Principal's Message

Dear Sunshine Heights Parents and Carers, 

In the past few weeks we have seen the community come together through both difficult times and celebrations. The Spanish Fiesta was a wonderful day of food, culture, art and activity, and we thank Senorita Vargas for reinvigorating the celebration of Argentinian culture during this day. It was lovely to see so many students dressed up and to see the amazing learning they accomplished. We also have to thank Desi our parent helper, and all our staff for their support during the day. 

You will have seen the letter of thanks from Michelle's parents for support they have received in the past two weeks. I am so grateful to our entire community for care you have shown to them, to our students and to each other. I also give special thanks to our grade 5 teachers, to Olympia as our Art Therapist, to Miss Jasmine and to Mrs McMahon for supporting our grade 5 students during this difficult time. 

As I write this, it is Friday 30th October - World Teachers Day (for Australian Schools). There are many required qualities to be a teacher; patience, care, high expectations, a drive to change someone's future and of course the skill to be able to grow minds. Over the course of a day, teachers make hundreds of instructional decisions, provide social and emotional support, and balance who are children are with the possibility of who they are able to become. I am exceptionally proud of our team and the passion they bring to our beautiful school. If you get the chance to, please say hi to your child's teacher and join me in sharing gratitude for how they go above and beyond each day. 

Finally, it gives me great pleasure to welcome a new face to our school community. We conducted our interview for Assistant Principal on Monday. I am beyond excited to share that our new Assistant Principal will be Matthew Johns, who joins us from Chandler Park Primary School. Matt impressed us with his knowledge of educational research, his ability to go from data to high impact teaching, along with his love of crafting whole school performances! Read on below for his bio and to see some photos of him. Matthew will join us in 2027, but will come and meet our team and our students in the coming weeks. 

Best wishes, 

David and the Sunny Heights Team

Hi everyone, I’m Matt Johns, and I feel very fortunate to be joining Sunshine Heights Primary School in 2027 as Assistant Principal of Curriculum. I’m passionate about education and supporting students to get what they need to thrive. I’ve worked in education for 12 years and have been lucky to teach and lead in a variety of settings.

I’m a Tassie boy who enjoys cooking vegetarian meals. Outside school, you’ll often find me at a farmers market, at the theatre or out on a nature walk. At home, I live with my partner, Ferg, and our dogs: Knox, a greyhound who raced until he was five before joining us for a very comfy retirement, and Spencer, our Golden Retriever. I’m also a Swiftie and was lucky enough to get to the Eras Tour!I’m looking forward to meeting you all soon and joining the Sunny Heights community!

Matt