Acting Principal's Report

With only two weeks remaining of the school term, we have already achieved so much for the 2026 school year. Our students have been thoroughly immersed in their learning and making great advances towards achieving their respective learning goals, whilst enjoying and looking forward to all the celebratory Chatham traditions that occur at this time of year, such as Harmony Day and our annual Easter Raffle. Please see below information pertaining to some important matters of interest at this time. 

Update - Mr Christopher Cotching 

On Tuesday 17th March you will have received a communication via Compass from our school Council President, Ms Caroline Kennon, advising that our Principal, Mr Christopher Cotching, has accepted a new position with the Department of Education and will not be returning to Chatham in the capacity of Principal. I encourage you to refer to this communication for further details regarding this appointment, and on behalf of our whole school community, I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Mr Cotching for his fabulous service to our school over the last 7 years. There is so much to acknowledge and say in this space and as Ms Kennon noted, we will ensure that we have a chance to celebrate Mr Cotching and all of his brilliant contributions to our school later this year. 

School Council 2026 

I am delighted to advise that the first meeting of the new School Council was conducted on Monday evening, 16th March 2026. School Council meetings are scheduled to be conducted ten times per year at Chatham Primary School, and our next meet will be held on Monday 20th April. 

We congratulate the following people on their roles within the School Council for 2026, noting that there are two roles we expect to be confirmed at the next meeting, and one co-opted community position vacancy. If you are interested in being considered for this position, please email me directly at: georgina.kirwan@education.vic.gov.au

We look forward to progressing our new School Council at this exciting time and will continue to keep you informed of School Council matters as they progress.

Industrial Stop Work Action – Tuesday 24th March 2026

Just a reminder that I will be forwarding a communication on Monday afternoon regarding final arrangements for Tuesday’s stop work action, as per my Compass communication on Tuesday 17th March and in accordance with Department of Education guidelines. Please refer to the previous Compass communication to review the information available at this stage.

Foundation 2027 Information Evening – Wednesday 18th March 2026

Our staff provided a highly expansive informational session on Wednesday evening as part of an array of engagement opportunities aimed at capturing the interest of prospective families and building our student numbers into the future.

It was brilliant to meet the new families in attendance who were very positive and enthusiastic to learn more about our wonderful school. I thank Ms Kirstie Briggs who organised this event for our future families, and Mr Zac Barry, Ms Michelle Owens, Mr Walter Boulton and Ms Anita Buccieri who were able to speak about their respective areas of expertise on the night. Ms Leda Semercioglu also promoted our wonderful Kitchen Garden Program through the creation of culinary delights for our new parents and carers to sample, whilst Ms Tina Casey was able to provide our new families with crucial information pertaining to the enrolment process. Thank you also to our Parents’ Club President, Ms Pam Nasiakos, who was able to attend and provide families with an invaluable parent perspective of the Chatham experience. 

We have another school tour scheduled for this Wednesday 25th March and a range of other upcoming events planned for prospective families including:

• Open Afternoon for kinder-aged children – 4:00pm – 5:30pm Wednesday 25th March 

• Story Time Session for kinder-aged children – 9:30am – 10:30am Wednesday 1st April 

• Kitchen Garden Experience for kinder-aged children –4:00pm - 5:30pm, Tuesday 28th April

These activities are aimed at engaging our prospective families through hands-on experiences that highlight our unique programs and teaching philosophies.

Please encourage friends and family who may have a child starting school in 2027 to contact our School Office to book in for these activities. If you too have a child commencing Foundation next year, we encourage you to partake in these events.

Easter Raffle 

Just a reminder that tickets can be purchased via QKR for our annual Easter Raffle. There are three beautifully presented Easter baskets up for grabs and I thank Ms Hannah Scantleton and Ms Judy Holland for their enthusiasm, effort and excitement in bringing this fundraiser to fruition. The raffle will be drawn at the final assembly for the term, to be held from 9:05am on Monday 30th March. 

Harmony Day Celebration – Thursday 2nd April 2026

Mr Zac Barry and our Year 6 Junior School Council have been very busy planning our school’s Harmony Day celebration for Thursday 2nd April, which is the final day of Term 1. This day will involve students dressing up in colours reflective of their cultural heritage and and/or wearing the universal colour of Harmony Day, orange. Our students have heritages from over 20 countries and each year we endeavour to celebrate different countries from within this group. Our students from Foundation to Year 6 will be involved in one of ten cross-age groups throughout the middle session of the day, in which they will explore the history, geography and culture of one country representative of our student population, and also engage in other activities focused on promoting diversity and inclusion. This session will culminate in a celebratory assembly in our School Hall at 1:00pm, which families are welcome to attend. Please refer to Mr Barry’s Compass communication which will be sent this afternoon, for further information. 

We look forward to more engaging times ahead at Chatham!

Thank you,

Georgina Kirwan

Acting Principal