Principal's Report

Welcome to Gardenvale Primary School for 2026

On behalf of all our staff, a very warm welcome to all our students and families for the 2026 school year. We hope you have all enjoyed a relaxing and refreshing summer holiday.

I would like to sincerely thank our staff for their hard work over the holiday period, ensuring classrooms and offices were well prepared for a smooth and positive start to the year. We are pleased to welcome three new classroom teachers to Gardenvale: Caroline Hodge (6B), Christine Brodie (2B), Maddy Long (Prep B) and Emily Deague-Hall (Prep D). We also warmly welcome Alish Wooton and Khushboo Chaudhry, who join our Integration Aide team.

Last Thursday, our new Prep students enjoyed their very first day of school. There were many smiling faces, just a few tears, and plenty of photos taken to capture this special milestone. We extend a warm welcome and best wishes to our new families and staff joining our community this year.

A reminder to families that unless students are attending GOSH (before-school care with TeamKids), the Hebrew program or Tennis, they should not be onsite before 8.45am. School gates open and teachers begin supervision from 8.45am.

Working Bee – Sunday 25th January

Dimi and I are extremely grateful to the mums, dads and children who attended our recent working bee to help prepare the school grounds for the 2026 school year. There was an enormous amount of work completed, including clearing leaf litter and weeds, mowing and whipper snipping, and cleaning drains. Thank you so much for your time and effort.

A very sincere thank you to: Wayne Blumenthal, Cara Bredebusch, Adam Fletcher, Rob Forrester, Barry Goldman, Tammy Goldwasser, Leon Lopata, Hugh Maguire, Nicky Martin, Andrea Pagani, Joanne Pacilli, Tanya Shulman, Simon Stainmagen and Jonathan Yap (and apologies if we have missed anyone).

We also extend a huge thank you to Jen Robinson and Rowena Pereira and their dedicated team for their continued work in our vegetable garden and the Quail Palace at the Junior Campus. Jen, Rowena and their team generously volunteered many hours last year and over the summer break to maintain and nurture these spaces. Our students are incredibly fortunate to enjoy such a beautiful and tranquil space!

A Wonderful New Sportsfield at the Junior Campus

We are delighted to celebrate the completion of our brand-new sportsfield at the Junior Campus. This fantastic new space is the final piece in the upgrade of the outdoor play surfaces at the Junior Campus, providing our students with a safe, modern and versatile area for sport, play and community events.

The installation of the sportsfield has been made possible through the incredible generosity of our families. Funds raised at much-loved events such as the School Fair and Walkathon, along with donations to our Building Fund, have directly contributed to bringing this project to life.

The finished sportsfield looks outstanding and will be enjoyed by students for many years to come. We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who supported our fundraising efforts - this wonderful addition truly reflects the strength and spirit of our school community.

Information Evenings

Tonight, we will have the first of our 2026 Parent Information Evenings. This one will be for our Year 6 Parents. The session will begin at 6.00pm under the Senior Campus COLA. Tomorrow night, we will welcome our Year 1 parents (in the Hall at 6.30pm). Thursday evening it will be our Prep parents (in the Junior Hall) at 6.00pm and Year 5 parents (under the COLA at 6.00pm) to hear what is in store for their children in 2026. 

We are very grateful that parents prioritise and value these information nights which is reflected in the high attendance and the level of engagement our families have in our school. Our teachers shares the plans for the year ahead and highlight the expectations for students and families.

Please note the remaining three Information Nights are as follows:

• Year 2 – 5.45pm – Wednesday 11th February (in the Hall)
• Year 3 - 6.00pm – Tuesday 10th February (under the COLA)
• Year 4 - 6.30pm – Wednesday 11th February (under the COLA)

Ambulance Subscription

Last Tuesday all our staff were involved in our yearly First Aid Training.  We were advised by the trainer to inform our parent community about the importance of having an Ambulance Victoria membership. Children are full of energy and sometimes mishaps occur which means they need to go to hospital. There have been times when students are injured at school and we have needed to call an ambulance.  So that it does not cause an issue, we recommend you check if your family has ambulance cover, either through your private health fund or Ambulance membership.  The Education Department does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students.

Grill'd Hampton

Thank you to the Scully Family for nominating GPS for Grill'd's Local Matters jars for the month of February! 

The community group that has the most bottle caps in the jar at the end of February, will receive a $300 donation from Grill’d. Second and third place jars receive a $100 donation. 

We encourage you, if you are visiting Grill'd, throughout February, put the bottle cap you receive with each order, in the GPS jar! 

Curriculum Day Friday 6th February

A reminder that this Friday, 6 February, is a student free Curriculum Day. We recognise that this date falls very early in the school year; however, highly regarded educator Nathanial Swain, who will be working with our teaching staff throughout 2026, has limited availability at the beginning of the year. Nathanial will be delivering professional development focused on Reading Comprehension and Novel Studies. Holding this professional learning early in the year is also highly beneficial, as it allows teachers to embed the strategies and approaches into their classroom practice from the outset.

Senior Campus Office

We are expecting building works to the Senior Campus to commence in mid February. Please note, the Senior Campus office is now located in the MPC and access is from the laneway next to the staff carpark. 

Have a lovely week,

Janine Hall