From the Principal

Welcome to IPS 

IPS Community Working Bee

Last weekend the IPS community rallied together to keep our school in tip-top shape. It was wonderful to see such a strong turnout from our community, with many generously giving up a few hours of their Saturday afternoon to take care of some essential maintenance.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the families that came along, worked so hard and enjoyed  a chat and a sausage sizzle at the end!

There were so many jobs that we manage to complete:

• Cleaning drinking troughs
• Taking care of the plants and adding new ones
• Adding more mulch under the play equipment
• Cleaning out the pits
• Clearing leaves from the OSHC building roof
• Blowing and jet washing paths
• Building an outdoor table tennis table 
• Painting an outdoor chess board

Once again, thank you to those families who came along to help out.  We truly appreciate your support.

PFA Events

Our school PFA organise some wonderfully exciting events for the community enjoy.  Take a look at what's been planned.  Make sure you get involved in supporting these fun events or even volunteer a little bit of your time to join PFA.  See the PFA page for more information.

NAPLAN

Along with students across the country, our students in Year 3 and Year 5 will be taking NAPLAN tests next week up to Monday of the following week.  For quite a lot of students, sitting these tests can cause a degree of nervousness and anxiety.  Teachers all around the world recognise that whilst testing is important in order for them to meet students' point of need in their learning, they also recognise that the results of these tests don't tell teachers everything about individuals.  IPS teachers want to share a letter to our students that we believe originated from teachers in the USA but the sentiment stands...

To our valued students in Year 3 and Year 5,​

Next week, you will sit your NAPLAN tests. ​

Before you take these tests there is something very important for you to know. This test does not assess all of what makes each of you exceptional and unique. The mark you get from these tests will tell you how you did on that day, but they won't tell you everything. ​

NAPLAN can't tell you that you have persisted and improved on something you used to find difficult. ​

NAPLAN can't tell you that you brighten up your teacher’s day but we know you do. ​

NAPLAN can't tell you how amazingly special you are but we know you are.​

The people who mark these tests don't know that you may love to sing, that you may love to draw, that you help your friends when they need you. They don't know that some of you can dance, speak another language, play music, are good at chess or can speak confidently in front of your class or at assembly. ​

They do not know that you participate in sports or that you help your mum or dad or that you play with your little brother, sister or cousins. They do not know that you are caring, thoughtful and that every day you come to school to do your best, because these attributes cannot be tested. ​

So when you come to school ready to do your best at NAPLAN remember, “There is no one way to test all of the wonderful things that make you, YOU!”​

Thank you,​

Your teachers at Ivanhoe Primary School

NAPLAN helps schools to see which areas they need to focus on to help improve our students' learning.  It helps us work out where we need to focus our attention and resources to support our students.

School Council President

Introducing our newly elected School Council President, Jenna Milligan.  We thank Hamish Wood for his years of service as the previous president and welcome Jenna to the role. 

Ivanhoe Primary School Council met for the first time on Wednesday 25th February. We are privileged to start 2026 with a School Council that truly reflects our broad community. Our ten parent members have children across the year levels, from our newest Preps to our graduating seniors, providing a fantastic range of insights to help our school thrive. This year’s office holders are:

President: Jenna Milligan

Vice President: Anthony Sekulov

Treasurer: Naomi Ewington

Secretary: Pam Wright

Our Council is further strengthened by the diverse skills and perspectives of our wider membership:

Parent Members: Meilana Lukman, Justine Convery, Andrew McDonald, Catherine Granger, Jane Dowling, Marta Kondarios, and Phoebe Downing.

School Employee Members: Mark Kent, Liz Kennedy, and Emily Chau.

The Student Voice

One of the highlights of our recent meetings has been the contribution of our Junior School Council. We are excited to continue hearing from our young leaders throughout the year about the various initiatives they are raising. It is fantastic to see "student voice" in action, ensuring that the people who use our school most, the students, have a direct line to the Council.

Get Involved in 2026

While our parent representative positions are filled, there are still plenty of ways for you to contribute to our school’s success. You don’t need to be a Council member to lend your expertise! Our sub-committees are the engine room of our governance, and we are always looking for fresh perspectives.

If you have an interest in any of the following areas, we would love to have you join a sub-committee:

• Education: Shaping our learning policies.
• Facilities and Grounds: Helping maintain and improve our physical environment.
• Finance: Oversight of the school’s budget and resource allocation.

• OSHC: Supporting our Out of School Hours Care program.

   

If you have any questions or would like to join a committee, please feel free to reach out to me at jenna.milligan2@education.vic.gov.au

Presentation of the 2025 Annual Report

The 2025 Annual School Report to the community at 6:00pm will be presented online on 25th March.  This presentation is open to all members of our community and a link will be distributed via Compass and included in a future newsletter.

The Annual Report provides an overview of the school’s performance in 2025 and covers:

• Learning
• Wellbeing
• Engagement
• School finance

Following the community presentation, School Council will formally endorse the Annual Report. It will then be published on the school website, and a link will be shared in the newsletter so families can access it easily.

We encourage interested community members to attend the online presentation and learn more about the work and achievements of our school.

IPS Students in the News

We spotted a bunch of  IPS students who are keen Vixens fans in the news this week!  Here are; Scarlett, Kira, Rose, Kiyoko and Ruby promoting the 2026 Vixens Netball Fan Day.  You can read the article below....

National Ride Safe to School Week

Ride2School is a nationwide program that enables students to get physically active on their journey to school. We encourage students to walk and ride to school every day possible. Each week each class collects data, but it will be presented and acknowledged at assembly each month. To promote the program, we will be having ride to school day on Friday 20th of March 2026.  

Competition Winners

We held a colouring competition to promote the day and thank you to everyone who joined in. We had 80 students participating. It was a tough decision, but we decided on three winners across the school. 

Congrats to...

• Nina C from 1L 
• Jack W from 3M 
• Clementine D from 5M. 

None of this would be possible without our Ride2School leaders, Pia and Milla from 5CK, Luchiano and Raffy from 5T, Aurora and Albee from 5M and Tien and George from 5W! 

From Ride 2 School Leaders - Pia and Milla 5CK 

Grade 4 pilot scheme - Wellbeing for Learning

We are really excited to have the opportunity to trial a market leading program in understanding and supporting wellbeing in schools.

Research shows us a correlation between wellbeing, mental health, social and emotional skills and academic learning for students. As such supporting student wellbeing is a key strategy not only in itself but for the benefit that it has on student learning outcomes.

This term our Year 4 teachers and students are trialling two programs designed by Pivot PL: School Student Surveys | Pivot.

The first of which is the 'wellbeing for learning' check in.

The attached infographic shows some key understandings and actions of this program.

Classroom Helpers 

We are keen for parents to be involved in their child's learning and the wider school community. We welcome classroom helpers and value the additional support they can provide to all our learners.   If you're interested in finding out more or know you'd like to volunteer, look out for information coming soon on Compass on how to volunteer to be a classroom helper.

The parenting strategies website also has a wealth of useful information for parents and carers.  https://www.parentingstrategies.net/  whilst our school values underpin everything we do at IPS.

Finally

Don't forget that Monday the 11th March is a public holiday.  Both school and OSHC are closed.

Wishing everyone a safe and relaxing long weekend and we will see you all at school on Tuesday 12th March.

Thank you for your continued support.

Pam Wright

Co Principal

http://www.ivanhoeps.vic.edu.au/ 

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Victoria and pay respect to the ongoing living cultures of First Peoples.