12th December - Graduation

Tuesday 17th December - Final Assembly

Thursday 19th December - Pupil free (Professional Practice Day)

Tuesday 20th December - Last Day 1pm Finish (No Assembly)

THANK YOU FOR TERM THREE

Well we made it – the end of Term 3! Thank you to all our students who have achieved so much learning this term. Our principal team is continually impressed each day with the work and learning that we see in all of our classrooms. Thank you to our staff. This term has been a big term for all of our staff, and as a result we have already achieved many of the goals we set for ourselves as part of our Annual Implementation Plan. Thank you also to all our families for your support and involvement in our school each day. One of the great things about Greenhills is our community! 

I hope everyone is able to enjoy a bit of a break and spend some family time together, especially with the long weekend in the middle of the break. These holidays are always a great opportunity to catch up and then get ready for the rush to the end of the year. 

James Penson 

Principal