Principal Team Updates

Croydon Hills Primary School Kinder Update

As your community is aware, our school has handed over land to the Early Childhood sector, as a part of the State Government's Kinder on School Sites initiative. The KOSS program delivers sessional kindergarten on Government school sites. These are leased and operated by local governments or not-for-profit providers. The kinder on our site, consistent with other kinders in the area, is a part of Maroondah Council's MIKA, a not-for-profit association in the City of Maroondah that has a service agreement to implement and manage the Central Registration and Enrolment Scheme (CRES) for its member kindergartens. 

As a part of our regular meeting schedule, this week provided some exciting updates. The team met and was introduced to Hayden, who, alongside his sister Sam, will provide the cultural artwork for the kinder. The artwork will connect with the school's indigenous murals. Moreover, the school will also have rights to the images related to the four totem animals. These will become the mascots of our four houses.

Also in this week's meetings, the KOSS team discussed landscaping, both the kinder's and our school's, including the reinstatement of our Junior school sports field. Of note, we discussed the 'lift' (scheduled for mid-May) of the modular buildings that make up our two-room kindergarten. I will keep you all updated on the impact on local traffic and general school traffic. 

Whilst the delays have been a cause for concern and frustration amongst our community, it has been pleasing to see and hear of positive progress.

Update on Victorian Education Industrial Action

You may have seen recent media coverage regarding ongoing industrial action across the Victorian education sector. These reports have highlighted ongoing negotiations between the Department of Education and the AEU, the union representing teachers and school staff.

At this stage, it is important to note that a formal offer has not yet been put to union members for consideration. While media reports have referenced proposed salary increases, they do not always reflect the full scope of negotiations. For example, headline figures are often presented without the full context, including that their proposal spans four years rather than three, which can misrepresent the offer and influence how it is perceived. There has also been limited reporting on working conditions, which remain a key focus for staff.

Planned strike action for the morning of June 2, along with the absence of personalised comments in this semester’s student reports, remains part of protected union action that staff may engage in. With a high percentage of union members at our school, Croydon Hills Primary School is likely to be impacted, and we appreciate our community’s understanding and support as staff take action aimed at achieving positive change for the profession and, ultimately, for the children in our care.

We will continue to keep families informed as more confirmed information becomes available and provide you with information on how this will impact our school community.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Christian Holdsworth - Principal