PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

The last week of school has arrived, and with it the end of the 2024 school year. The past week has been one of celebrations, through the Final Assembly held yesterday, the Year 6 Graduation last Thursday and today the “Big Day Out” for Year 6 students and the “End of Term Fun Day” for our Prep to 5 students. Each event has been an opportunity to reflect on the achievements our students have made and the support that they have been surrounded by from our families and our wonderful staff. For me personally, in my first six months as Principal, these events have reminded me how grateful I am to have been welcomed in to such a strong and caring community who place the needs of each student at the centre of our everyday actions. There is lots to look forward to in 2025.

Final Assembly

The weather yesterday was perfect for our Final Assembly in the gardens and it was lovely to see such a strong turn out of families join us for this special event. After a wonderful musical showcase from each grade, led by Mrs Garland, our ‘Semper Sursum’ Awards were presented. This was an opportunity for each classroom teacher to recognise students in Years Prep to 5 who have shown a ‘Semper Sursum’ (Latin for ‘ever upwards, always our best’) attitude in their academic work, their level of endeavour and their citizenship. Congratulations to each of these recipients. Student Leadership positions were also announced for 2025 and we are very much looking forward to working with this group of students next year. A full list of both the Semper Sursum Award winners, and the 2024 Student Leadership positions, is included further in this newsletter.

Year 6 Graduation

On Thursday night of last week we held our Year 6 Graduation – a highly anticipated event on our annual calendar for our senior students and their families. The students did an amazing job presenting speeches of their memories at Gray Street, reflecting how much they have enjoyed their time with us, regardless of the amount of time spent with us here. Each student is to be applauded for the brave and sincere way they shared their story. Providing time for each student to speak is reflective of the school’s culture of every child being valued and listened to.

Numerous awards were presented on the night and again these are included further in this newsletter, but I’d like to acknowledge the following major award winners for 2024

Female Dux – Olivia Baulch
Male Dux – Manaia Bremner and Austin Cunneen
Daniel Hodgson Memorial – Selina Killen

Congratulations to all of our graduating ‘Class of 2024’ – we wish all of our departing Year 6 students well in their future endeavours and trust they will take with them our three school values of Respect, Resilience and Relationships.

“End of Term Fun Day”

What a great day was had today by our Year Prep to 5 students for their “End of Term Fun Day”. Throughout the day students participated in a range of activities, with Prep to 2 students and then Years 3 to 5 students getting to run through the “Colour Run” Obstacle Course. Thank you to the many parents who came to be part of the fun and share in the excitement with their children. Thank you also to Mrs Beaton and all other staff for planning and running this event for the students. Meanwhile today our Year 6 students had their “Big Day Out” at Adventure Park in Geelong as a way to celebrate the end of their primary school years. Students spent the day getting very wet and having lots of fun, cementing the friendships they have made in their time at Gray Street. Thanks to the staff for attending to make this such a great day for the students, one I’m sure they will long remember.

Departing Staff

Sadly as the year ends we are farewelling several staff members. Miss Dana Bish, Ms Tracey McDonnell and Miss Meredith Dowling all not returning in 2025 as part of our teaching team. We also sadly say farewell to Tobie Hunt, Leila Elton, Lee Muhktar and Chloe Campbell from our ES team although we do hope to see their faces back at some stage next year as we know each of them have contributed significantly to our team this year.

Departing Families

In our final newsletter of the year I would also like to acknowledge the families of the 20 departing Year 6 students who will no longer be formally involved with our school, and thank them for the many contributions made throughout their time with the school. Our best wishes and heartfelt thanks goes out to all.

Term 1 2025 Staff Leave

Mrs Megan Garland will be taking Term 1 off go travelling. Ms Kim Pitman will be filling in two days per week. Ms Pitman currently teaches music at North Hamilton and we welcome her to our team.

2025 New Staff

In 2025 we welcome Mr James Stephens and Mrs Jessica Smith, along with Mrs Celeste Dickson who will be returning from maternity leave.

Final Words

I also would like to thank and acknowledge our dedicated, committed and passionate staff, who continually go above and beyond to do everything they can to support the needs of our students. This includes our fabulous team of CRTs who we very much consider to be part of our staff. I am very much looking forward to working with our team again next year, along with some new staff members, to further build on the strong foundation and reputation that our previous Principal Ben Kelson has established.

I would also like to thank our extremely supportive School Councillors and School Council President Mrs Anna Robertson . Their time, effort, commitment and unwavering support is truly appreciated as we all work together to make Gray Street the best possible school it can be.

Thank you to our Gray Street community, you have all once again been amazing! It takes a strong partnership between school and home to ensure a child is provided with the right environment and support to achieve success to their potential. I truly believe this is an area we have been doing very well and look forward to enhancing and expanding these partnerships in the years to come.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year!!

Hamilton OSHC