Principal's Report

School Concert Tonight

A reminder that the Concert will start at 7.00pm and children are to be seated with their teacher and class by 6.45pm. Children may like to bring a drink of water and a jacket, but no phones or food! Families are most welcome to come early, bring the whole family, picnic rug and food and enjoy some free time before the concert. 

Please note for the concert there will be areas for picnic rugs behind the students, then chairs of any description (even beach chairs with very short legs) behind the rugs and also a designated section for people taking photos. We are really trying to cater so that everyone can view and enjoy the concert in a respectful environment! We also ask everyone if they could please take home their own rubbish at the end of the concert. The weather should be perfect and we are looking forward to a great night! 

Billy Cart Grand Prix 

We wish our Year 6’s all the best for the Annual Year 6 Billy Cart Grand Prix this Friday,  another very special Gardenvale event!  After 6 weeks of impressive team building, billy carts have been produced, team names decided upon and costumes designed.  This event provides an ideal opportunity for the whole school to come together and cheer on each of the teams. It will be great to see the way the Year 6 students work together and support each other through the good times and even when the wheels fall off or go flat! Thank you to all of the teachers, parents and grandparents that have made this event possible and support the day in any way!

Class Placements

Classes are currently being devised by our teaching staff who are best placed to have an accurate understanding of students future learning goals. Please trust the very involved processes we have here at Gardenvale. We absolutely endeavour to cater for every child’s educational wellbeing.  

Below are some tips for parents when speaking to their children about the new school year from Professor Judith Locke, clinical psychologist, former teacher and school counsellor.

• If your child is anxious about starting a new class with unfamiliar people, do listen to them talk about their fears, but normalise them (“A lot of people feel worried about starting something new”), and then talk about their past strengths in facing tricky things and your confidence that they will cope with this challenge. 

• When they come home from their first day at a new activity, keep your questions broad, “How was it?” not, “Did you make a friend today?” or “Is Sam in your class?” This won’t put unnecessary pressure on them or suggest things in which they should be disappointed. 

• Keep your and your child’s expectations realistic. It is highly unlikely that they will form close friendships in the early days of a new school year, particularly in early primary. How often have you started a new job and come home from your first day to announce, “I made my new best friend today”? 

End of Year Reports 

End of Year Student Reports will be available on Compass by 4.00pm. on Wednesday 18th December. 

See you at the concert!

Janine Hall