Principal Report

Welcome back to Week 4! What a fabulous fortnight we have had at Inglewood Primary School. One of the highlights was our Cultural Day, held in partnership with St Mary’s and Bridgewater schools. My heartfelt thanks goes to Paul, our KESO, and his amazing team for supporting and guiding such a meaningful day for all involved.

A very special thank you also goes to Jayne Lawson, who did an incredible job coordinating and facilitating the event to ensure all students had an enriching learning experience alongside their Koorie peers. As Principal, I was truly humbled by the sense of community, connection, and respect shown throughout the day. It was wonderful to see all three schools learning, playing, and celebrating culture together so harmoniously. We look forward to continuing to build these important opportunities for our students and school communities.

Thank you to Chase for completing the Acknowledgement of Country, to the St Mary’s students for sharing their acknowledgement song, and to Tyler for proudly sharing his cultural connection and impressive didgeridoo playing. Anyone who has tried playing the didgeridoo knows it is no easy feat and requires great skill and dedication. It was wonderful to see students from all schools recognising and acknowledging the local Dja Dja Wurrung lands on which we learn and grow together.

We were also fortunate to host the Martin Vale Dentistry Dental Van at our school recently. This has been a wonderful opportunity for families, helping ease the time and financial pressures often associated with accessing dental care. It was pleasing to see so many students take advantage of this valuable service.

Looking ahead, Education Week begins on 18 May. We have a range of exciting activities planned across the week, and we encourage as many families as possible to attend our Open Afternoon, where families will be invited to join in activities and celebrate learning with students and staff. We would love to welcome our families and wider community to help us celebrate Education Week on Tuesday, 19th May, from 11:40 am to 1:50 pm.

Students and families will rotate through three engaging activities across the session. This is a wonderful opportunity to come together as a school community, share in student learning, and celebrate the importance of education.. Please see the flyer below for more details.

We are also excited to announce that students will soon be participating in a series of self-defence sessions. These classes are designed to help students build confidence, resilience, personal safety awareness, and respectful decision-making skills in an engaging and age-appropriate way. We are looking forward to seeing students develop valuable strategies that support both their wellbeing and confidence in everyday situations.

As part of our ongoing school improvements, we will also be undertaking some groundwork in the coming weeks in preparation for the installation of our new staff toilet facilities. There will be some temporary fencing and roped-off areas around sections of the school grounds while works are underway. We ask families to please support us by reminding students to stay clear of these designated areas to ensure everyone remains safe during the construction period. Thank you for your understanding and support as we continue to improve our school environment for staff and students alike.

As we move towards the upcoming reporting period, parents and carers may have heard discussion around report comments changing in Victorian schools. At IPS, most students will still receive a written comment on their report; however, these comments will focus more broadly on students as learners and their demonstration of our school values — Be Kind, Work Hard, and Grow Together.

This approach will act as a stepping stone towards changes planned for 2027, when school reports will transition to a simplified one-page format. The aim of these changes is to make reports clearer, more accessible, and easier for both parents and students to read and understand, while also helping to reduce the significant administrative workload placed on teachers.

As always, we value strong communication between home and school. If families would like more detailed information regarding their child’s learning progress, we encourage ongoing conversations with classroom teachers throughout the year.

I would also like to make families aware that UEducate has been updated with more options for families to select reasons for why their children are absent from school.

It is essential that absences are marked correctly, as we use this data for wellbeing check-ins and attendance monitoring.

From Tuesday, all unexplained absences can expect a phone call or text message home around 11:00 am each day.

If you need help logging in to UEducate, please reach out to the school office for support.