PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Keeping Our Students Safe

Student safety is paramount at Plenty Parklands. At recess and lunchtime, we have eleven staff on duty at any one time. Before school we have three staff on gate duty and leadership roaming the grounds to support. After school from 3:30pm we have a teacher on each exit gate and ALL staff following students out of class to ensure a safe departure from school for the day. At the front of the school, you will notice that often four or five staff are there to watch over students waiting to be picked up. Any students remaining at 3:45pm due to parents running late, are brought to the administration area to wait inside. Please be confident that we are going over and above normal school practices to prioritise your child’s safety.   

PPPS Vegetable Patch

Our gardening program is exploding with so much interest in the work of Mrs Parveen and her student gardeners. Currently we have Broccoli, Peas, Spring Onion, Kale and Broad Beans growing under the careful watch of our team.   

Statewide Principal Conference

Today I have been out of the school attending the 2026 Statewide Principal Conference at the Exhibition Building in Melbourne. Ms Loorham and I heard from the Minister for Education Ben Carroll who shared his plans for the coming months, listened intently to Lisa Alexander (the former Australian Diamonds Netball Coach) discussing sustained excellence in leadership and then learnt a lot about implementing the new Victorian Teaching and Learning Model from Dr Nathaniel Swain. The conference is on again tomorrow and is an excellent opportunity to access ways to continue to improve what we do at Plenty Parklands.      

School Gardening and Maintenance

I have had some parent feedback recently about the amount of leaves, rubbish and bird droppings around the school. Our dedicated maintenance manager Mr Surkitt has been on leave for health reasons over the past three weeks, and we have done our best to keep up the high standard Mr Surkitt has set over the past four years. 

We are excited that he has returned to work this morning and is keen to get the school back looking fantastic. Special thanks to Mr Fraumano who has increased his part time hours and has been filling in during this period of leave.  

Student Leadership  

Our new JSC team have been growing in confidence when presenting at assembly and completing other roles around the school, such as joining me on school enrolment tours and assisting with school events. It has been wonderful to see them running our student led assembly on their own.

Former Students Excelling

The AFL held their mid-season player draft this week, where fifteen players were added to senior lists. Congratulations to Flynn Riley, a 206cm ruckman who was picked up by Carlton, who is a former Plenty Parklands student. Flynn graduated in 2016. We wish him well this season and will be watching with interest.  

Regards,

David Whewell | Principal