Welcome back - 2024 has begun with clear skies, coffee, and 199 excited student faces!

We look forward to welcoming more students as the year progresses as families make their way to Albany and our Djinda students join us. I wish to warmly welcome our returning families and new families and am excited for all that this year has to offer.

Our class 'Meet and Greet' on Tuesday was a nice way to break the ice and allowed for a smooth first day on Wednesday morning. It was lovely to meet and greet our GSG families at the afternoon tea and I look forward to connecting with more of you at the P&F Sundowner on Friday in Week Two (Friday 9 February) and our first P&F Community BBQ in the ECC playground on Friday afternoon of Week Four (Friday 23 February). Mr Jason Pages, P&F President, and I will be cooking up a sausage sizzle for families at pick up and wish for families to spend some time getting to know each other.

As we begin the new year, please feel comfortable contacting either your child’s classroom teacher or me if you have any questions as you settle into the first term. Whilst the opportunities on offer are exciting, we understand that there is lots of information. Our teachers are more than happy to arrange meeting times early on to help your children settle in. I ask that families keep impromptu meetings short, as our teachers have a lot to attend to, and encourage you to arrange a formal meeting for the longer conversations.

Staff Changes

Whilst we have a large number of new families, I also welcome our new teaching staff for 2024.

Pre-Primary: Mrs Meg Hartley (Monday - Thursday) and Ms Meg Ritchie (Friday)

Year Four: Mrs Lisa Keatch

Education Assistants: Ms Mel Pears, Ms Donia Clews, and returning to us are Mrs Joanne Wegner and Mrs Bron Davey. We also welcome the support of Miss Mia and Miss Paige as our gap year students from South Africa.

I am excited to introduce our wonderful administration team for Primary this year. I have full confidence in the opportunities and skills this team will provide us.

Head of Primary: Ms Leah Field

Assistant Head of Primary - ECC: Mrs Hayley Ranger

Assistant Head of Primary - Years 3-6: Miss Carys Nichols

Learning Enrichment Coordinator: Ms Suzanne Youens

Sport Coordinator: Mr Stephen Berryman

Primary Administration: Ms Christina Hitchcock

Lunchtime Structure

Alongside the addition of new staff and additional Djinda and Year Four classes, we are also changing our lunchtime structure. Students will now play first and eat at the end of lunch together with their class teachers at 1.05pm. We hope this encourages students to debrief their play before Period Six, and focus their attention on sitting still and fuelling their bodies for the afternoon as the play part is out of the way. We encourage hungry students to eat at any time during the lunch break but all students will be seated together for the final part of lunch, rather than the beginning. I encourage feedback on this initiative as we trial it for Term One.

Body Bright

With thanks to current GSG parents, Mrs Amanda Palmer and Mrs Brooke Pearson, we are launching the whole-school programme of 'Body Bright'. This looks at reviving our health and nutrition programme to reflect current best practices. Butterfly Body Bright is a strength-based, evidence-informed body image programme developed by Butterfly Foundation. You can read more about it at Butterfly Body Bright.

The government made announcements this week to change the Health curriculum and it is pleasing to know that GSG was already ahead of this, recognising where changes needed to be made. There is a flyer that helps families reinforce these strategies at home, if you wish to download and display it in your home. The helpful tips sheet is also available and is a great resource.

With the continuation of innovative programmes alongside the introduction of new ones, 2024 is set to be an exciting year.

Horizons

The Horizons programme will commence in Week Two on Wednesday 7 February with an incredible array of cocurricular offerings for our Primary School students.

Horizons is coordinated by our hardworking Sport Coordinator and Physical Education teacher, Mr Stephen Berryman, who orchestrates the programme each term and is facilitated by our talented teaching staff who share their skills and interests with our students from 3.30 to 4.30pm each Wednesday. Students are collected after school by Mr Berryman, given the opportunity to eat their afternoon tea and relax before commencing their chosen activity at 3.30pm. Families are asked to collect their child/children at 4.30pm from the Years Three to Six lunch area and ECC foyer for Kindergarten to Year Two, or students can catch the late bus at 4.45pm. More information on our cocurricular offerings and the form to sign up for Horizons have been emailed to our Primary School families.

Grammar Playgroup

Grammar Playgroup is set to begin on Friday and runs each Friday morning, 9.30am to 11.00am in our Pre-Primary classroom. This year our experienced education assistant Ms Mel Pears is taking the reins and will offer a truly amazing experience for all who wish to attend. There will be opportunities for structured and unstructured play for ages 0-4. The invitation is open to families from our school and the wider community to come and enjoy some adult conversation whilst the children engage in some pre-prepared fun. Our aim this year is to provide a link to Kindergarten for the older children and we ask that families bring a piece of fruit along to share.

Upcoming Events - Week Two

Wednesday 7 February at 11.55am - Years One to Twelve Leaders’ Induction Ceremony in the Multi-Purpose Sport Complex.

Friday 9 February at 5.00pm - Primary School Parent Information evening, commencing at 5.00pm in the Primary School Foyer for new families, followed by classroom meetings from 5.20pm to 6.00pm.

There are some general Primary School themes, information and introductions I would like to share with families new to GSG before class teachers work through more specific information tailored to their classes.

For families unable to attend, session notes will be uploaded to the Primary School page of MyGSG in each cohort folder.

Class meetings have been organised in two sessions to try and ensure most families can attend. In the event of a clash, class teachers will be available outside of their session times to meet with you more informally, to hand out any documents and answer questions you may have.

New Families GSG overview: Years Three to Six at 5.00pm in the Primary School Foyer.

Session 1: 5.20pm to 5.40pm: Kindergarten, Pre-Primary, Year One and Year Five

Session 2: 5.40pm to 6.00pm: Year Two, Year Three, Year Four and Year Six

The P&F Sundowner will commence at 6.00pm outside the Pratten Centre.

There are many exciting adventures ahead this year and I look forward to communicating and connecting with you all.

Best wishes for the year ahead,

Ms Leah Field | Head of Primary

For Your Diary

Week Two, Term One

Week Three, Term One