Principal Update

I had the pleasure of visiting the Year 5’s at Camp in Portsea last week. The weather was amazing and the bay looked like glass with vivid blues. It is such a great location with well run and engaging activities. The students were challenging themselves with high ropes, a giant swing, zipline and hike as well as some water activities. The outstanding noticing for me was the comradery that the students showed and especially the support for each other when nerves set in. Thank you to Andrew, Jack and Natalie for attending and the parents who volunteered their time to help out. The Year 5's now have their Markers Market on this Friday which we know will be a popular event.

We are continuing with the process of selection for Year 6 Leaders. Once again the students shine with their desire to improve the school and to make the school experience the best it can be for everyone. They have interesting ideas and whether they are successful in gaining a position or not, there are expectations for all of our Year 6 students to lead. This is the first process and will be followed by selection of SRC and SUP leaders early next year.

We are looking forward to Year 6 Graduation tomorrow night. The Parent Committee has done a phenomenal amount of work and it promises to be an emotional and memorable evening. Thank you also to Alan and Megan for supporting the students through. They have also put in endless hours to ensure that the Year 6's get the send off they deserve.

The End of Year Picnic is THIS Friday and promises to be another great community event. We are looking forward to seeing the Santa Dance Off. Bring your own picnic items and hoping for nice weather for the afternoon.

2026 Classes and teachers

Every year there are some changes in staffing and this year is no different. With my retirement Shane has been successful as the Acting Principal for term 1. We are going through the selection process for an acting Assistant Principal for term 1. Alice has been successful in gaining an Art teacher role at Preston North East Primary School and we will be saying goodbye to Alex who has been in Year 5. We thank them both for their work and wish them well with their future endeavours. Joining us will be Ellie Taylor who is coming from Heidelberg PS, Josh Sawyer who has worked at Clifton Hill PS and been teaching in Mexico for part of this year and Candice Stephenson. Claire Schiller has let me know today that she will be teaching in Benalla and leaving APS. Emma Healey and Hannah Bafas are returning from Parental Leave. The class teachers below are accurate as of today but may change over the break if needed.

Specialist teachers: PE= Natalie Ognenis, Visual Arts = Michael Connelly, Performing Arts = Hannah Bafas and Christy Fulcher, Mandarin = Mengyue Bao, Leadership release provided by Emma Healy and Greta Brewin.

Location of classes:

Step-up day next Tuesday is important in the transition to a new class, new learning space and new teacher. We do this very carefully being aware of students who may need more support. Some classes will be sharing social stories to assist with the transition. Please support us at home with positive conversations about feeling nervous being a natural feeling and that next year will be fun and exciting.

We have seen a sharp increase in the number of students coming to school without food. As the students become tired and with so many activities on please support them with making their lunch and remembering to bring it. 

We only have rice crackers left and these are not substantial enough for the busy days we have. 

Take care during this very busy time

Kind regards

Melissa Mackenzie

Principal