Principal's Message 

2025 Prep Information Night

On Tuesday night, we held our annual 2025 Prep Information Night for prospective parents. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all staff for their attendance, contributions and tour guide skills. I’d also like to thank School Council President Mark Kennedy, along with students Isaac and Chelsea (Year 1), Pippa and Levi (School Captains) for their most valuable presentations. As someone new to the school, I can vouch for how informative the session was, and how appealing Yarra Road PS must have seemed to the parents in attendance. 

Cross Country

Kindness. Safety. Respect. Our school values were at the center of everything we did last Tuesday at Cross Country. Students were being kind and encouraging to each other all day, making sure to cheer on every house, not just their own. Everyone’s safety was paramount to the event, but especially when there was a little bump on the bus on the way back to school – it was heartwarming to hear about how students checked in on each other to make sure everyone was ok! Students displayed respect for each other and for themselves by putting in their best effort, and humbly celebrating successes for everyone involved on Friday at our whole school Award Ceremony. Congratulations to all students. 

Thank you to all the parents who volunteered their time to help out on the day. Your community spirit is invaluable to our school!

2024 Production

This year, Yarra Road Primary School will be performing “Zoom”, which is a production based on the story of the tortoise and the hare (surprisingly, not about online meetings!) 

Our Performing Arts teacher, Mrs. Ashleigh Smith, has posted a separate update in our newsletter, but I wanted to celebrate the students who have signed up for auditions so far. I wish them all the very best and look forward to hearing all about their successes in coming weeks. 

This year we have opened up auditions to Grades 5 and 6 students. This is due to two reasons; the large number of speaking roles (40+) in the Zoom Production, and forward planning – next year is the School’s 100th Birthday, so there is a small chance that there will be a whole school Centenary-themed celebration/production of sorts. We didn’t want this year’s Grade 5s to miss out on lead roles in the Production. We hope that the Grade 5s and 6s have a wonderful time leading our school in Zoom!

Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mums in our community! We hope you have a wonderful day on Sunday, and enjoy your celebrations. Pop your feet up and enjoy the breakfasts in bed, massages and treats!

Education Week Monday 13th May – Friday 17th May – “SPOTLIGHT ON STEM”

Next week is Education Week! This year’s theme, Spotlight on STEM, highlights the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in our everyday lives, in the classroom and beyond. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful STEM program at Yarra Road PS, where our students have the opportunity to learn about STEM every week, not just during Education Week! Keep an eye out in the office for our new addition, bringing STEM to the centre of our school!

Our 5/6 students have participated in an incursion today, working with Nicky rogers from Monash Virtual School, utilising sustainable design and thinking initiatives to design and create their own lunchbox with unique features. It was wonderful to see and hear students collaborating and sharing their ideas regarding new lunchbox ideas, and how to create them using recycled materials and sustainable joining techniques. 

Basketball Court

From what I hear, there’s been a fair bit of patience required while everyone in the community waits for the top basketball court to be completed! We appreciate everyone’s patience and can confirm that the custom tiling has now been paid for, and is currently being made in China. Once it has been made (this takes a while) it will be shipped and installed. We are hoping to have more updates soon!

Anna Johnstone

Acting Principal

School Council President

Greetings for the first time this year.  I hope the first term and a bit has been a great time for all of our students, families and the teachers as we settle into another year.

I would like to take the opportunity to welcome all of the new families to the Yarra Road Community, both those with prep students and those that have joined us across the other year levels – I hope your time so far at Yarra Road has been everything you expected plus more!

2024 School Council

The School Council is looking forward to another big year supporting the school activities and I would like to reiterate Ken’s welcome to Melissa Dawson, Ben Cameron and Pam Jones who have all joined the Council this year and I welcome their contributions over the next two years.  Of course, this means that three of our previous team have stepped down and I would like to thank and acknowledge the significant contribution of Kara Salmon, Jayde Fahie and Elissa Harris over the past 2 years – it has been an amazing effort.

I was honoured to be elected to continue as Council President for 2024 and thank the following council members for taking on their respective roles – Dikesh Gandhi (Vice President), Daniel Raftis (Treasurer) and Meriden James (Secretary).

100 Years of Yarra Road Primary School

In 2025, Yarra Road Primary School will celebrate our 100th Birthday – I wonder if we will get a letter from the King??

School Council recently decided to create a new sub-committee to plan activities in 2025 to celebrate this momentous occasion.  Keep an eye out for further information and avenues to get involved that will come soon so we can get the planning underway.

2025 Enrolments

There has been a significant effort to raise the profile of our school in recent years to help bolster our enrolments.  One of the most effective ways that this occurs is through you and word of mouth marketing to your family and friends.  As the window for 2025 enrolments is upon us, please take the opportunity to spread the great work of our school to your network.

Fundraising

As those who were at the school last year will recall, the fundraising efforts of our PA were dedicated toward two major projects – Refurbishment of the Junior School toilets and the front Basketball court upgrade.  Whilst the fundraising activities over the past few years has been amazing, we still have a gap to cover the full costs of these two projects on top of the contribution to the Chromebook program.

For that reason, the fundraising efforts of the PA this year will also be allocated to finalise the basketball court project however we have been able to facilitate the finalisation of the court surface ahead of raising the final funds required.  This has been done to enable the kids to benefit from the grant and fundraising to date as soon as possible.

Whilst on the matter of the Basketball court, I want to commend Principal Ken for his tenacity and perseverance in ensuring we got a good outcome from the VSBA’s work which resulted in a full resurfacing of the top court and line marking on the bottom court.

Values

Last year, the Council worked through a refresh of the School Values and after some great engagement with members of the school community and the kids, these new values continue to be embedded into the everyday activities of Yarra Road.

Importantly, these values are not just for the kids, they are for all of us.  Everyone in the Yarra Road community should act with Kindness, Safety & Respect when interacting with other members.

It is a strength of our school community that these three values are apparent every day but at times, frustrations can challenge us, so it is incumbent upon all of us adults to continue to demonstrate and uphold these values as an example to all of the Yarra Road kids.

Council Sub-Committees

The School Council will continue to work on a range of aspects pertaining to the governance of the school and I encourage more school community members to get involved, particularly in areas that you either have some experience or expertise – or that you are interested to learn and contribute.

The Council has four sub-committees which are open for all school community members to attend – they are:

• Finance
• School Improvement / Education
• Marketing and Publicity
• Buildings and Grounds

Can I also urge all families to support the incredible work of the Parents Association throughout the year – it is through that work that we can continue to maintain the wonderful environment and facilities for our students.

Once again, feel free to contact me if you have any questions or issues to raise relevant to school council and the role in plays in the governance of the school – best contact is via email markkenn@bigpond.net.au

TheirCare News

Greetings Parents and Guardians

We hope this newsletter finds you well and enjoying the start of Term 2. As we embark on this new term, we're excited to share with you some of the highlights from us after and before school care program, as well as a sneak peek into what's coming up!

New Rules and Routines

To kick off Term 2, we introduced some exciting new rules and routines to ensure a smooth and enriching experience for all our children. These changes aim to foster a positive environment where every child can thrive and enjoy their time with us to the fullest.

Highlights from Term 2 So Far

We've had a blast with our themed activities and special projects! Here are some of the highlights:

• ANZAC Day Commemoration: We honoured ANZAC Day by creating beautiful poppy flowers from paper plates and popsicle sticks. It was a meaningful way for the children to learn about the significance of this day while engaging in a creative activity.
• Star Wars Week: The force was strong during our Star Wars-themed week! From painting favourite Star Wars characters to crafting paper bowl flying saucers and paper cup aliens, the children immersed themselves in the galaxy far, far away.
• Art and Crafts Exploration: Over the past three weeks, our little artists explored various art and craft activities, including rainbow cloud craft, pom-pom craft, button art, and finger painting. It's been wonderful to see their creativity shine through!
• Outdoor Fun and Games: We've been making the most of the cooler weather by engaging in plenty of outdoor fun and games. From dodgeball to silent ball, basketball to the classic "floor is lava," our children have been having a blast while staying active and building friendships.

Upcoming Events

We have some exciting events lined up for the remainder of Term 2, including:

• Mother's Day: We'll be celebrating all the amazing mums out there with special activities and surprises. Stay tuned for more details closer to the date!
• Exploring Animal Kingdoms: Get ready for an adventure as we dive into the fascinating world of animals! From the depths of the ocean to the vast lands, and from Australian native animals to birds, reptiles, and insects, we'll be learning and exploring together.

We're looking forward to a fantastic Term 2 filled with fun, learning, and memorable experiences for all our children. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Warm regards,

Prachi Kaul

Mothers Day Stall 

2025 Prep Enrolment

Enrolment applications are now open for our 2025 Prep year. Enrolment applications are due by Friday 26th July. This year the enrolment process is to be completed online. Please click on the links below for more information.