Principal Update

Welcome back! I trust you all had a restful break and recharged for the year ahead. I enjoyed some time on the Bellarine Peninsula with plenty of reading and swimming. It is wonderful to hear of the experiences our families had- I’ve heard about movies and play dates, visits to different parks, skiing in Japan, touring Vietnam, going to the Tennis and spending time with family in the Netherlands.

All students were in class and settled busy chatting by a few minutes past 9 yesterday, which is certainly the most settled start we’ve had. Thanks for preparing your children so well, they have come with an enthusiasm and positive outlook on the year ahead. 

We welcome new and returning staff to our community. Emily has moved from the TLI program to teaching Year 1, Martha has moved from a local school into Year 5 and Haylee is teaching Performing Arts for 3 days a week this year. Natalie will be teaching PE this year and has hit the ground running organising upcoming events.

We have also employed the services of Speech Pathology in Schools and welcome Mary, our speech pathologist who will work on Mondays and Tuesdays. The major part of her role is to build our knowledge and capacity to teach language (particularly speaking, listening and reading), particularly in the younger years. 

Next week we are holding the annual Getting to Know You Meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday after school. This is a chance to meet the new teacher and share some information about your child. There will be a paper form to complete with some prompts for information to share. This will be sent home today or tomorrow. The booking system is online and through Compass. If you have any trouble booking please contact your class teacher.

On the 14 February we are holding the Year 3-6 Swimming Carnival. All students attend and swim. We will be holding trials and selecting the team to compete in the district swimming in a couple of weeks. We will swim at the Fitzroy Swimming Pool and parents are welcome. Natalie, will be seeking permission through Compass and she would also welcome parent volunteers who are able to help on the day. 

This year our outdoor program begins earlier with the Year 6 Camp to Marysville. It will be from Tuesday 12 March to Friday 15 March. This is a bush experience with some challenging adventure activities as well. It is a great way to begin the year and helps form strong relationships with students and the teachers. 

Over the holidays we had the replacement gates installed as per the photo. They have tamper proof bolts so hopefully will remain in place. We are also looking to replace the gates on Yarralea Street above the portable as they are very rickety. 

I hope you enjoy the week

Melissa Mackenzie

Principal