Principal's Report

Term 3 Week 1

Dear Families,

It is wonderful to be back at our beautiful school after school holidays, and my recent long service leave. I would like to thank Ms Moodley, our school leadership team, and all staff for their efforts whilst I was away, in ensuring our school ran smoothly. Whilst I was away, I was thrilled to see the fabulous work that was underway for Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC. It was a pleasure to attend the cultural morning tea as a guest, as well as sit in on the Marrung Community of Practice that our school is co-leading for all schools in the Hobsons Bay network (Mr Papadatos, Sensei Helen, and our Koori Education Support Officer, Tamara Purcell).

Whilst we have just about finalised our Prep enrolments for 2026, we remind anyone who has siblings starting with us next year and are yet to enrol, to please do so as soon as possible. At this stage, enrolments have been very strong, and limited places are available. We will be notifying families whose students have been accepted for enrolment in Prep in 2026 next week, as well as sending out information regarding our transition sessions, which will commence this term.

Next week we have our Year 6s heading to Camp Angahook in Aireys Inlet, and the following week we have or Year 3s heading to Adventure Camp in Anglesea. There is much excitement about both camps, and I have been pleased to have students from both year levels come up to me to tell me all the things they are looking forward to. I’m also looking forward to popping down to each camp for an afternoon or evening, to be part of the action. Thanks to Mr Brown and all of the teachers from each year level for their organisation in this space.

This term we welcome back Mr Jonathan Skipworth, who will be continuing in the role of Acting Assistant Principal, working closely with Giorgia Moss and Matt Feeley in the inclusion and wellbeing spaces. We are thrilled to have Jonathan with us for the remainder of the year. We also welcome back our Business Manager, Ms Darcie Brown, who has returned from leave. We would like to also congratulate Darcie on her engagement, which was a nice surprise for her whilst in Seville, Spain. Mrs Diana Lane is also returning from leave for 2 days per week to resume the Getting Ready In Numeracy (GRIN) program, and we extend a warm welcome back to Di as well.

In weeks 2 and 3, we have our Parent Teacher Interview evenings. Please use Compass to book a time to meet with your child’s teacher during your allocated Parent Teacher Interview days. This meeting can be used to discuss any questions you may have regarding the Semester 1 report, adjustments to learning that will support your child, and/or any other questions you may have. If you require more than the allotted time, please feel free to book in a further meeting time with your child’s classroom teacher.

Our Preps celebrate their 100 Days of Prep this term as well, and we congratulate them on all the amazing learning and growth that has happened over the past 100 days! We celebrate Book Week in week 5, with our annual Reading and Writing Together is Magic evening, many exciting classroom experiences, and of course our annual Book Week Parade. This year, we will also be celebrating Numeracy Week in week 7 with a Maths Open Day, where you’ll be invited into your child’s learning space to experience a Maths lesson, and take on many fun Maths challenges with your children. Whilst it is a much shorter term, it is jam-packed full of learning, and we look forward to working with you to achieve the best learning outcomes.

It's great to be back! Have a wonderful fortnight everyone.

Richard Buckingham

Principal