Principal's Report

An Awesome Start to 2025!

Welcome to the 2025 school year! It has been great to see everyone's smiling faces during the first week back. It’s nice to report that the term has started very positively. Thanks to everyone for helping us get away to such a smooth start. 

As always, we use the first couple of weeks to build relationships and set expectations and routines. This work is very important as we set ourselves up for success in our classrooms and the playground.

A very big welcome to our new Prep (Foundation) students who commenced school life at SGPS on Monday. Welcome also to all of our new students across the school and their families. I hope your time at SGPS is very positive. A special mention also to our Year 6 students who are completing their last year of primary school. I hope everyone has a wonderful year and I look forward to working with you all at different stages throughout 2025. 

A big note of appreciation for the time and effort that our staff have put in to ensure everything was ready for the new school year. It was a smooth transition, and we are fortunate to have such a wonderful team.

Smoking Ceremony & Welcome to Country

As a member of the Koorie Curriculum Cluster (Phase 1 School), SGPS will be conducting a Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country on Friday 21st Feb at 9.00am in The Hub. 

Given the size of our school, permission was sought and granted to have two pits available on the day. Lewis Brown will be facilitating the Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony, with Paul Phillips assisting with the second fire pit. A Fire Permit has been applied for. If the day is a Total Fire Ban, then the Smoking Ceremony will need to be postponed.

School community members are most welcome to attend.

School Assembly

Our assemblies will be held will be held in The Hub at 3:00pm each fortnight, starting tomorrow. Families are most welcome to attend.

The following awards are handed out at assembly:

Principal Awards - Principal Awards are nominated by the classroom teacher. This year student awards will follow the schedule/cycle below: 

1. Preps to Grade 2 

2. Grade 3 to Grade 6 

The Principal Awards are based on the School Values. Approximately 10 children per class will receive a Principal Award this year. We do not keep a record of these from year-to-year. In any given year, the classroom teacher recognises those students who best display our School Values through their words and actions.

GuGu Awards - These awards are part of our School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support program (SWPBS). Students will be recognised at assembly for reaching key milestones i.e. 25, 50 and 100 stickers.

Specialist Awards - These awards are nominated by Michael Smith (Health & PE), Shannon Leed (Visual Arts), Adele Riordan (Auslan) and Effie Hamilton (Music). During Effie's family leave absence this term, replacement staff will nominate these.

Families will be notified on Thursday via Compass if their child is to receive an award at Friday assembly. 

At tomorrow's assembly, we will take the opportunity to hand out the leadership badges for our School Captains, House Captains and Indigenous Leaders. Badges will also be presented at a later date for our SRC Leaders, once these positions are finalised.

Booklist Collection Day

I would like to thank parents for supporting booklist collection day. Special thanks to Sonia for organising this event. Thanks also to Wendy for supporting this day.

New Staff

This year we only have one new face at our school

• Miss Brooke Ingram (Teacher - Grade 3/4)

I wish Brooke all the best for the coming school year. I know she will love working with our school community.

Returning Staff

This year  we are welcoming the following staff back:

• Miss Ashlea Lockett (Grade1/2 teacher)
• Mr Luke Crawford (Grade 5/6 teacher)
• Mrs Courtney Ireland (Occupational Therapist)

I wish Ash, Luke and Courtney well for the coming school year. It's great to have them back. Special thanks to Elise Chambers for doing such an amazing job during Courtney's period of family leave.

Staffing Structure for 2025

Class Teachers:

Prep A – Miss Abbey Dunn

Prep B – Miss Georgia Mortlock

Prep C – Miss Madie Floyd

Grade 1/2 A – Mrs Tegan Edwards

Grade 1/2 B – Mrs Kate Murphy

Grade 1/2 C – Mrs Jane Rodda

Grade 1/2 D – Miss Jade Patrao-Hurley

Grade 1/2 E – Miss Ashlea Lockett 

Grade 1/2 – Mr Chris McClellan* 

Grade 3/4 A – Mr Rohan Daenke 

Grade 3/4 B – Mr Daniel Lidgett

Grade 3/4 C – Mrs Lauren Schulz

Grade 3/4 D – Miss Alisha Mitchell

Grade 3/4 E – Miss Brooke Ingram 

Grade 5/6 A – Mrs Kelly Byron 

Grade 5/6 B – Mr Corey Greer

Grade 5/6 C – Mrs Emma Clohesy

Grade 5/6 D – Mrs Siobhan Garmey / Mr Luke Staley

Grade 5/6 E - Mr Luke Crawford

*Mr Chris McClellan will not have his own class, rather he will be providing targeted intervention for groups of students in Grade 1/2. Unfortunately, Chris will be having back surgery next week and won't return until the start of Term 2. Zoe Davies will be providing additional support in Grade 1/2 until Chris returns.

Specialist Teachers:

Visual Arts – Ms Shannon Leed

Auslan – Mrs Adele Riordan

PE & Health – Mr Michael Smith

Music – Miss Maddy Vernon (until March 4) / Mrs Penny Gamble (March 5 until the end of Term 1) / Mrs Effie Hamilton (returning Term 2)

Tutoring – Mrs Melissa  Gleisner and Mrs Jan Alexander 

Literacy Intervention – Mrs Lauren Starr

Welfare/Allied Health Staff:

Social Worker – Mrs Katie Moss

Speech Pathologist – Mrs Simone Fraser

Occupational Therapist – Mrs Courtney Ireland

Psychologist - Mrs Tara Byron (in a consultancy role)

Leadership:

Principal: Mr Francis Trezise

Assistant Principal: Mr Brett Parkes

Learning Specialist:

Mr Luke Staley

Mrs Jenna Brewer

Administration Staff:

Business Manager: Mrs Sonia Lewis

Office Assistants: Mrs Wendy Sloane and Miss Rachael Connelly

Integration Staff:

Mrs Sophie Smith

Miss Julie Robertson

Miss Rachel Tingley

Mrs Jacqui Jones

Mrs Neveen Budair

Mrs Emily Ludeman

Ms Bree Whittle

Miss Taylah Collins

Miss Zoe Davies

Mr Oliver Kean

Gardens:

Ms Tanya Kemp

Cleaning:

Mrs Gen Taylor

Mr Graham Taylor

School Times

The school times are as follows:

School Council Elections 2025   

The Annual General Meeting for Spring Gully Primary School will be held on Monday, 17th March at 6:00pm followed by a School Council General Meeting at 7:00pm. Spring Gully Primary School has four Parent Member vacancies and two DET Employee Member vacancies. The vacancies are for a two-year term.

The current School Council members are as follows: 

Parent Members:

Retiring at this election – Mrs Sarah Schoots, Mr Phil Garner, Mrs Bronte Spicer and Mrs Genevieve Fells

Ending in March 2026 – Mr Ronnie Lowe, Mrs Allison Patrick and Mr Stuart Fremantle

DET members:

Retiring at this election – Mr Chris McClellan and Mrs Lauren Schulz

Ending in March 2026 – Mr Brett Parkes

Executive Officer: Mr Francis Trezise 

I would like to thank our ‘retiring’ school council members for their significant and important contributions to the school community. Retiring school councillors are able to renominate for School Council if they still meet the eligibility requirements. 

What is a school council and what does it do? 

All government schools in Victoria have a school council. They are legally formed bodies that are given powers to set the key directions of a school within centrally provided guidelines.  In doing this, a school council is able to directly influence the quality of education that the school provides for its students.  

Who is on the school council? 

There are three possible categories of membership: 

• A mandated elected Parent category. More than one third of the total members must be from this category. Department of Education and Training (DET) employees can be Parent members at their child’s school as long as they are not employed at the school. 
• A mandated elected DET employee category.  Members of this category may make up no more than one third of the total membership of school council. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members. 
• An optional Community member category.  Members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences.  DET employees are not eligible to be Community members. 

The term of office for all members is two years. Half the members must retire each year, creating vacancies for the annual school council elections.  

Why is parent membership so important? 

Parents on school councils provide important viewpoints and have valuable skills that can help shape the direction of the school. Those parents who become active on a school council find their involvement satisfying in itself and may also find that their children feel a greater sense of belonging.  

How can you become involved? 

The most obvious way is to vote in the elections, which are held in Term 1 each year. However, ballots are only held if more people nominate as candidates than there are positions vacant. In view of this, you might seriously consider: 

• standing for election as a member of the school council 
• encouraging another person to stand for election.​

Do I need special experience to be on school council? 

No. What you do need is an interest in your child’s school and the desire to work in partnership with others to help shape the school’s future.  

What do you need to do to stand for election? 

The principal will issue a notice and call for nominations following the commencement of Term 1 each year.  All school council elections must be completed by the end of March. If you decide to stand for election, you can arrange for someone to nominate you as a candidate or you can nominate yourself.  DET employees whose child is enrolled in a school in which they are not employed, are eligible to nominate as parents for the school council where their child is enrolled.  

Once the nomination form is completed, return it to the principal within the time stated on the notice of election. You will receive a Nomination Form Receipt following the receipt of your completed nomination. If there are more nominations received than there are vacancies on council, a ballot will be conducted during the two weeks after the call for nominations has closed.  

Remember

• Ask at the school for help if you would like to stand for election and are not sure what to do 
• Consider standing for election to Council this year 
• Be sure to vote in the elections, if a ballot is held
• Contact Mr. Francis Trezise for further information. 

School Council Election Timeline

• Notice of election and call for nominations – Friday, 7th February
• Closing date for nominations – Friday, 14th February at 4:00pm
• Ballot papers prepared and distributed (if required) – Friday, 21st February
• Close of ballot (if required) – Friday, 28th February at 4:00pm
• Vote Count (if required) – Tuesday, 4th March
• Declaration of ballot (if required) –Tuesday, 11th March
• School Council meeting (elect office bearers) – Monday, 17th March at 6:30pm.

Parent Club AGM

As mentioned in the Parent Club section of this newsletter, Parent Club will be holding their Annual General Meeting on Friday 21st of February, at 2pm, in the administration building. 

Parent Club is open to any parents or carers. One of the main things that happen at this meeting is the election of Office Bearers i.e. President, Secretary and Treasurer. All Office Bearer positions will be declared vacant at the AGM and are open to any Registered Member of Parent Club. Office Bearers will be elected to office for a period of 12 months i.e. until the next AGM.

Keeping in Touch

Throughout the year there will be times when you need to contact your child’s teacher, Mr Parkes or myself. We encourage open discussions at all times and would suggest that any matter, major or minor, is best dealt with sooner rather than later. If there is something you are concerned about, unsure of or puzzled by regarding your child, we would encourage you to make an appointment with your child’s teacher. While it may be convenient to catch a teacher before or after the school day, this is certainly not the most appropriate time to have an in-depth discussion about your child. So how do you do this? Drop a note or email to the school, which will be forwarded to the class teacher asking them to contact you; alternatively, you can email the classroom teacher directly or via Compass.

Late Arrivals and Punctuality

If your child does arrive late, we ask that you come via the office and sign your child in. This is necessary as class rolls are marked by 8:45am and if your child is not in class at this time they will be marked as absent. By signing your child in we are able to adjust our records, so your child is then marked as late rather than absent. Punctuality is very important. Please assist your child by having them to school on time.

Correct Uniforms

Most students are in the correct SGPS uniform and looking great. Please remember that our socks and shorts are not to have any logos i.e. Nike, Adidas, etc. Our uniform supplier, Noone, can supply these. You can also purchase these at numerous retail shops around Bendigo.

If you have any second-hand uniforms, please drop them off at the office and we will use these to support other families.

School Crossing Times

The school crossing is supervised from 8:00am-8:45am and 3:00pm-3:45pm by our friendly crossing supervisor, Sam. Please make sure your children use the crossing at all times if they are crossing Spring Gully Road. 

Student Accident Insurance

As a school we do as much as we can to protect and care for injured students, including first aid, notifying parents and emergency contacts if students are injured or hurt, and if necessary, an ambulance is called. Parents and guardians are generally responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs. Most medical costs will be refunded by Medicare. If you are a member of an ambulance or health insurance fund, you may also be able to claim transport or other expenses from that fund. The Department of Education and Training does not hold accident insurance for school students. Reasonably low-cost accident insurance policies are available from the commercial insurance sector and these can be obtained by parents for their children.

SWPBS Handbook

Attached below is the updated SWBPS Family Handbook. Please take the time to read through this and find out more about this school-wide program.