Principal's Report

Art Show 

What an awesome community event this year’s Art Show was. The weather was fantastic which encouraged a huge number of families to attend. I think every year seems to be bigger than the last. The Art Show is my favourite PPS event. Families get to catch up with other families, our former students come along and there is always a lovely buzz around the school with people enjoying themselves.  

Once again, the quality of the artwork was amazing. I am always in awe of the quality of the work. Our two magnificent art teachers, Edwina Atkins and Mavra Kotsabouikis did a magnificent job of displaying a wide variety of art pieces. It always amazes me how they come up with new and engaging ways to develop the children’s artistic skills. The artwork is a culmination of an extensive art program that Edwina and Mavra build upon each year. They were very proud of the final exhibition. 

This year, as always, it was a very difficult task for me to choose the Principal’s Award. It is funny that the process is always the same. I go and look at the artwork when it is being put up and usually a few pieces catch my eye. The difficult part is choosing the final piece. This year the artwork that won the Principal’s Award was done by Myrna D from 5 AB. Myrna’s piece was a bird which was done using mosaics. Myrna told us that it required a lot of patience to complete the piece. Her family is going to hang her work in the hallway of their home. I’m sure it will be a very admired piece of artwork in Myrna’s home. 

Although the art exhibition is the major focus of the day, we also include performances by our other Arts areas including the choirs and school band. Our choirs were outstanding and sang several hit songs. 

Thanks to our choir teachers:  Sarah Ge and Helen M - Junior School, Renee M and Stav V - 2/3 and Camilla B and Katia A - 4/5/6. 

Thanks to our Band teacher, Jason Sofra, who once again did an outstanding job of teaching the children some well-known songs.

Thanks to Gary King who set up the display boards and Dale Adams for setting up the BBQ’s and then dismantling and packing everything away. Thanks to Fabian Harcus for assisting Dale with the organisation leading up the event and throughout the day on Friday. Thanks to all of the staff who came along and helped out with various jobs, their hard work was greatly appreciated. Thanks to all of the parents who helped on the night, doing a variety of tasks, your assistance was also greatly appreciated. 

Thanks to all of the families who came along on Friday night to support our Annual Preston Arts Extravaganza. 

And most importantly to our very talented students for without them there would be no Art Show! 

End Of Year

The end of the school year is fast approaching, and the staff has been working very hard getting everything finalised before the school year ends. This week the reports will be completed. Once they are printed, they will be given to me to read and sign. The portfolios will be sent home on Thursday December 14th. 

Our teachers have also been spending a great deal of time compiling the grades for 2025. This is a very complex task as many things need to be considered. While we guarantee that every child is placed with a friend, and also we need to ensure grades have a balanced mix of gender and ability. This year’s teachers have trialled different grade combinations throughout this term to ensure they have the mix right for all children. The grades are now finalised, so we cannot take into consideration any requests. 

On Tuesday December 10th the children will be spending the morning in their 2025 grade with their 2025 teacher. We have done this for many years, and it has proved to be very successful. It gives the teachers the opportunity to meet the children and for the children to meet their teacher and fellow classmates. Our grade 6 students will be attending Orientation Day at their secondary schools on the same day.

In 2025 our school structure will be the same as this year. We will be having:

   5 Prep Grades              5 Grade 1’s                    4 Grade 2’s                    4 Grade 3’s,       

   4 Grade 4’s                    4 Grade 5’s                    4 Grade 6’s

Timetable 

Beginning next week and for the remainder of the year, we will be having a different timetable. The reason for the change is to allow teachers to spend a greater amount of time together reviewing 2024 and planning for 2025. Each of the 2024 teams will complete their year level Performance Stories. The Performance Story is a review of the 2024 year. It gives teams the opportunity to reflect on what has been successful in 2024 and things they would change moving forward. The information is shared with the leadership team and the 2025 year level team. Teachers will also spend time with their 2025 team to plan for next year. 

Baby News 

Congratulations to Jeremey Murphy and his partner, Kelly on the birth of their second baby boy, Henley. Their son Jackson is enjoying his role as a big brother.

Classroom Movements 

In week 10 of this term, we will be moving some grades. Our Grade 5 and 6 teams are swapping rooms. This means our Year 6 grades will be in the relocatables at the front of the school and the Year 5 grades will be upstairs in the building.

We are having new building built at the Junior School which will include an art room and a music room. It is currently going through the tender process so we hope the builder will be appointed soon and the work will begin. The new building is going to be located where the relocatable that runs north south along Ellison St currently is. The older relocatable that runs east west will be taken off site and the other relocatable will be moved into that position. We are hoping that the moving will take place during the holiday period but until a builder is appointed the timeline has not been locked in. 

We have planned to make some moves prior to the holidays so that we are prepared for the beginning of next year. Christa’s grade will move into the current LOTE room, which is in the main Junior School building. Her current room and the music room will be completely emptied in preparation for being taken off site. We also plan to move as much as we can out of Tara and Aimee’s current rooms in preparation for their room to be moved. 

Celebrate International Day of People with Disability

International Day of People with Disability is a United Nations Day observed on 3 December each year. The aim is to increase awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability.

By acknowledging this important day, we can all do our bit to ensure people with a disability can take part in and contribute to society. We can help to remove barriers for people with disability and contribute to positive change in our classrooms and our community. 

We encourage all students, their families and carers to get involved in this day. Together, we can all take action to challenge perceptions about disability, remove barriers and promote inclusive and respectful attitudes and behaviours in our school and community. 

Luna S Chess Achievements 

This year Luna S, who is in grade 6, has achieved outstanding results in many tournaments throughout Melbourne. Luna’s passion for chess began last year when she started doing lessons at school. Her achievements this year include:

• 3rd in the classical girls state championship - Glen Waverly College
• 3rd Lilydale Primary School tournament
• 3rd semifinal Girls Open - Doncaster Gardens
• 2nd Kangaroo Ground Primary tournament
• 2nd Preston Primary tournament
• Runner up State Girls rapid Championships- Glen Waverly College
• Runner up 'Best in the West' tournament
• 1st Kangaroo Ground girls
• 1st Sirius College
• 1st Doncaster Gardens Primary School
• 1st Saint Plunket's School chess tournament
• Winner of girls’ state championships Kingswood College
• Winner of Darebin Chess competition junior division
• Winner of Altona Chess competition - Western Winter Junior championships
• Winner of Junior unrated competition
• Biggest rating upset at the classical MCC Greg Hjorth Tournament
• Defeated women's international master
• Qualified for Australian Open and Oceana Girls championship.

Congratulations Luna, I hope one day we see you achieving outstanding results in international chess tournaments.  

Regards 

Janet Paterson

Principal